First came the chickens (this summer)…and now, their new coop has arrived! Rich and I were so excited when the workmen left and we could walk down and look at it.
We ordered it ourselves, and picked this nice brown color for the siding. We decided to buy a shed to use as a coop, so that someday, if the chicken-thing doesn’t work out or we end up not having them after a while, we will still be left with this beautiful building to use.
It has the double front door, three windows on one side, and the big pretty window over the door. It’s tucked away in a sheltered corner.
I’ll be having window boxes put under the windows. It will look so pretty when I decorate the boxes for the seasons.
Next is a picture of the inside. We’re going to get a ladder so we can get up into the loft. I can imagine the children hiding up there. I already told them, “no toys allowed, only thinking”. The whole family is excited about the chicken coop.
Later on, I laughed when I heard little four year old Caleb call it, “the chicken’s house poop.” (he meant “coop”, not “poop”). . . . .
I can’t wait to make this a nice spot for the chickens AND myself. It’s going to be FUN. (Yes, I’ll be using Mary Jane Butters as my inspiration, have you read her books?) I’m a farm girl! I’ve been clipping pictures of “out buildings” from Country Living magazine for years. And now I have one! I’ve been wanting to have chickens for years, and now I have a flock of them! God is so good to give me these small, yet meaningful, desires of my heart.
“I started using the word ‘farmgirl’ several years ago when I needed a more appropriate way to describe myself. Farmer didn’t seem to fit someone who would bring home a six-dollar box of garage sale vintage wallpaper and cover her chicken coop walls with it. And if that wasn’t farmgirl enough, my ‘ladies’ room’ wasn’t complete until I installed buttermilk-colored wainscoting and hung framed photos of chickens posing on a stool. Farmgirl just sounded more playful to me.”~Mary Jane Butters
I’m going to decorate, and the first thing I’m going to do is hang curtains. I’ll take pictures again when I’ve gotten things underway.
The chicken’s living quarters are behind this half wall. They have a little door that they can go in and out of.
I’m attaching the link to a music CD that I recently bought for my ipod. The children and I listen to it almost daily. My favorite song on it is “See What a Morning”, but the whole album is a blessing.
The children are downstairs, cleaning the kitchen up after a pizza dinner and listening to it, that’s how I thought to share the link with you all. We have music playing all the time. It’s a big part of our home life.
As a matter of fact, you know what? This is so spur of the moment for me, but I would love to send the cd to someone. If you’re interested in it, let me know in a comment or message and I’ll do a random drawing on Monday.
Click here and here (you can listen to clips of the songs, too) for more information about the cd.
Happy Friday!
Love, Shanda
Good to be Home 
oooh! first one to comment! love the shed; that is NICE! your chickens are going to roost in style! lol! I’d be interested in the cd….bless you for doing a drawing! tis always fun to come and see what is happening in your part of the country…you, by the way are looking quite fantastic! lovely weekend to you~!
I love your chicken coop! It’s so cute! Aren’t you just so uplifted and encouraged by the music we’ve been singing lately? I know I certainly am, I love being so involved in it, and seeing how much the dynamic and spirit of our church has changed. Praise the Lord for that. Love you, Shan! ❤
I would love any CD you recommend! I may be in the throws of childbirth by then (or maybe even holding my baby girl!!!) but count me in! I love the chicken coop. Your posts make me want to get out of the burbs!
What a cute shed.My chickens would be envious!ha; I would love to be in your cd drawing!
Oh, I love your shed!! Can’t wait to see it all decorated!! They will be the best housed chickens in the northeast!!!I listened to some of the songs on the CD – sign me up!
lol, your shed makes my HOUSE look shabby! It is beautiful!also: i’d love to have a cop of that cd since you’re just giving it away. =)
Great chicken coop!
Your chickens are blessed 🙂 I would love to be entered in your drawing. Have a wonderful weekend!
:o) The chicken coop is a wonderful idea…. and it looks lovely!! Would love to be entered into the drawing, by the way! :o) Have a wonderful day!
The chicken coop is lovely, Shanda! And will be even lovlier when you add your personal touches!! Can’t wait to see the progress. I would love for my name to be added to the drawing. And if I don’t win, I might just have to buy it!!
Happy Friday to you!
Love the pretty coop!
