Garden Accessories | Fine Living: A Tour To Really Cluck About
Chicken coops and henhouses – or as Martha Stewart famously dubbed hers, “Le Palais des Poulets” – are becoming quite the rage in Marin, and Pleasant Valley Elementary School in Novato is aiming to make them even more popular.
The school has lined up 18 roosting residences and owners ready to crow about them and their fashionable fowl for the inaugural benefit Pleasant Valley Chicken Coop Tour on Sept. 11.
A grand raffle prize, donated by Holland Hen Houses, is a designer chicken coop housing up to eight chickens with an attached run, valued at $899. (The $1 raffle tickets are sold online; you do not have to take the tour to buy a raffle ticket.)
This self-guided tour is the brainchild of two sisters, Lisa Walsh and Tara Johnson, both of whom have children enrolled at Pleasant Valley Elementary School. They were energized by the school’s new principal, Terry Gavin Brown, who they say has encouraged parents to take the school’s fundraising ideas “beyond family and friends and connect the community.”
The sisters figured that sharing the joy of raising chickens, seeing pretty coops and spending the day in the country might be attractive to everyone in Marin.
They were also intrigued with the educational value of the tour. “Everyone’s doing the best they can on their own to build a coop by going to websites, feed stores or buying kits,” Walsh says. “We thought maybe we could let people see the variety of coops,
Coop owners will be on hand to discuss design dynamics such as predator-proofing chicken coops and creating easy access to eggs.
“It’s very important to do your homework before you take on a coop project,” Walsh insists. “People who are involved with this tour really love their chickens and protect them.”
Tour proceeds will help offset costs to send as many fifth-graders as possible to the Marin County Outdoor School program at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma.
Ironically, Walsh had to drop out of the tour when her designer chicken coop was denied by her Novato neighborhood’s homeowners association.
Her sister’s coop in Novato is a charming, custom-built, yolk-colored cottage-style coop sited behind a gated trellis garden space.
The hens, including her diva hen Lady Gaga, have access to a protected wire-run from the back of the house. Inside, the coop is
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