“A chicken in every pot” – 1928 Rep. Party campaign slogan
“Don’t have a pot to put it in” – 1928 Dem. Party response slogan
It’s time to get back to more regular posting! There’s been so much going on that I haven’t had the brain power to formulate a coherent blog post, but I have to start somewhere.
Today, it’s chickens. And coops.
We’ve had chickens before – in 2001-2002 and again in 2005, but we moved so much that it was impossible to keep them. Now that isn’t such a problem. My husband and I will be building our house soon, but our chicken coop can be built to be movable, and our new house won’t be far from the old, so we’re good there.
I’ve never built a coop before, but that’s ok. Hubby has building know-how, I have the plan.
At http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/extension-aben/buildingplans/poultry you can find lots of coop and other building plans for chickens, and I’ve decided on 6195 – good for 40-50 chickens. They’ll also have a large enclosed run, but the main thing in these long harsh winters is a large enough coop for all the chickens to be happy inside all winter.
Of course I’m only planning and dreaming – you might remember I’m in Alberta, Canada, with my husband and kids, and for as mild as a winter as we’ve had (“only” a week of -20+c temps, mild otherwise), the ground is still frozen and covered in 6″ of snow. It’ll thaw eventually and we can get moving with this project. My goal is eggs by next winter.
In other news, we’re getting close to the point of finishing the immigration process (I hope…) and I’m working hard on getting my soap business going. I’m expecting to have everything ready so as soon as we are legal, I can do all the business paperwork/legalities and be in business, selling both online (will ship to the US and Canada) and in local farmer’s markets.
If you want to see how that’s coming along, visit the Alberta Handmade Soap Co. website and/or visit and like the AHSC facebook page.
Now, my wonderful reader -do you have chickens? Or have had them in the past? If you have any blog posts about them, or advice for my other readers, please leave a comment and link below!
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- Ham & Bean Soup - February 2, 2025

