Photo tour: spring in Edmonton

Welcome to a new entry in our photo tour of coops participating in Edmonton's Urban Hens Pilot Project. This coop is located in a mature neighbourhood in south Edmonton. The owners built a lovely, comfortable home for their hens. The coop is located on a cement pad behind their house and features both a nesting and roosting area and a covered run, which the hens really appreciated in the winter. Plenty of windows help with lighting and ventilation.

The owners added a lovely, shaded run at the back of the coop. They are using chain link fencing topped with wire netting to keep out predators. They are trying landscaping mulch as a substrate in the run, with good results so far.

The hens access the coop through a "pop hole" equipped with an automatic door opener (shown from inside the coop).

The inside of the coop has a number of features which with the owners are particularly pleased. The roost is broad, which helps the hens to cover their toes in winter, preventing frostbite. A tray underneath the roost is filled with stall dry, which makes for easy clean up. Chickens make a lot of droppings when they roost, and having this special tray, which the owners can easily access through a side door, keeps chore time to a minimum. The nest boxes are plastic, which makes them easy to clean and disinfect. The feed dispenser is raised off the floor, resulting in fewer spills.

The owners say the hens have been a welcome addition to their yard and family. They have received positive feedback from their neighbours, especially one who is an avid gardener and who appreciates the occasional gift of compost.

They hope that at the conclusion of the pilot project Edmonton's City Council will decide to change the bylaw.