We have officially sold our 50th dozen of eggs! Thats 600 eggs! It's not enough to quit our jobs, but the chickens are paying for their own food, shavings, and contributing to their own vet bills! ;)
Over Columbus day weekend we rented a billboard in town to advertise our eggs. It cost 15 bucks for 3 days. So to break even, we would have needed to sell about 4 dozen eggs. I was surprised that I only got one call during the 3 days, but the woman who called wanted 7 dozen a week for her prayer group!
So our first attempt at advertising more than paid for itself!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Re-wiring, a new compost bin and Fuglyanna
On Sundays, (our only day off) we've been working on the barn. A week or two ago, our county finally lifted the burn ban we had all summer, and the primitive urge in P once again rose to the surface. She started burning in the firepit, and I started ripping all of the old wiring down in the barn. In several areas it had been chewed through, and in others it was crumbling. The wiring couldn't have been more than 30 years old, but its a good plan to start new. Every now and then I peaked my head out of the barn, and P was dragging dead branches around, and gathering some of our smaller lumber scraps. She looked very happy. :)
When all of the wiring on the ground floor was ripped out, I started laying the new wiring back in. Being an electrician at the shipyard, I am sure my wireways are above and beyond what is normally expected, but I am pretty happy with them so far!
At work, I am lucky to be around people who enjoy talking about composting, farming, gardens etc. Most of them buy eggs from me on a regular basis, and they always ask me how my classes are going, etc. A few weeks ago, we were talking about the joys of composting, and one of the guys, John, told me he had just finished building a compost bin for his wife. I have been looking at plans for quite awhile, and haven't found one that was just right...but when he showed me the plan he found, I knew it would be perfect for us! Here is the link: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM683.pdf
So I showed it to P, and she thought it was great! The article shows it made of pressure treated wood, but since we didn't want that leeching into our dirt, we made ours from cedar. It is roughly 3 feet by 9 feet, and has 3 separate "bins". The back, sides and bottom are screened, and the front is 1x6 cedar slats that slide up and down so you can take them out. Next time we clean the pine shavings and chicken poop out of the coop, we will have the perfect place for it!
One of the black australorps we have, (may be the surprise addition) has lost all of the feathers on her neck and down along the top of her butt. She is obviously one of Jun's favorite's, but she looks absolutely ridiculous. Patty has named her Fuglyanna. Maybe I should make her a little scarf since winter is coming...
When all of the wiring on the ground floor was ripped out, I started laying the new wiring back in. Being an electrician at the shipyard, I am sure my wireways are above and beyond what is normally expected, but I am pretty happy with them so far!
At work, I am lucky to be around people who enjoy talking about composting, farming, gardens etc. Most of them buy eggs from me on a regular basis, and they always ask me how my classes are going, etc. A few weeks ago, we were talking about the joys of composting, and one of the guys, John, told me he had just finished building a compost bin for his wife. I have been looking at plans for quite awhile, and haven't found one that was just right...but when he showed me the plan he found, I knew it would be perfect for us! Here is the link: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM683.pdf
So I showed it to P, and she thought it was great! The article shows it made of pressure treated wood, but since we didn't want that leeching into our dirt, we made ours from cedar. It is roughly 3 feet by 9 feet, and has 3 separate "bins". The back, sides and bottom are screened, and the front is 1x6 cedar slats that slide up and down so you can take them out. Next time we clean the pine shavings and chicken poop out of the coop, we will have the perfect place for it!
One of the black australorps we have, (may be the surprise addition) has lost all of the feathers on her neck and down along the top of her butt. She is obviously one of Jun's favorite's, but she looks absolutely ridiculous. Patty has named her Fuglyanna. Maybe I should make her a little scarf since winter is coming...
