Vance Adds 12 Chicks to Vice President Residence Poultry Coop

Vice President JD Vance added a vice president residence poultry coop and a dozen baby chicks to the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The custom-built coop was completed on May 29 and built without taxpayer money, according to Matthew DuBoise of Carolina Coops.

Carolina Coops at Naval Observatory

DuBoise said the coop was designed to resemble the Victorian home where the second family lives, with a round turret and a faux slate roof. He said he oversaw the installation and offered advice to Vance, his wife, Usha, and their children.

Vance and his family picked out 12 chicks to start the flock. DuBoise described the project as an “American dream” and said, “It’s something I thought was amazing to do for this country,” while adding, “It’s a place of history and a place of significance.”

JD Vance Egg Remarks

The addition fits a pattern of vice presidents leaving their own mark on the 72-acre Naval Observatory grounds. Since 1977, vice presidents have lived there, and past changes have included Joe Biden’s heritage garden, Karen Pence’s beehives, Kamala Harris’ pink wallpaper in the house’s library, and a heated swimming pool added by Dan Quayle in 1991.

Vance had already talked on the 2024 campaign trail about egg prices as a measure of inflation, saying his two young sons “eat about 14 eggs every single morning.” The residence hosted a family event over the weekend where local 4-H students taught other children about the newly installed coop, extending the project from a private addition into a public demonstration.

For readers, the immediate change is simple: the vice presidential residence now has a custom coop and a starter flock of 12 chicks, and the family event showed how the new feature has already been folded into life at the property.