Folks, it’s been a long process, from deciding on a plan to organizing our Home Depot trips, and, most challenging: trying to work nicely together even though Tei is a cranky only child and I’m a skill-less and emotionally-sensitive builder. But it’s done. We have a chicken coop. And it’s the best one ever, I’m quite sure.

Tei is not very friendly when he’s in construction mode, but I still highly recommend getting yourself a handy boyfriend.

We will have more than three birds to start with, but they will share these three little cabins to lay their eggs in.

The coop, all-told, cost us about $250. And yes, we did see that Times article.

Chicken stairs, hello.

Originally, Tei put me in charge of the paint color, then he vetoed pink. Then he didn’t care anymore and here’s how that turned out. I was very excited for an opportunity to paint anything the kind of color you would see in Vietnam or the Bahamas (two places we have traveled to together), or any third world country, especially where the weather is warm. Diana Vreeland once called pink “the navy blue of India,” so I like to think she would approve.

Behind the coop is a fenced-in run where the chickens can mosey around in the shade, protected from intruders. By the way, the paint color is Dragonfruit, which I just heard was the fruit of the moment.

Door attached, and we’re done. Can’t wait to see how Roo reacts to the chicks. Stay tuned for that next week.

And many thanks to our friends who came over to put the finishing touches on the coop. You will be repaid in eggs!