Cultivating Success
On October 14th, P and I started taking a Farming and Ranching course called "Cultivating Success". It is for 3 hours every Thursday night, and the topics are:
Module 1: Starting with Whole Farm Sustainability in Mind
Understanding “sustainability” and “whole farm” concepts
Applications of sustainability and whole farm concepts on the farm
Module 2: Successful Whole Farm Planning
Applying the “Whole Farm” concepts to develop a farm plan
Whole farm planning tools
Assessing personal (and family) interests, skills, and values
Developing your whole farm goals
Module 3: Evaluating Your Whole Farm Resources
Introduction to the whole farm plan layout
Resource inventory and assessment
Mapping the farm property
Module 4: Enterprise Assessment
Enterprise ideas for small acreage farms/ranches
Production requirements and feasibility of enterprise
Module 5: Direct Marketing Strategies
Exploring methods to market direct to consumers
Module 6: Sustainable Crop Production
Implementing farming practices that promote sustainability
Growing organic
Module 7: Ecological Soil Management
Soil characteristics important to plant growth
Building healthy Soils
Soil testing
Module 8: Integrated Pest and Weed Management
Basics of Integrated Pest Mangement
Ecological weed management
Module 9: Sustainable Livestock/Poultry Systems
Sustainable animal production
Grazing management on small acreages
Module 10: Sustainable Grazing Management
Grazing management methods for small acreage farms
Principles of rotational grazing.
Setting up paddocks and pastures for rotational grazing
Manage for multi species grazing
Module 11: Facilities and Equipment
Selecting Appropriate Equipment
Irrigation Systems for small acreage farming
Meeting the building and fencing requirements
Module 12: Assessing the Potential for Profit
The basics of farm economics and record keeping
Enterprise budgets as decision making tools
Module 13: Enhancing Success of Your Whole Farm Plan
Tools for tracking success
Assessing Sustainability
We've been to our first two classes, and besides getting home at ten o'clock at night and the classes being an hour away, we love it! It's a good group of about 12 people who want to start their farms at various levels.
Through the extension agency for our county, we are getting a "farm planner" who is going to come out to our property (for free). He is going to look at our land, and assets, and tell us the best way to use the land. He is going to help us work around our seasonal creek and wetlands and help us do soil testing.
The county extension office also has grants for fencing and other materials!!!
Module 1: Starting with Whole Farm Sustainability in Mind
Understanding “sustainability” and “whole farm” concepts
Applications of sustainability and whole farm concepts on the farm
Module 2: Successful Whole Farm Planning
Applying the “Whole Farm” concepts to develop a farm plan
Whole farm planning tools
Assessing personal (and family) interests, skills, and values
Developing your whole farm goals
Module 3: Evaluating Your Whole Farm Resources
Introduction to the whole farm plan layout
Resource inventory and assessment
Mapping the farm property
Module 4: Enterprise Assessment
Enterprise ideas for small acreage farms/ranches
Production requirements and feasibility of enterprise
Module 5: Direct Marketing Strategies
Exploring methods to market direct to consumers
Module 6: Sustainable Crop Production
Implementing farming practices that promote sustainability
Growing organic
Module 7: Ecological Soil Management
Soil characteristics important to plant growth
Building healthy Soils
Soil testing
Module 8: Integrated Pest and Weed Management
Basics of Integrated Pest Mangement
Ecological weed management
Module 9: Sustainable Livestock/Poultry Systems
Sustainable animal production
Grazing management on small acreages
Module 10: Sustainable Grazing Management
Grazing management methods for small acreage farms
Principles of rotational grazing.
Setting up paddocks and pastures for rotational grazing
Manage for multi species grazing
Module 11: Facilities and Equipment
Selecting Appropriate Equipment
Irrigation Systems for small acreage farming
Meeting the building and fencing requirements
Module 12: Assessing the Potential for Profit
The basics of farm economics and record keeping
Enterprise budgets as decision making tools
Module 13: Enhancing Success of Your Whole Farm Plan
Tools for tracking success
Assessing Sustainability
We've been to our first two classes, and besides getting home at ten o'clock at night and the classes being an hour away, we love it! It's a good group of about 12 people who want to start their farms at various levels.
Through the extension agency for our county, we are getting a "farm planner" who is going to come out to our property (for free). He is going to look at our land, and assets, and tell us the best way to use the land. He is going to help us work around our seasonal creek and wetlands and help us do soil testing.
The county extension office also has grants for fencing and other materials!!!
Mighty Sparrow
***caution***Don't read this if you just ate a grilled cheese on sourdough with fries....or if you ate anything else good for that matter..
