Solar Ventilation For the Little Chickens' Coop

 One last touch for the little chicken's coop was a small fan for ventilation. It's in a mostly shaded spot, except for a little sun in the morning. But Dan was concerned about helping keep the air fresh in the coop, so he added a ventilation fan. 

The fan he used came from an old 12-volt travel cooler. He used these coolers when he was on over-the-road truck driver. While they aren't true refrigerators, they keep the cooler contents cool by forcing air over a small fan with aluminum fins. It won't  actually cool the coop, but it will help keep a modest air flow going and that's the point. He just used what we had!

The fan is powered by a 20-watt solar panel, attached to one of the barn window covers.

It gets good sun in the afternoon, which is the hottest part of the day. Dan mentioned hooking the fan to a battery to run it at night, so that's a future possibility. 

No complaints from the chickens, at any rate. 

Solar Ventilation For the Little Chickens' Coop © June 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Expanding Our Little Chickens' Territory

 Once our little chickens got into the routine of sleeping in their chicken coop (rather than under it), we opened the lower door and let them out to explore their yard. 

Our possible rooster is looking more roosterish. His comb is the most pronounced of
all the chicks, he's bigger, his legs are thicker, and he has hints of curled tail feathers.

They all come back to the coop at night, where they are safe from nighttime predators (skunks, opossums, owls, and raccoons). 

Typically, chickens start laying eggs around 5 months old. So hopefully in September I'll have our first pullet eggs to who you. 

Expanding Our Little Chickens' Territory © June 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com

Moving Day for Little Chickens

At about five-weeks old, our little Buff Orpingtons are fully feathered and look like miniature chickens rather than chicks.

 Plus, they were starting to perch on the rim of their box.

I didn't want them hopping out of their pen, where they could inadvertently get stepped on by goats. So it was time to move them to the coop portion of the converted chicken tractor. 

It's roomier than their box. For the first couple of days, all the openings were screened off so they could look out and get used to their new surroundings. 

Then I removed the screen from the door to let them see what outside is like.

The ramp gives them access to the enclosed area under the coop. Soon we'll open the front and let them roam in their new chicken yard. I just want to make sure they know to go back to the coop at night.

Moving Day for Little Chickens © June 2025

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com