That is one good looking shed/chicken coop. I look forward to seeing your flower boxes, curtains, and all. It is already so handsome, especially tucked in by the trees. I have only recently become acquainted with ‘farmgirl”, and Mary Jane, after she was featured in Victoria. We enjoyed going through her site so much. I will have to look into her books. Bob thought it a wonderful place to visit someday! I would love to enter your drawing! blessings to you and yours, Jenny
brings back many memories for me. i had ‘pet’ chickens as a little girl and loved it. i’m sure your daughter will look back one day and feel the same way. the memories you make with your children are priceless!
Your chickens will be living in style! Very nice!
That shed is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost wanna be a chicken:):)I’d LOVE to enter the CD draw!
What a wonderful idea to get a shed for a chicken coop! Wow they are living in chicken style!! Can’t wait to see what you do with it. And yes – would love to be entered for the cd! Mj
That coop is CUTE! Your chickens be stylin’! LOL. I can’t wait to read more posts about your chickens and their new digs. 🙂
I love your chicken coop, and I love that you are going to decorate it! Our “chicken coop” that we had when I was a child was a dilapidated old barn full of feathers and dust. I think you will have happy chickens. (Ours were all named Henrietta, also. We couldn’t even tell them apart!) I am also very interested in the CD! I love the SPET and didn’t know about this CD yet! Hope I win, but if I don’t, I’ll just make an investment of my own… 🙂
This time, I hope you really do pick my name! LOL! I love your coop ~ 🙂
hello shanda 🙂 its me. long time no leave a comment for u. sorry .its nice to know u gonna have another baby in June. Congrats. its nie to see u happy, and ur family happy too.it s nice to see u took so many beautiful pictures with ur family. it s nice to meet u in my life. i head into an university. the assignments are driving me crazy.and ur blog just cool me down. u make me realized that Life is so much beauiful if u know how to enjoy .I love u Shanda. have a beautiful day :)p.s: yoUR coop is very adorable. ^^
Love the new shed! It’s almost too pretty for a chicken coop .Count me in for the drawing!! Have a great weekend. Jessye
What a beautiful chicken coop! They are very lucky!I’d love to be entered in the drawing. 🙂
Wow Shanda!!! That is like a new house. It brought back some memories for me~~~ A friend moved to Texas (where you know everything is big:)) and she built her coop like a Victorian home. It was precious! Oh, have so much fun decorating! By the way, you look wonderful standing in your new coop 🙂 I too am looking forward to the pictures of how you will transpire it. My family is always looking for new music to praise the Lord with. It sounds like a blessing. Thank you for the recommendation.
Please add me to your drawing!
LOVE the chicken coop! My sis in law had one like that at her old house. It was a chicken coop/potting shed with french doors. How fun! I’m excited to see what you do with it! We’re thinking about getting chickens next summer. Also, I would love to be entered in the drawing!
Put me in the drawing please!!! LOVE the coop and the window box idea 🙂
i would love to be in the drawing for the cd! I am always looking for nice music to play around the house…this one sounds nice.Love your chicken coop! Haha….I used to hate chickens when I was growing up ( my sis and I took care of the milking goats, and the chickens were Mom’s thing.) But the last while I am finding myself ready to get some of my own!-to the shock of my Mom! lol I think I am going to wait a couple more years until my son (2yo) is old enough to help take care of them. :o)
OH!!!! You picked out a beautiful chicken cooop!!!! I love it!!! 🙂 This goes right along with the blog I posted about me wanting chickens and(most importantly) the chicken coop! 🙂 ( http://www.thegatepostblog.blogspot.com) I picked out a little itty bitty coop- to see if it actually “sticks” ya know? But I just HAD to have the windowboxes on my chicken coop.I’m very excited for you. The coop is very lovely. Are you going to wallpaper? I can see you doing that. 😉 Can’t wait to see more pictures!
That is a beautiful shed Farm girl! I like the spot you chose for it also. I can’t wait to see how add you own touches to it.I would love to be put in the drawing for the CD. Love you Shan. I hope you have a great weekend!
Fabulous coop!!!!!!!!!!Happy for you, Shanda! The children will indeed enjoy this addition to your place.Happy Saturday, my friend.xo
i am so enjoying reading about your chickens becuz i have been wanting some too! i love your blog btw!
I love the house and that loft looks like a wonderful place to just get away and read/think/be by yourself 🙂 I’d love to be added to the drawing for the cd 🙂
So happy that some of your dreams are becoming reality. Dreaming is such a good thing. LoVe your chicken barn and i would be busy dreaming too. 🙂 Music is also a big part of our world… and I’m always looking for new cd’s. Thanks for sharing the info.
