I know this will sound crazy, but... yesterday I decided to paint my chicken house because it can been seen from the road. It looked pretty shabby (was once a goat house) and I couldn't stand seeing it any more. Anyway I painted it a light grey - how it is too bare. One solid wall faces the road - I want to paint something on it, maybe something funny to make passers by smile or just something nice (I thought about a giant chicken, ha ha). Anyone have any suggestions? Can't be too hard, I'm not really artistic. So anyone and everyone give me your thoughts. Thanks

-- Lesa in Va (Lemaradd@aol.com), February 17, 2002

Answers

I have a row of fake windows painted on one side of my coop. There are four windows with fake red and white shutters. The middle windows have painted on panes and setting hens. It looks real from a distance. Have Fun!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), February 17, 2002.

My uncles shed has a 4 foot high bunny munching grass, complete with bullet holes.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), February 17, 2002.

How about something gardeny ( is that a word?? ) like a picket fence, white of course, and some flowers . That would be easy and inviting. The flowers could be easy ones to paint, like daisy or pansy or even hollyhock. Hollyhocks would be hard for me if I tried to make them realistic, but since your canvas is away from close scrutany, make it like you want , NO one will know the difference. Cant wait to find out how it goes...Kristean

-- Kristean Thompson (pigalena_babe@yahoo.com), February 17, 2002.

If you have two doors in your chicken coupe, paint a a couple fake ones on the side so you can call it a chicken sedan. ;)

-- Nik Nikkila (niknikkila@hotmail.com), February 17, 2002.

Sunflowers. Very tall sunflowers. Fall fair prize-winning sunflowers. They could be seen for a long distance, be realistic enought to really confuse passers-by, and easy to paint.

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), February 18, 2002.

my all time favorite mural was of a firewoman nearly 2 stories tall & tons of flowers were spilling out of her hose![she looked surprised- happy]

but that one took a lot of talent.

so i vote for a combo window [if you get wild you can attach a mirror as thw window ] with big ole sunflowers beside it!

my 'chicken palace' will be graced on one side by the multi coloured handprints of kids.

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), February 18, 2002.

If you are like me and not that artistic, get yourself some stencils. I stenciled sunflowers and Ivy on my coldframes and they look spectacular! Just like a real artist. You could do the same with your chicken house. Just larger. Once you paint a couple of sunflowers, it gets real easy. By the end of my project I didn't even need the stencils.

-- Cindy (colawson@mindspring.com), February 18, 2002.

How about painting a couple of fake windows but then attach real flower boxes underneath and plant some flowers?

-- J Flynn (flynn4@netzero.com), February 19, 2002.

Idz pantid maz witey

-- Jim Bob (JIMBO@chikunsrus.com), February 19, 2002.

I'm about to build a portable chicken colony house and I'm halfway tempted to paint racing stripes and flames on it like the kids do with their hot rods.

The other part of me is thinking of using a NASA motif with the black and white checkerboarding, a big red NASA on white and some i.d. numbers under a mission name that hasn't come to me yet. Could get a couple or three small washtubs, paint them black and nail them to the high end of the house to look like rocket engine cones.

I think I'm spending too much time fooling with those chicks and not getting enough sleep...

........Alan.

-- Alan (athagan@atlantic.net), February 19, 2002.

oohh, oooh, mr allen!

how about battleship grey w/ depth marks & such for your new 'land yacht' for the birds? if you go for the 'flaming fenders' look don't you have to hang fuzzy dice too? :O

-- bj pepper in C. MS. (pepper.pepper@excite.com), February 20, 2002.

How about "Nobody here but us chickens"

-- Jennifer (duckandmommaduck@juno.com), March 17, 2002.