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Monday, January 16, 2012

Henny Penny's House, Est. Jan. 2012

The roofing crew came and finished putting the tin on the roof. We recycled the old roofing from the shop for the chicken coop. The tin was removed from the shop as the wind had damaged it in several places. But, the shop is much larger than the coop and we had undamaged lengths enough to cover the coop.
This is the final product. In the spring it will get the finishing touches of caulking, paint, window screens, a chicken door at the back and landscaping. We will be adding a fenced and covered run behind it, along the goat pasture fence. The additional space will be necessary as Keeli wants more hens that lay clean (AKA white) eggs and Tatum wants to try raising turkeys. 
 Inside it is warm and toasty, compared the to the rough living the chickens have had the past few months. They have several roosting options and these vintage tin nesting boxes. I found them on the curb as leftovers waiting for the second-hand store to pick up after a local tag sale.
 The girls - and Bob the Rooster - can also access the window for a view of the great outdoors, or at least a view of the goats wandering around the pasture.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

C-C-C-Cold Construction

Although we are in the middle of winter, it is - apparently, according to Rick - time to build the chicken coop. It all started with constructing the base and wall frames on the driveway.
 Then, we moved the platform and all four walls out to the "building site" and started assembling. At first Rick wanted to just carry everything across the yard. But, his construction crew consists of me and the puppy. The platform includes 10 4x4s and there is no way I'm carrying that anywhere! We loaded all the parts on the trailer and drove across the yard.
 After the platform was leveled, the walls went up. The door of the coop will face the yard and the chickens will have access to the pasture from a little chicken door at the back of the coop.
 The roof supports and siding went up quick and easy. Thankfully! The wind had picked up and the temperature had started to drop drastically. It was time to call it a day.
Rick was left to contemplate installing the window and how he will provide access for an extention cord for a heat lamp in cold weather. Construction will resume and conclude this weekend!

I found some vintage tin nesting boxes at a junk sale this summer. These will be installed, along with a roost or two, a hanging feeder and a chicken nipple watering system. Can't wait to get the chickens back in a coop and on a regular laying schedule.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Cooter the Crazy Dog

The newest member of our little farm, Cooter, is now 3 months old. Isn't he a handsome little fellow?!
 He is a border collie, Austrialian shephard cross. He currently keeps us on our toes at all times.
Over the past two weekends as we have been constructing the new chicken coop, Cooter has attempted to be as involved as possible, like all the other family members. For him, this meant chewing the corners off random 2x4s, carrying off boxes of screws/nails and engaging Rick in a game of keep away with small hand tools like measuring tapes, pencils and saws.