Zach and Alexis Meschi, along with their three young girls, have began their dream of best utilizing the countryside they live in. They live in Aptos, California, in stunning Santa Cruz County. Their house borders the epic redwood trees, classic of the area, and their property has a peaceful creek running below. Because of the land’s magnificence, they wanted to invest in additional ways to spend time outdoors, connecting to the land and finding ways to be more sustainable.

They both thought keeping chickens would be an enjoyable, and intentional, activity to get them all outdoors more. The only problem was, Alexis is afraid of birds. Growing up, her family had chickens and one mean Bantam rooster, Chester, scarred her. But, the desire outweighed the fear and they started their endeavor with a small two-bird coop. After a year, and much work to overcome her fears, they both fell in love with their chickens and decided to build a permanent chicken coop.

Zach, a general contractor, designed this chicken coop to compliment the surrounding. He wanted to use as many recycled materials as available and construct them in artistic ways. He, also, wanted the coop to be secure from predators and as self-sufficient as possible. The main structure is separated by a wall and has a storage side to the left and the chicken roost to the right. The outside coop has wire cemented 12 inches into the ground to keep predators out. He ran a water line to the coop where there is a pressure regulated watering system. The feeders use the PVC pipe system. The nesting boxes are accessible from the exterior for ease of egg gathering. The chickens roosts are made from fallen redwood branches. The chevron patterned front doors are from old, collected fence boards. The corrugated galvanized steel siding dates back to the 1970s and is composed of various colors that accentuates their vintage age. The interior of the chicken roost is made from cedar siding leftover from a construction job.

The Meschi family is enjoying the ways their chicken coop has brought their family outdoors more. They feel deeply connected to their surroundings and have more plans to create spaces outside on their property to further enjoy the countryside they live in.