So the next day we checked on Wynonna. We let her walk around the room to see if she was still limping... I've never seen so much poop come out of something so small! And it STUNK SO DAMN BAD!!! She was waddling around the room and shooting like she had a rocket launcher attached to her ass! By the time I caught her, there were 3 green piles in our room. Patty was swearing to the Gods, "WHY THE HELL IS IT ALWAYS IN OUR ROOM?!" I cleaned up the mess, and P removed the little cast from Wynonna's toe. We soaked her feet in Epsom salts again, and Patty tried to slightly squeeze. More pus came out of the toe. She tried again and Wynonna sqwaked. We put on more hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and re-wrapped her toe.
After another day or two of this, it was obvious we were only healing the top of the wound, and that the infection was still thriving inside her toe. I told Patty we needed to cut it open to get the infection out. After consulting with a couple other chicken lovers, we agreed we should attempt it.
This time I held Wynonna and P tried to open her wound. I was cooing to Wynonna that she would be ok, and P yelled, "Stop saying that! She's not ok!!!" I explained to her that I was trying to soothe Wynonna, not tell her lies. The surgery was unsuccessful...all we managed to do was make her toe bleed. So we wrapped her back up.
The next day I called the local vet and made her an appointment. We agreed on the way in on a monetary amount we were willing to spend for Wynonna. We took her in and explained everything to the Dr. He said he would see if he could clean it out, but amputation of the toe would cost between $600 and a thousand! I blurted out if that was the case, I would just amputate it myself. He looked at me like I was crazy, and P assured him I was kidding... (But we all know better.)
After waiting over an hour, the Dr. came out and said, "We have a problem". The first thing that crossed my mind was, "If you killed my chicken you mother $&@!*#, you'll be next!" Good thing for private thoughts.
He took us into a back room and told us Wynonna's infection went down between the knuckles. His guess was it originally was a small scratch or thorn, and the other chickens may have pecked at it if it bled, and the dirt got into it and it got infected. He told us they were able to clean it out, but since she was a "Commercial chicken", meaning we sell her eggs, he was limited to the medication and topical ointment he could give her. As an egg consumer that was nice to hear. She could not receive any internal medication, and only a topical to clean and heal her toe. I felt better for taking her to the vet. P and I would have never been able to clean her toe out down to the knuckle!!!
The total damage came to $150. I took it all from the egg money jar.
I know most people would have made Wynonna soup several days prior, but we couldn't. I wouldn't kill one of my kids because they had a toe infection, and I can't help but feel the same way about our chickens. :( Not a true farmer...I know.
Anyway, Wynonna was under distress when we left. I bought her some meal worms and she ate them right up when we got home. I sang to her, and she seemed to calm down a bit.
Wynonna is suppose to be separated from the flock until her toe heals. Could be up to a month!
At least she doesn't snore....
So the next day we checked on Wynonna. We let her walk around the room to see if she was still limping... I've never seen so much poop come out of something so small! And it STUNK SO DAMN BAD!!! She was waddling around the room and shooting like she had a rocket launcher attached to her ass! By the time I caught her, there were 3 green piles in our room. Patty was swearing to the Gods, "WHY THE HELL IS IT ALWAYS IN OUR ROOM?!" I cleaned up the mess, and P removed the little cast from Wynonna's toe. We soaked her feet in Epsom salts again, and Patty tried to slightly squeeze. More pus came out of the toe. She tried again and Wynonna sqwaked. We put on more hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and re-wrapped her toe.
After another day or two of this, it was obvious we were only healing the top of the wound, and that the infection was still thriving inside her toe. I told Patty we needed to cut it open to get the infection out. After consulting with a couple other chicken lovers, we agreed we should attempt it.
This time I held Wynonna and P tried to open her wound. I was cooing to Wynonna that she would be ok, and P yelled, "Stop saying that! She's not ok!!!" I explained to her that I was trying to soothe Wynonna, not tell her lies. The surgery was unsuccessful...all we managed to do was make her toe bleed. So we wrapped her back up.
The next day I called the local vet and made her an appointment. We agreed on the way in on a monetary amount we were willing to spend for Wynonna. We took her in and explained everything to the Dr. He said he would see if he could clean it out, but amputation of the toe would cost between $600 and a thousand! I blurted out if that was the case, I would just amputate it myself. He looked at me like I was crazy, and P assured him I was kidding... (But we all know better.)
After waiting over an hour, the Dr. came out and said, "We have a problem". The first thing that crossed my mind was, "If you killed my chicken you mother $&@!*#, you'll be next!" Good thing for private thoughts.
