Manuel's Tavern Now Has a Chicken Coop on Its Roof

First Manuel's Tavern went non-smoking, and now it's got chickens on the roof. Owner Brian Maloof raised 24 chickens from birth and has situated them in a rooftop coop "of the highest standards." They've already started laying eggs, they eat only hormone/steroid/GMO-free feed, and Maloof plans to soon run coop operations on solar power. He's been certified to serve the eggs at the Poncey-Highland tavern. Read on for the full note.

A Message from Manuel's Tavern:

Dear Friends of Manuel's,

Back in mid-December, I posted that Manuel's had a surprise coming in 2014. Well, here it is.

For several years I have thought about building a rooftop chicken coop at Manuel's. Yes, chickens living on Manuel's roof. But hearing many words of advice against it, I reluctantly set the idea aside…for a while.

Soon after "setting it aside," the idea came back stronger than ever and I started what turned out to be a two-year research project about chickens, chicken coops and rooftops. And then, eight months ago things moved from research and planning to action.

From the start, the health, safety and happiness of the chickens have been the central focus of my chickens-on the-roof plan. And that required building a rooftop home that exceeded the highest standards.

I think we have achieved that goal, and have done so using mostly recycled, reclaimed or re-purposed construction materials. As we complete the final few touch-ups on the coop (painting, gutters and rain barrels) I am full of joy that we have accomplished what we set out to do.

The 24 chickens now living at Manuel's were raised from birth at my home. We have 21 Speckled Sussex chickens and three Australian Australorp chickens. I chose these two types after lots of reading and rubbing elbows with chicken people in the know. These types have a high level of heat tolerance, they have strong social skills (yes, social skills like getting along friendly-like), and because they also are prolific egg producers.

These chickens have never been vaccinated by injection or eaten anything other than hormone-free, steroid-free, medication-free, and GMO-free organic feed.

The Monday before Thanksgiving all the chickens came home to Manuel's. The day after Thanksgiving I walked into the hen house and witnessed the laying of the first egg.

Here are some interesting facts about our chickens and our chicken coop.

· Manuel's "Poultry Manager" and I have been certified by Georgia's Agriculture Department to produce eggs, grade them and serve them at the tavern.

· Our chickens have a 550 square foot luxury space to live in; most of the world's egg-producing chickens live their entire lives on 1.5 square foot of space. Our coop is insulated, air conditioned, heated, sanitary and protected from predators. It also has a dust bathing area.

· The coop and the chickens have been inspected by a Fulton County Health inspector who stated, "I have inspected many chicken coops and this one is the nicest I have ever seen."

· Prior to arrival at Manuel's all the chickens received a health screening. The chickens have not had their wings clipped or their beaks trimmed as is the common practice.

· In addition to their feed, the chickens enjoy regular snacks that include organic spring mix, bell pepper cores with seeds, crickets, and red wrigglers.

· About 60% of the entire coop was built from reused materials. The roof panels are made from recycled plastic bottles. The feeders and waterers are made from our recycled buckets and the nesting boxes are made from our used pickle buckets.

· And, within months, I plan to run the entire coop on solar power.

That's all for now, folks. Stay tuned for future chickens-on-the roof reports.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact me at brianmaloof@yahoo.com

Sincerly;
Brian Maloof
Owner Manuel's Tavern