Facebook-f Twitter Pinterest Instagram

Chicken Coop Tour with Edible landscaping + Chicken Art Giveaway

May 16, 2014
We had the pleasure of keeping chickens for the past five years. Over those years, I’ve learned a good deal about their overall care, needs, and simple ways to make it easier to care for them. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been busy landscaping around the new coop and run and adding some sweet touches to the inside of the coop. It is still a work in progress, but I thought that you’d like to see what I have been up to! Outside the coop, I’ve planted a garden with edibles and chicken safe plants. Still in their infancy, I love to combine veggies, herbs, berry bushes, and perennials to give the garden a cottage look. Let’s take a little coop tour.
On the trellis, I have planted three raspberry bushes and nasturtium. In the gardens, are swiss chard, celery, lavender, cilantro, marjoram, rosemary, cilantro, borage, cabbage, ornamental grasses, dill, coneflowers, hostas, black eyed susan, sunflowers to name a few. All of these are safe around your flock. In fact, this is their garden. Once established  and the plantings are larger, the chickens will be allowed to roam among the plantings and enjoy them while supervised. In the meantime, I will harvest small stalks and clippings for the girls to enjoy in the run.
On the coop’s stoop, I have planted an edible container garden for the flock filled with lettuce, pansies, and climbing sugar snap peas. I love combining a variety of foliage and intermixing plantings.
I’ve even started on the inside of the coop and thought you’d enjoy a little sneak peek. One of the best things that you can do to extend the life of your coop’s floor and make clean up a breeze is to lay down linoleum flooring. Painting the inside of the coop makes cleaning easier as well and extends the life of the coop. With some water and white vinegar, the painted surfaces are easily cleaned and disinfected.
Painting the walls and adding lots of windows for ventilation also helps to disperse sunlight in the coop. Sunlight is a great natural disinfectant. With the abundance of light, some herbs were added to the upper shelf to keep the coop pest free. Here oregano, lavender and chamomile sit next to vintage blue canning jars that store oyster shells and grit. Why can’t the girls have some houseplants with benefits!? I share the coop plants with the girls too! I’ll share how soon.
 
Even tin wall art can be added to the coop.
This one is by artist Sarah Hudock. The round black fresh eggs sign is from Bainbridge Farm Goods.

 

Of course, not surprisingly, the girls have a favorite nest box.
Back outside, along the run fresh green grass has been planted. Once it takes root, this too will be one of the chickens’ favorite places to explore. The run itself is covered. This keeps the girls protected from the elements and shaded. I love that I can now sit inside the run and spend time with the girls.
Tilly our head hen.
Our inseparable Buff Orpingtons, Oyster Cracker and Sunshine.
The Silkies are hanging out by the Little Giant feeders filled with oyster shells and grit.
I have lots more to do and share over the next couple of weeks with you including some fun chicken ideas so stay tuned! Finally warmer days are upon us and I could not be happier, spending time outside with my family, flock, and gardens. I’m happiest when I feel the world around me blooming.
Click here for an update on this coop.
Bless Our Nest 
Tin Sign Giveaway

Sarah, the amazing woman behind Sarah Hudock’s Lighthearted Art, is an incredibly talented artist and a sponsor of ours. She designs beautiful artwork and has added her original paintings to tin signs. These signs are perfect for the coop or home.They are weatherproof and wipe clean with a damp soft sponge. This signs measures approximately 11 inches by 18 inches and retails for $72.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Melissa

Author/Blogger/Freelancer-Sharing adventures with backyard chickens, beekeeping, gardening, crafting, cooking and more.

melissa@tillysnest.com

RELATED POSTS

WRITE A COMMENT

73 thoughts on “Chicken Coop Tour with Edible landscaping + Chicken Art Giveaway”

  6. Oh, I'm so happy I stopped by to see what you've been up too! The new coop is just beautiful Melissa inside and out! You've really outdone yourself with the design and the coop garden is lovely! I would love to be entered in the giveaway. Sarah's signs are beautiful!

  7. I love your coop..I've never seen one so beautiful…I better get busy and spruce mine up..your girls are so lucky.

  8. What a wonderful coop!!! Any chick would be very happy to call that home. I'm still hoping hubby will allow me to get some chickens. They are absolutely adorable. Love what you have done with it!! So pretty

  11. I like the coop with big windows, white paint lightens the inside, and do you have a secret to reducing the dust build up within the coop?
    Cheers,
    izzi~avis

    • Thanks so much! Regular weekly dustings helps. Shop vacs work the best when it comes to really cleaning things up. Chickens are just dusty.

