Emu

Last year I inherited a chick from my ex-husband' step-daughter (!) and a lone chick is a sorry thing, so of course I bought it some friends of the same age. Emu is one of them, and he's had a run of foot infections which thankfully seem to have cleared up after a second, heftier dose of antibiotics. I figured that part of the he problem was the coop he was in; it's a lovely one from Flyte So Fancy but it's a bit small for him, but he's been in the broody coop during his treatment, which really is too small for him:

So, armed with these plans for the Basic Backyard Coop, I headed off with lots of enthusiasm and a little trepidation to the timber merchant and Wickes.

The weather's not been great and the garden is a mud bath so I had to construct the coop indoors but it was ok as the guys at the woodyard had sawn up the main bits and I had my dad's workbench and a vaguely sharp saw. Here it is in the lounge:

As with all flat surfaces in my house, it immediately took on the role of Extra Table, even though the dog clearly thinks it's some box of torture or kennel of some description judging by the look on his face.

I then painted it a tasteful shade of Herb Green and put it in position:

Here is a picture of the inside:

I have actually replaced the perch with a free-standing spare one from another coop but the basic layout is the same. Hopefully Emu will work out where to sit so that he doesn't squash his tail feathers...they are a bit thick like that. I'm hoping that as it doesn't have a ramp up into the coop that Emu's joints will cope a little better. 

So, today Amber helped my build the run and I reunited the cockerel with his two (probably rather confused) hens who have been in with Simba for the last 3 weeks. They didn't seem to mind too much though and were soon happily scratching and Emu was bok-bokking manfully and strutting around proudly on his fully-recovered legs:

They did go near the coop eventually! It's a bit Heath Robinson but then everything I make always is, and I have now upgraded from string to galvanised wire to hold everything together which can only mean I'm improving.

And here is my best attempt at a pic of them all in their new home:

What was it someone said about never working with children or animals?