He took us into a back room and told us Wynonna's infection went down between the knuckles. His guess was it originally was a small scratch or thorn, and the other chickens may have pecked at it if it bled, and the dirt got into it and it got infected. He told us they were able to clean it out, but since she was a "Commercial chicken", meaning we sell her eggs, he was limited to the medication and topical ointment he could give her. As an egg consumer that was nice to hear. She could not receive any internal medication, and only a topical to clean and heal her toe. I felt better for taking her to the vet. P and I would have never been able to clean her toe out down to the knuckle!!!
The total damage came to $150. I took it all from the egg money jar.
I know most people would have made Wynonna soup several days prior, but we couldn't. I wouldn't kill one of my kids because they had a toe infection, and I can't help but feel the same way about our chickens. :( Not a true farmer...I know.
Anyway, Wynonna was under distress when we left. I bought her some meal worms and she ate them right up when we got home. I sang to her, and she seemed to calm down a bit.
Wynonna is suppose to be separated from the flock until her toe heals. Could be up to a month!
At least she doesn't snore....
Is there a Doctor in the house?
Every time we've been down at the barn, we let the chickens out to forage. They stay around the barn, and it's funny to see them chase bugs, dig up worms, and waddle up and down the dirt road. The only problem is they love to be near us...so if we are working IN the barn, they feel they need to be in the barn too, instead of foraging out in the pasture. So several times, when we go to grab a tool or a 2x4, we find a chicken has been there and left a treat for us. Yuck.
Last week when we were down there, we noticed one of the Partridge Rock hens was limping. I noticed on one of her toes behind her toe nail, a marble sized abscess. After a few rounds around the barn, we were able to catch her, (ridiculous a limping chicken is faster than we are.) P felt her leg and it was hot. She had a pinky nail size scab on her toe. I tried to lift it. It was thick, and was pulling off easily but it started to bleed. After a brief debate, we grabbed the small dog kennel and food and brought the hen up to the house. Patty named her Wynonna. And of course that automatically makes the other two Partridge Rock hens Ashley and Naomi.
***CAUTION**** If you have a sensitive stomach, don't read the rest of this!!!!!!
So we bring Wynonna into the house, and put her in the kennel lined with newspaper, in our bedroom. I immediately went on line to see if I could find anything on chicken toe injuries on my chicken threads I read every now and then. The one common thing I saw was cleaning and soaking the foot in Epsom salts.
We obviously knew the important thing would be to remove the scab and clean and dress the wound.
We laid a towel on the bed, and Patty grabbed us both latex gloves. I picked up Wynonna from the kennel and tried to lay her down...well...chickens don't like to lay down on their sides. I had read on line that it is best to cover them and their heads with a towel. I'm not sure if it calms them, or just distracts them that they are playing fort, or maybe makes them think they are chillin in an egg again. But we tried it with Wynonna and it seemed to work. P was holding her and only her legs were sticking out. I easily pulled off the scab, and it had a cheesy pus attached to the back of it. Patty yelled, "You're hurting her!" and I think I saw her try to sway a little bit. "Do I need to put a towel over your head too?!" I said to her. The toe started to bleed a little. We picked Wynonna up and unwrapped her from the towel. We soaked her feet in the Epsom bath we had prepared. She wasn't amused. I tried explaining to her that all the other little hens weren't getting a manicure, and I'm pretty sure her little eyebrow raised at me....she gets that from Patty.
So we dried off her feet and poured hydrogen peroxide on it. It bubbled a little. It was a pretty deep wound. She had a good size hole in her toe, in the middle of this marble size abscess. So we packed it with neosporin and P made her a little toe cast. We put her in her kennel with lettuce and let her rest.
Last week when we were down there, we noticed one of the Partridge Rock hens was limping. I noticed on one of her toes behind her toe nail, a marble sized abscess. After a few rounds around the barn, we were able to catch her, (ridiculous a limping chicken is faster than we are.) P felt her leg and it was hot. She had a pinky nail size scab on her toe. I tried to lift it. It was thick, and was pulling off easily but it started to bleed. After a brief debate, we grabbed the small dog kennel and food and brought the hen up to the house. Patty named her Wynonna. And of course that automatically makes the other two Partridge Rock hens Ashley and Naomi.
