Some Updates

Here are some updated pictures of our progress. Although we haven't posted in a while, we've been pretty busy. As you can see, "The Girls" - i.e. the larger of the two bunches, have moved into their new digs.

Work has begun on the other half of the coop, with hope that the other bunch can be moved out of Maggie's garage in the near future.

And here are pictures of Woodrow, Zulu, and Dirty Harry (or Harriet):

Smooth

A nice, newly-paved Roosevelt for all the drive-thru egg business coming this Fall.

Pretty Proud

I'm not going to write much about this door suffice it to say that it came out even better that we thought it would.

Dark and Door

This picture is a little deceptive. It looks a lot lighter outside than it actually is. This was a long day of digging, wiring, designing, building. All for that little set of French doors you see under the tent. (A tent for rain, not for sun.)

For the first time the girls can be left alone, safe and sound. Of course, with all this rain, safe and sound and wet.

"Oh! A chicken coop!" -- Passing cars.

Our first chick, shown here, probably won't be our best producer, but she thoroughly enjoyed the new chicken wire covering the run.

Next we'll build the door for the end, finish the floor inside, some perches, cut a little chicken door, and.. start the whole process over on the other side. Ugh-- ask Joe.

It's going to be hard accomplishing our goal of getting this side done by tomorrow. Not for lack of interest, materials, or time. Rain. Rain. Rain.

Grils Just Wanna Have Food

Joe and Stace went away for a camping weekend, so I got custody of the girls. They loved scratching around in the garden-- found some nice juicy worms and swallowed them like pro... well.

Joe and Stace are back, but I've still got the girls a week later. A little smelly, but otherwise good housemates. I've honestly grown attached and would have a hard time giving them back.

But soon they'll be in their permanent digs. Our focus has been on getting one side of the coops done, habitable. Getting close.

The Runs

The first run has been framed out - next would be the chicken wire and a front door. The structure is pretty solid, due to the cement that Tim decided was needed (he was right). Our goal is to get this run and coop ready by next weekend so the girls can move in (they are growing up fast). We would also need a floor and a door on the coop for this to happen.

Get Er Done

We've been working every possible free weekend and weeknight for a while now. Clean up sometimes happens like this, in the dark.

Visitors

Amber (class mom) brought Hannah and Paula (from class) to meet the chicks. I got the chance to show off my house and yard to them as well. Amber was sucked into the hammock while the girls and I checked on the campground.

This year's class has been great. Maybe the chickens will be a good way to keep in touch. Hope so.

Ruffles

Ruffles is turning out to be a pretty good shepherd. Here he's watching over the chicks (in the new digs we cobbed together from dog crates and chicken wire) and helping Maggie as she lets the flock hunt for bugs in the newly-tilled garden.

Yipee!

The roof is finally complete. Tim and I learned quite a bit about how to shingle. Looks professional, doesn't it?

We decided on metal ridge caps that will allow adequate ventilation for the chicks. I believe our next step is insulation, then we will get the runs done so the chicks can start to enjoy the great outdoors.

The Girls

In response to a request from Stace's mom, here are some pictures of "the girls" (the ones currently residing in a dog kennel in our living room):

Still At It

No, we didn't give up on the coop. Just the opposite: we've been spending so much time building it that there was no time left to update the blog (sounds like a good excuse). As you can see in these pictures, significant progress has been made.

The roof - with all the complex angles (thanks Tim) is ready for shingles. The whole coop is wrapped and ready for insulation and siding.

The chicks are rapidly increasing in size - we already had to move them into larger cages. Many of them have been named already. Let's see, we have: Sterling, Comet, Curry, Butt Sniffer (ask Stace's dad for an explanation), Slash, Snowball, Dirty Harry, Woodrow, HP and some more that I just can't remember...

Move-in day is getting closer...

Biker Chicks

This photo Stace's mom sent us warrants an informal caption contest.

Here's my entry:
"Two chicks are dressed in small leather jackets, and one is wearing a red bandanna." (I went for informational instead of witty.)

