Peep Peep

Can you guess what we got this weekend?

Mike has finished the chicken book, & is almost done with the fencing around the coop (which won't be needed for at least a few weeks) 

It was time to pick up the chicks!

I arrived at Tractor Supply with my breed "wish list", complete with stars drawn next to the ones I really liked.  Unfortunately, they had the chicks split into just two groups: "Red pullets" and "Variety pullets".
So, we got four of each.  We'll figure out exactly which breeds they are once their feathers grow in (I hope!)


They are too small to go in the coop just yet.
Luckily we have a brooder (cage) that the house's previous owner left us in the barn.  We scrubbed it down with bleach & water, and then lined the bottom with cardboard & pine chips. The chicks need a heat lamp to keep them warm, and of course, feed & water.


We've placed the brooder in our enclosed back porch.
Once they're bigger and grow their feathers, they'll be moved out to the coop.



**I should note that there's a risk of Salmonella, so precautions must be taken in that regard.  And children under 5 years old should not handle baby chicks.**
That's probably for the safety of the child as well as the chick!
My 3 year old is just allowed to "pet" them (and then wash his hands immediately).
My 7 year old is a bit of a germ-o-phob anyway, so he's diligent about washing his hands after playing with them.  I have a bottle of hand sanitzer on stand-by as well! 


Anyways- I must admit that they're pretty darn cute.








It's hard to believe how loud they are.  We could hear them upstairs on the opposite side of the house!


So far, they're really easy to care for.  I'll keep you posted on if that continues!

In the meantime, all I have are some pics- enjoy :o)

Coop Reveal

The painting is done!

BEFORE

We decided to go with a solid color stain, rather than paint.  Hopefully the stain will just fade, as opposed to chipping like the paint would.


We matched the original color as best we could, although the original looks rather pink since it's so faded!  
We'll get around to painting the other sides eventually!



The kids were excited that I was actually letting them do the painting!  Since it was just the side of the barn,  I wasn't worried about it looking "perfect".


It turned out to be lots of fun, & the boys are very proud of their work!





While we did the painting, Mike finished making the new chicken door:

And ramps for the chickens to enter & exit.

Waiting for the ramps to dry

Door from the inside

We're also making progress on the inside, though there's still more to do:

Buck got a little punky- he couldn't resist rubbing up against the painted wall.  

Here's where we are on the To Do list:
-Fix rotting sill and chicken entrance- DONE!
-Replace some insulation- DONE!
-Replace siding- DONE!
-Paint new siding- DONE!
-Replace fencing
-Add a fenced top to the chicken yard
-Scrub down the inside
-Make door for goats
-Make door for chickens- DONE!

Coop Scoop #3

The siding is up!

And just to remind you where we started:

Better, right?

There's still some trim work to finish up...

I love the old clapboard siding, however, this was the only side of the barn that had it.  So it's kind of nice to have the whole thing matching (once it's painted!)

At first we were hoping the old boards that were in good shape could be saved for repairs on the bigger barn, but unfortunately they're a different size. 

But I am going to find some good uses for them- some crafty projects are brewing... Pinterest awaits! 

(Mike- don't roll your eyes!)

:o)

So Checking back in on this To Do list:

-Fix rotting sill and chicken entrance- DONE!

-Replace some insulation- DONE!
-Replace some siding- DONE! 

-Paint new siding and anywhere else that needs it
-Replace the fencing
-Add a fenced top to the "Chicken yard"

-Scrub down the inside
-ADDED- Make (?) door for goats & chickens

Slow & Steady!

Coop Scoop #2

We started the repairs to the chicken coop!

First thing we did was removing the old fencing around the chicken yard, so we'd have easier access to get the tools close to the barn.

Next up was removing the siding and replacing the rotten sill.


Here is the chicken door- you can see the rotten sill there too.

 



Here is a "before shot" from the inside.
I'm sure lots of little critters, and probably a small fox could get through those holes!

The previous owner said a fox had gotten the last chickens that she had... yikes!

So Mike patiently got to work, removing the siding, the insulation, and cutting the necessary pieces.

See those sheets of siding leaning against the back of the barn? 

We'll share a story about those in a few minutes...

First back to the barn...

The bottoms of the studs were also rotting, so he fixed those too.

That board in front of the new wood was the old rotten sill!  Pretty bad!

Then it started getting dark... so Mike packed it in for the day.

Here's the only bump we've hit so far...

We were hoping this barn work was going to be done on the cheap- having the tools, and lots of scrap wood already.  The biggest thing we needed to buy were the sheets of new siding. 

Mike went to the store, purchased the wood, and used bungee cords to strap them down to the top of our crossover (aka: my car!).  About two miles from home, one of the bungees snapped, and the wood slid forward over the windshield. 

Thank God no one else was on the road, and the only damage done was a big crack in the windshield.

A father & son were outside a house nearby and helped Mike re-secure everything.

And that, my friends, is how 4 sheets of siding end up costing an extra $250!

What can you do?

Anyway, the siding got up the next day... I just have to snap some new photos, so more to come!

Soup up the Coop!

I don't know how we forgot it, but this should have gone on our 2012 To Do List, since we definitely want to get chickens in the spring!

The Chicken Yard
I hope the chickens and goats get along,
since they'll be living side-by-side!

Mike surveyed the state of the chicken coop, which is inside the goat barn.

Here's the To Do list:
-Fix rotting sill and chicken entrance
-Replace some insulation
-Replace some siding
-Paint new siding and anywhere else that needs it
-Replace the fencing

-Add a fenced top to the "Chicken yard"

-Scrub down the inside

Inside the coop

This is going to be one of those projects where we take it a little at a time... needing the weather to cooperate, and hopefully we'll be ready for the little chicks to arrive this spring.

The only thing that might hold us up is that Mike also has to finish reading the "Chicken Book" that I got him.  No chickens are arriving before he's read that book cover to cover!  I took on studying-up on the goats, now it's his turn! :o)


My 7 year old wants us to get the kind of hens that lay multi-colored eggs (like a girl in his class has). 

As long as the kids don't balk (haha) at eating eggs with blue & green shells, that's fine with me! 

And another bonus- it'll save me from having to dye eggs at Easter!