Chickens. Yes, I have them. I have many of them. I started with my seven original girls of which only three are left. But my flock has grown from there… a lot. 

Selling our house meant moving all the chickens. Mind you, it was more than seven chickens that needed to be moved. Before relocating them, we had to build a run for them and move their coops. Then we could move them. 

With location input from my daughter, Isa, we decided to place the new run on the northeast corner of our property. The area was formerly a part of the original paddock that my grandfather installed for his horses. The wooden posts have since been weathered and many have been removed. We have used much of the old fence planks for renovations we have done on the apartment and the main house. 

I wanted a large run area because I have well over fifty chickens – yes, you read that correctly. There will likely be more because I plan to let one of my broody hens sit on eggs this spring. Having a large run meant digging many post holes. We used 8-foot tall, treated fence posts. My husband dug holes and set posts for the first half of the run. The holes were dug down two feet deep as I wanted the fence to be 6 feet high. I dug the remaining holes. Then with the help of my husband, I set the posts for the final half of the run. “What is it, the first hole I dug? I’ll **cking dig a hole. Where are the shovels?” 

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We decided to install two gates – a small one for daily use and a large one for vehicle entrance when needed. The small gate was built by my son, Sawyer. On it is a sign that reads, “Keep gate closed no matter what the chickens say.” My mother gifted it to me. Trust me, my hens will try to convince you to open the gate for them. 

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Once the fence posts were erected, I spent a total of three evenings – on my own – installing the wire fence around the run. I had done it before at our other house. It is important to leave about a foot of fencing at the base and to bury it. This helps with critter control and escapees. The rolls of wire fencing are heavy and by the 2nd night I finally developed a strategy of rolling the fencing out on the ground the length of the fence side I was working on. Then I would prop up the roll at the end against the corner post. From there I lifted and temporarily attached the fencing about every third post. Inclines are tricky when you are installing a fence. Not impossible, but definitely tricky. 

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After the wire fencing was installed, my husband and I spent an afternoon putting in the small gate. He had already installed the large gate when he had set the first round of posts. Now we were ready for the coops. Trust me, moving coops is not easy and takes coordination, manpower and big equipment. We had two coops that we needed to relocate to the new chicken sanctuary. 

My husband coordinated the entire move. He enlisted the help of two local farmers – one to help load the coops and one to help unload. I have found that local farmers are some of the most helpful and knowledgeable people. This task would have been near impossible without their help and guidance. Our local farmers are an asset to our community and I am deeply grateful for the assistance of these two local farmers during the move. 

Secured coops at the new location meant we were ready for chickens. It was time for the big move of nearly sixty chickens. How does one move that many chickens? It takes some planning. The night before the move, I made sure all my hens were secure inside a coop. Some of my girls would perch in the partially enclosed feed storage area. But that night, I put them inside a coop. The next day, I kept them inside the coops and did not let them out at all. They needed to stay inside until we were ready to move them. It rained all day. 

In addition to moving the chickens, we had family photos scheduled at the farm. The photographer, Jessie Zevalkink, is a documentary style photographer. I thought it would be fitting for her to not only photograph my family but to also visually document the chicken move. Therefore, we had to time the arrival of the chickens to the arrival of the photographer. 

Luckily, the rain let up and around 3:30p that day we began to load the hens into the back end of my husband’s F-350 Ford truck. One-by-one and sometimes four hens at a time – I am a master at holding multiple chickens at once – we loaded them into the truck. A few screeching squawks, a few flying feathers, and a few pitiful pecks later, we had all sixty-some hens loaded into the truck. 

I joined the hens. I wanted to make sure they were safe and calm for the transport. The trip was slow and steady with my husband navigating every turn and bump carefully. When we finally arrived at the farm, the photographer was there waiting. Perfect timing. In addition, the rain had subsided and the radar on my phone indicated we had a window of about an hour before the rain returned. It was “go time”. 

Armed with her camera, Jessie was ready to capture the release of my hens from the truck. My husband opened the tailgate of the truck as I waited inside with my girls. Surprisingly, once the gate was open my hens made no effort to leave the back of the truck. With my arms flapping and some herding, the hens began to hop and fly out of the truck. Finally, they were inside their new run area. They were a bit frantic at first but quickly calmed down and settled into scratching and exploring. They were happy. I was happy. Mission accomplished. 

When my husband had first indicated to me that he wanted to sell our Maple City house, the first thing I thought of was “what about my chickens?” It was a daunting task to move them but worth it. My husband knew that to ease the anxiety that sometimes comes with moving, that I would need to have my chickens. My hens are currently settled into their new home. My daughter, Isa, has helped to take care of them during the transition. The hens’ eggs will go nicely with her farm market during the next harvest. So it is official – the Happy Hens Homestead has been relocated to our family farm located in Northern Michigan. Happy hens, happy me.

(Sidenote: All photographs were done by the talented, Jessie Zevalkink of J.Kevalkink Photography. She’s an adventurer and has sailed the Atlantic Ocean along with her husband.)