Chickety Check It

As Joe and I say, "It's almost like we know what we're doing."

I don't know about Joe, but I'm starting to feel the pressure to get the digs done. We've got anxious hens peeking out Maggie's window giving us the eye.

And the chicks are anxious as well.

Awww 2

Awww. Wait-- ewwww.

Awww

Awww.

Chicks Love Us

The one in the back center I named Dirty Harry. It might turn out to be Dirty Harriet.

Right from the start Dirty Harry (named for his dirty blonde color) wasn't taking any crap. (That's not entirely true. They all take a lot of craps.) If Harry wanted to eat-- out of his way! No tiptoeing around dozing chicks for Harry; he knocks over those lazy sleepers!

Harry is one of the first dozen we got from our mentors, Jerrilyn and Jeanette. I'll have to check with Sarah and Skyler for the other names. I know there's Woodrow, Marshmallow, Snowball, Sterling, Slash, and Blackula. And Banana-something?

They all bow to Harry!

Gone with the Wind

Lots of curiosity from folks driving by. This is the view from near Roosevelt Ave. Our most interested oglers are our neighbors to the north. We would have asked them to farm with us, but... Well, that's a lot to tell. Suffice it to say, I personally wasn't interested in involving people I suspect of mowing patches (paths!) through my sidelot on an evening I wasn't home. Weird.

We planned the location of the coop so that the wind generally travels away from our houses. Often it blows north...

We're Back

Yes, Joe and I know plenty of math. But why use calculations when you can just stretch a piece of string where the roof should end up, and then chop away at pieces of 2 x 4 until one actually fits?

I've fallen behind on this blog. Since last I wrote we have had numerous working days, trips to Acra Building Supply, and hot dogs, sandwiches, and pizzas from Maggie. We've worked through rain and shine, and Joe and I caught a goose. I don't feel like writing about all of it. Well, maybe about the goose, but I'm just catching up on the coop right now.

Taking Shape

Monday was hot, too, and still sunny into the late afternoon. (Well, we were hit by a freak downpour from one large, fast-moving cloud, but it only lasted a minute. By the time John and Maggie were calling us inside, it had stopped.)

Joe and I worked from about 5 to 8, and were able wrap most of the outside of the coop with the first layer of particle board.

We had planned to have pizza all together, but that fell apart, and I decided to go home to get some other stuff done. Instead I fell asleep. What's funny about the pizza plans was John's perspective. "We're getting pizza," John said. "No, they changed plans," I said. "Nobody tells me anything," said John.

Joe's Shadow

Just an artsy shot from atop the step ladder, near the end of the framing day.

Rising

Images from the beginning and ending of a long day. The guys at Acra Building Supply delivered this big load of wood within an hour of us being at the store, and threw in an extra box of screws, gratis. We've been well impressed with their help, their generosity, and their wood during this whole project, and certainly encourage people to patronize them. (Like this: Fine! We'll buy your wood. Hmph.)

The weather got as hot as predicted, but Joe brought the shade, and Maggie provided the tea, and we kept a pretty steady pace from about 9:30 am to 7:30 pm.

The end of the day was punctuated by another dinner by Stace, with a birthday cupcake, candle, and song for me. (Thanks, again. I'm lucky to have such good neighbors.)

We're Not Building a Pond

So this post, plus today's rainy weather, have me caught up to date. Today is Monday, back to school after April Break, and with much pride for the work we've completed on the coop already.

Here is the finished deck, and the only way I can vouch that it is level is based on our instrument readings. More than once Joe and I stepped back, convinced ourselves that there was no way, by the look of it, that our cross pieces were correct. And yet our level said otherwise. Trust the bubble.

Compare this with the Google SketchUp plans posted earlier, and you might just be able to imagine... right there... see them? Eggs.

Lunch

Notice not only the growing size of the base, but the nice spread Maggie was putting out for lunch.

Ta-Da!

After weeks of deconstructing my house interior a few years ago, I still remember the very first moment of construction-- a short two-by-four fireblocker near the front door.

