Matt DuBoise’s love of chickens began in fifth grade when his teacher let a handful of students each take six chicks they had hatched home and care for them before bringing them back to class. DuBoise, who was one of the students chosen, was the only one who returned to school with all six chicks healthy and thriving. “That was when I knew I wanted to raise chickens when I got older,” he said. While the lesson sparked his interest in raising chickens, he did not know it would lead to a successful business venture. He also always loved constructing things. “In 2008, my fiancée, Gnon, and I were living in Durham, and I built my first coop.” That structure didn’t last long—but only because he quickly decided he wanted an even bigger version for even more birds. When he sold that first one on Craigslist, a fledgling business was born. Today the company builds five standard styles for chickens and ducks that start with the American at $2,800. Custom coops, incorporating specific requests or materials from clients, can go as high as $20,000 and up, and DuBoise now has customers all over the country. One of his most memorable coops of late was a design for a North Carolina client crafted entirely of standing, dead Eastern red cedar trees from an area near Duke Forest. “We weren’t running through a sawmill,” he says, “so we had to choose the exact right pieces and notch the wood to make it solid and strong like our other coops.” DuBoise and his team give back wherever they can, too, often donating coops to schools and most recently to a very special Make-A-Wish recipient. “We’ve seen first-hand the therapeutic effects that caring for chickens can have,” he says. And if you need a few tips to get started? DuBoise hosts “Chicken Live” segments and other videos to educate his online audience about all things yardbird.DuBoise is the president of Carolina Coops, which designs and builds chicken coops. The business is a division of DuBoise Enterprises Inc. The coops are handcrafted with premium materials, and can be prefabricated or custom designed. The business also sells coop accessories. Checkout the website https://carolinacoops.com The YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH-nxLSroIgo8YFJmKvtlMQ And Follow them Instagram http://www.instagram.com/carolinacoops — Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/matt-brown57/support