  15. Love your coop and the gardens. I have bought a bunch of herbs and vegetables to add to my garden this year. I cannot wait to have herbs and veggies that my girls can munch on…they will be so excited! I love all of Sarah's signs….there were too many that I liked…I could not pick a favorite…!

  16. will try this again! loved your coop pictures and Sarah's artwork. I just bought a bunch of herbs and veggies to plant in my gardens and around the run for my girls. I can't wait to get more done on it. I couldn't pick a favorite of Sarah's work…there were too many that I liked! 🙂

  33. I would love to win Sarah Hudock's tin sign. I am an admirer of her talents. I also love your chicken coop and wish I had one just like it in my backyard. Your chickens are beautiful.

  36. My fav sign of hers is "hey girl, your coffee's ready!" your coop and run are beautiful; I can only dream about something that nice. mine is very ugly, made with upcycled, freecycled, and recycled materials. I'm JEALOUS!

  44. Your coop gets more gorgeous every time I see it! I had to laugh at the "hostas", though – one place I lived at had a lovely row of hostas along a large garden bed and by the time I moved on, they were completely gone – the girls had pecked them down to the roots! LOVE the signs – Sarah Hudock is SO talented!!

  45. Each sign I see of Sarah's, I say to myself "This is the one". Then she posts another sign that is even prettier than the last. I like them all. 🙂

  46. Amazing Grace With the flag background. It's the one I have. I have a list of coffee signs for my kitchen repaint I will get from Sarah…..Thanks for giveaway….Beautiful coop….

  49. I haven't seen one that I DIDN'T like, but one of my favorites is the one stating" I'm in the Garden " and has a white hen peeking out from behind the flowers. I have a hen just like it that follows me around in our garden or flower beds as I work. She has learned there are tasty treats to be found as I dig. Often she gets in between my feet and hands and won't move, as if the treats are going to magically appear.

  54. Hi Melissa… Where did you get the grit and oyster shell Little Giant feeders? They look perfect. I can't seem to find them online at all. Hope to hear back from you.

  55. Your coop has come a long way since that rainy delivery day! It's so fresh and clean. As for Sarah's artwork it's hard to pick just one. I love the Free Range Fresh Eggs and the one you are giving away. Thank you.

  56. Love all your ideas, I have some in my Coop/run, Little Giant I have grit and oyster shell in mine to. and To be able to sit in with them, and walk amoungst them is a joy. Love your ideas blog and giveaways. Sarah is amazing.

  58. Sarah's artwork is beautiful! My favorite is either the 'Blessings' sign that lists faith, peace, grace, etc. or the 'I'm in the Garden' sign! They are both lovely 🙂

    And thank you for offering this great giveaway to all your readers.

  61. I love this so much!!! Could you tell me what size your coop is? I didn't see that particular one on the linked website you provided. Also what type and sheen of paint did you use on the inside? Did you insulate first or just paint the raw surface? Sorry to ask so many questions, but I seriously want to copy what you've done very badly! Also, what does the other side (inside) of the coop look like? Do you store supplies in there? Any chance you would post a pic? Thanks so much!

  62. Okay, that is probably the most amazing chicken coop I've seen. I even have a chicken coop board on Pinterest! This one will be added 🙂

  63. Hello, my favorite Sarah Hudock's Lighthearted Art sign is the Rectangular Tin Sign: Bless Our Nest Flowered with 2 Birds. Thanks for a great giveaway!
    BTW, you have the cleanest, chicest coop I have ever seen!
    trishden948(at)yahoo(dot)com

  65. Thanks for the list of chicken edibles. I'm growing a grape trellis out of cattle panels on the western side of the coop to give them some shade. Once it's established and hardy, they'll be welcome to grab anything at their level until I see too much damage. I also just planted some comfrey for them.

    Cool coop art too!

Comments are closed.

About me

Sharing an inspired life from the New England seaside. Chickens, Bees, Gardens, Art and Yummy Goodness.
More about me
Facebook-f Google-plus-g Instagram Pinterest Twitter

All content © 2010-2023 Tilly's Nest.

May not be reproduced without express permission.