I have read one of her books, but hadn’t considered the “farmgirl” thing ~ that is me to a tee. I ~ L.O.V.E. ~ the chicken coop and you look like you’re glowing, just standing there in it! What a beautiful “coop”! I would definately enjoy the CD as well! Such a sweet spririt you have Shanda! Blessings to you and your family this weekend.
I love it!! And I love your ideas. And please add my name to the drawing! 🙂
What a wonderful idea for a coop, so cute. I would love to be entered in your drawing, beautiful music.
-gasp- I love it! What a cute little play house for the chickens and the kids. :o) We listen to music ALL the time, too! I always love the music you play here on your blog. It’s so calming. See you soon. :o)
Oh and can you put me in for the drawing, too! I love the Petit Team and Christy Galkin. (I went to college with her husband.) I just purchased one of Christy’s Galkin’s song off of itunes. It’s called, “Be Unto Your Name.” It’s absolutely beautiful! We all sing at the top of our lungs….even though we don’t sound as pretty as her. :o)
Oh, window boxes will look lovely on the chicken coop windows. I love that chicken coop. It will be a great place to “think”. Loved that your son called it a “chicken poop”. (don’t you just love it when they do stuff like that). Please enter me in the drawing. I too like to listen to music. I told my husband that I want an ipod for Christmas so that I can listen on the treadmill. (we don’t get good reception in the basement and the choices for radio are limited).God bless your day.
As a poultry farmer’s wife, dear Shanda, this post really has my gears going. I think of hanging curtains in our chicken houses, and it makes quite a picture. Of course, there are curtains there already — climate control things that are not what anyone would put up for pretty. I do wonder, though, what you are doing for manure control. Chickens, even cute ones, really STINK. I would hate to mess up such a nice out building with that smell– and the flooring of most sheds are not made to withstand the onslaughts of chicken droppings. In fact, it is much better for them to be on a ground floor where they can scratch and such. I know they can do that outdoors at your house, but what are you going to do for the winter? Maybe you have thought of all these things, but lots of times, people don’t, and it is the ruin of many a dream. So keep your head ahead of your heart, and be careful!!! And I surely do love you, darlin’ — and I’d be honored to be a part of your drawing, too. ~Mary Ann
@Buckeyegirlie – You raise good points….I plan on putting a very thick layer of newspaper down on the floor of their part of the shed, along with some straw. My goal is to keep it as clean as possible…and for now, yes the chickens are outside all day. Winter time will be hard, and I imagine that cleaning the coop is going to get old fast, along with the stink. Thanks for the advice. I am pretty ignorant, and you can be sure to read all about my ups and downs here. Reality will set in at some point. By the way, this particular coop was not my idea or choice….I would have been happy with something much more basic, with a dirt floor….but Rich had his way. Love, Shanda
Hey Shanda! I love your new chicken coop! It’s beautiful! I can’t wait to see how you decorate it! :)I would love to be entered in the CD drawing. I love the Petitt’s music!
Such a nice chicken coop! I also raise chickens, though my coop is pretty ordinary. There’s just something comforting and homey about having animals to raise. Maybe a feeling of security and self=sufficiency. Have enjoyed reading your daily escapades and your inspirational messages!! Please add me to your drawing for the cd!
love it~ but i’m already envisioning this as a great play house for Grace w/ curtains on the windows and all! i’m sure the chickens wouldn’t mind sharing though…:) and please stick my name in the drawing – the cd sounds like a good one.happy saturday – it’s kate’s bday today, and we’re headed out for hot fudge sundaes! yum~
With that cute chicken coop, I think your chickens will think they have really “arrived”!! What will you do when they fly over the partition?! Clip their wings?!Count me in on the drawing!
I loved keeping chickens; hope you do too. The coop is beautiful!
I can’t wait to see how you make this lovely chicken “poop” into a real farmgirl place. How exciting for you. I can imagine you or this children ducking in there this winter with a book and spending an afternoon. Your chickens will definitely be the envy of the other neighborhood chickens.P.S. Enter me in the drawing please. AND pick my name…I’d love to receive mail from my far away friend. : )
The coop is beautiful. Great selection, guys! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a few months now…a friend recommended your site. I love the way you write and how honest you are in regards to motherhood – the good and the bad. Take care.
I’d love to have the CD. We bought Quiet Beauty because you had it on your blog!
Kitty