Our Urban Homesteading Adventure
Welcome to our adventures in urban homesteading. I never imagined that I would dive into the world of owning chickens and attempting to grow our own food. I will be sharing some of the best tips and hacks we've learned through the process of starting our own little micro-farm here on our property in suburbia. Trust me, if I can do this, you can do this!
The Backstory
For the two years we spent talking about getting chickens, I daydreamed about where to put our new feathered friends. We'd done some chicken sitting through the years and knew we wanted chickens...but quite frankly we also knew it would mean a lot of work.
Then one day on Facebook, I fell for a scam! I paid $100 for a dreamy-looking chicken coop.
It had all the features I wanted. I really should have seen the signs that it was a fraudulent site. But I really wanted the coop! As soon as I hit "buy", I got emails warning me of a potential scam purchase. Ugh!
As I fought to get my money back, I did a Google search to find the real dreamy, walk-in chicken coop company to warn them that someone was using their images to suck people into paying for nothing. The folks at Roost and Root were SO kind. They confirmed that my order was not placed with them and offered to help if needed with my claim.
Through it all, I was just excited to learn that the coop was REAL! Roost and Root seriously thought of everything! All the issues I had with all the other coops I'd looked at were solved. No cleaning out and filling a watering can and feeder from inside the coop every day. Everything was accessible from outside the coop — and large enough to hold plenty of water and feed for over a week. This meant we'd have some freedom from the normal day-to-day chores that typically come with owning chickens. My favorite feature is the nipple drinking system, which is by far the smartest way to supply hens with water.
I seriously can't say enough great things about our Roost and Root walk-in chicken coop. It has made our first step into the world of urban homesteading SO much easier than I could ever imagine.
The Build
Tips for preparing to build your chicken coop:
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Level the area first!
Before you start building your chicken coop, take time to level the surface where the coop will rest. Ideally, the entire footprint should be flat and even. In our case, we built on a terraced garden area with a slight slope for drainage, which turned into the biggest challenge of the whole project. (Pro tip: Make sure any ground drains are re-routed and out of the way so they don’t interfere with your foundation.) -
Create a solid barrier for the foundation.
We added a stone and rock perimeter where the base of the coop meets the ground to help with stability and long-term durability. A contractor friend came by to give us tips on creating a proper foundation—something I definitely recommend if you’re not used to building projects like this.
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Predator-proof your setup!
Whether you’re in the suburbs or on acreage, you’ll want to make sure your coop is protected from all angles — especially below. One of the smartest things we did was lay chicken wire flat on the ground around the entire perimeter of the coop, extending it out about several feet. This creates a barrier that makes it nearly impossible for predators to dig underneath. Several families we know have lost chickens because animals tunneled right into the coop — so this simple step gave us a lot of peace of mind. -
Prep ahead and follow the plan.
Roost & Root provides super detailed instructions and how-to videos for assembling the coop—and I can’t stress enough how helpful it was to read everything ahead of time and take notes on each step. Their team really thought through the design and made it possible for people like us (who are not expert builders!) to assemble a beautiful and functional coop with a little bit of effort and a lot of excitement.We’re so grateful to Roost & Root for providing our family with such a well-designed, high-quality coop. It’s been the perfect starting point for our homesteading adventure—and I can’t wait to share more about our backyard chickens, garden plans, and simple-living journey right here. This is our walk-in co-op — but they have some for smaller yards, too.
Learning all about chickens
When we first started dreaming about backyard chickens, I had so many questions.
Thankfully, I learned a ton from friends and neighbors who were a few steps ahead of us. I also reached out to the amazing team at Roost & Root—they were incredibly helpful and patient as I peppered them with beginner questions.
We visited our local feed store more times than I can count and walked away with great advice (and probably a few extra chicken supplies we didn’t know we needed!).
I also dove into a few great books and found some fun, informative Instagram accounts that I’ll link below. It’s amazing how much you can learn from other chicken-keepers — especially when you're brand new and just trying to keep your girls happy and healthy.
If you're in that research phase, you’re in good company. Keep asking questions. It’s such a fun learning curve!
Chicken Life
Adventures in Chicken Math & Pecking Order Problems
It started with a few chickens… and then somehow, we added a few more. Yep, we officially fell victim to the phenomenon known as chicken math — where one day you have six hens and the next you’re building an expansion plan. 😂
Introducing a second group of chickens didn’t go as smoothly as we’d hoped. I quickly learned what “pecking order” really means — ouch. Watching our sweet new girls get picked on was hard. But with a little help from other chicken owners, I found a solution: saddles!
These little jackets help protect the more vulnerable chickens while the flock sorts out its social hierarchy. Everyone’s getting along now (mostly!) and life in the coop has settled into a peaceful rhythm again.
It’s all part of the chicken adventure — real-life lessons, unexpected challenges, and a whole lot of joy along the way.
Favorite Things
There are so many little things that have made our chicken journey easier, more fun, and definitely more successful—and I wanted to share some of our very favorites with you!
From helpful books and Instagram accounts to products we’ve truly loved (and actually used), this is a growing list of the resources we’ve leaned on the most.
Whether you're just getting started or looking to simplify your setup, I hope these suggestions save you time, money, and a few beginner headaches.
Check back here soon—I'll keep adding recipes!
Coming soon…
Gardening and Bread Baking
(maybe even making friends with my sewing machine)
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