Here rises our coop from humble beginnings. This is the same foot that we end up using a car jack to shift after completion of the deck the next day. But for this brief moment it is perfectly straight and beautiful to us. A cornerstone, pressure-treated.

The plan was to set ten of these and lay four-by-four posts from one to the next. The string held a level (out of frame) to speed up the process. Everything went smoothly, which doesn't make for interesting reading, but allowed us to get ahead of schedule.

Making Rocks

John's here cleaning off some of the implements of construction after the pouring of all the footers.

We used fast-set cement and mixed the first two right inside the buckets-- me adding the ingredients and Joe stirring with an aluminum pole. But the next morning we opted to mix the stuff in a wheelbarrow to save time and effort. I don't know if we did that. It was still a heck of a lot of mixing, the heavy powder turning to soup with very little water, requiring more powder to congeal it once more. (It looked tough-- Joe did 90 percent of the stirring.) After a few hours we had the remaining eight holes filled, and our braces hardening quickly in each.

That was Thursday evening, the night before our big weekend push. Joe and I made plans to buy materials early the next morning. Finally, some wood.

Joe and I had just enough time to make a run to Home Depot for seventeen bags of concrete, five bags of rocks, six pails, and one 2 by 4, and to pour two of the footers. Friday will be a big build day. We're hoping to get a chunk of the "deck" done by the weekend.

Beautiful day here today. Much wildlife is emerging: woodpeckers, peepers, and bats-- my favorites.

We've been wondering how much we should involve the government in this project. No building permit, no taxes to pay on egg sales. Of course we might do with some of that stimulus money...

Coop SketchUp

I used Google SketchUp to design a rough image of the coop(s). Two separate areas for two different types of birds, a "staging" area in between, and a small storage shed for supplies in the back.

The Far Side

Groundbreaking

If we build it, they will come. And lay eggs.

Joe, John, and I spent a few hours marking the location for the coop and its runs. It took a little while to get it squared. But I whipped out the scientific calculator and performed a little SOHCAHTOA on it. Yeah, that didn't work. Joe suggested the Pythagorean Theorem. That worked, and proves why he teaches college kids and I'm still teaching the nines trick after seventeen years. (Ha! Betcha don't know the nines trick.)

Anyway. With the coop laid out we decided to do a "little digging", just to test the ground and gauge how much time we needed to dig ten holes deep enough to each fit a five gallon bucket. That testing turned into actual effort, and before it got dark we had... all ten holes dug. Off to a good start. Plus, I hate digging and I'm glad its over.

Got cleaned up and all went over to Joe and Stacey's for a little spread. Stacey tried to dissuade me from turning my bagels halves into one sandwich, but I did anyway. This was actually the first time I've been in their house. It's really cool. Great design and layout, great colors and deco.

Joe and I plan to pour cement Wednesday evening. Only weeks until we get our birds.

Pre-Chicken, Pre-Coop

About two months ago Stacey stopped me in school to ask if I'd be interested in some community gardening. I started my garden last year and, honestly, I ate little of the food it produced. I was hesitant to repeat the whole process this year. But, always willing to try something new, I told Stacey I thought it was a good idea and I'd be willing to participate.

At that point she mentioned the chickens.

I recall chuckling at the mention of the chickens. Chickens? That one I'd have to think about more carefully.

Last year I was awaiting any significant mention of home gardens in the news. With the onset of difficult economic times, rising prices on everything, I thought someone somewhere in the government would start to push the idea of "victory gardens" as a means to offset the skyrocketing cost of feeding your family. Then again, our country was being run by an establishment that has difficulty seeing solutions that don't require oil.

Chickens?

Stacey got the neighbors together for a night out at Oak Hill Kitchen, and we discussed the idea. She also organized a trip to a family "farm" in Palenville. We started talking numbers and designs, and, well... Chickens.

My April Break started yesterday, and as I write this I'm also preparing to start the groundbreaking on our coop. The design of the coop(s) is done. The location has been decided. Joe, Stacey's husband, and I will start Monday evening.

Chickens.