***CAUTION**** If you have a sensitive stomach, don't read the rest of this!!!!!!
So we bring Wynonna into the house, and put her in the kennel lined with newspaper, in our bedroom. I immediately went on line to see if I could find anything on chicken toe injuries on my chicken threads I read every now and then. The one common thing I saw was cleaning and soaking the foot in Epsom salts.
We obviously knew the important thing would be to remove the scab and clean and dress the wound.
We laid a towel on the bed, and Patty grabbed us both latex gloves. I picked up Wynonna from the kennel and tried to lay her down...well...chickens don't like to lay down on their sides. I had read on line that it is best to cover them and their heads with a towel. I'm not sure if it calms them, or just distracts them that they are playing fort, or maybe makes them think they are chillin in an egg again. But we tried it with Wynonna and it seemed to work. P was holding her and only her legs were sticking out. I easily pulled off the scab, and it had a cheesy pus attached to the back of it. Patty yelled, "You're hurting her!" and I think I saw her try to sway a little bit. "Do I need to put a towel over your head too?!" I said to her. The toe started to bleed a little. We picked Wynonna up and unwrapped her from the towel. We soaked her feet in the Epsom bath we had prepared. She wasn't amused. I tried explaining to her that all the other little hens weren't getting a manicure, and I'm pretty sure her little eyebrow raised at me....she gets that from Patty.
So we dried off her feet and poured hydrogen peroxide on it. It bubbled a little. It was a pretty deep wound. She had a good size hole in her toe, in the middle of this marble size abscess. So we packed it with neosporin and P made her a little toe cast. We put her in her kennel with lettuce and let her rest.
Maybe not so ingenious...
Well...I did some research...I know, the story of my life. Everything starts with research, and when I tell P I'm doing or have done research, she slaps her hand to her forehead.
I've mentioned to quite a few friends about my grand plan for the chicken roof and the rain barrels. One of them mentioned concern about the galvanized roof releasing zinc into the water I intend for the chicken's to drink.
So I spent a whole day looking up the safety of drinking water from rain barrels. Who thought drinking rain water could be dangerous? Isn't all water really rain water? Here is what I found... Drinking rain water from any roof surface is not recommended. The whole water conservation rain barrel thing is for the intent of watering your garden or your lawn...not yourself or animals. There were tons of conflicting articles about water off of galvanized roofs also. I know you are all just thinking that it's water for chickens....what's the big deal? Well, I am selling their eggs...and I don't want to be responsible for deformed future generations!
So I contacted the local water department, and they directed me toward the local lab to discuss my situation and what exactly I should test for. She cautioned me that if I test for water drinkability, (like a well test) that it costs quite a lot of money and if there is any chlorophorm in the water at all, (which there probably would be in rain water,) the test would fail. Now if all I tested for was zinc and copper to assure all the chickens were getting just rain water, then it would only be a small amount of money. So that's my plan...the chickens haven't been able to drink any of the rain water, and we are still hauling it in buckets. When I can verify they would be getting no zinc or copper contamination from the roof, then I will continue with the rain barrels. For now we are just throwing the buckets of water off into the woods. :(
I've mentioned to quite a few friends about my grand plan for the chicken roof and the rain barrels. One of them mentioned concern about the galvanized roof releasing zinc into the water I intend for the chicken's to drink.
So I spent a whole day looking up the safety of drinking water from rain barrels. Who thought drinking rain water could be dangerous? Isn't all water really rain water? Here is what I found... Drinking rain water from any roof surface is not recommended. The whole water conservation rain barrel thing is for the intent of watering your garden or your lawn...not yourself or animals. There were tons of conflicting articles about water off of galvanized roofs also. I know you are all just thinking that it's water for chickens....what's the big deal? Well, I am selling their eggs...and I don't want to be responsible for deformed future generations!
So I contacted the local water department, and they directed me toward the local lab to discuss my situation and what exactly I should test for. She cautioned me that if I test for water drinkability, (like a well test) that it costs quite a lot of money and if there is any chlorophorm in the water at all, (which there probably would be in rain water,) the test would fail. Now if all I tested for was zinc and copper to assure all the chickens were getting just rain water, then it would only be a small amount of money. So that's my plan...the chickens haven't been able to drink any of the rain water, and we are still hauling it in buckets. When I can verify they would be getting no zinc or copper contamination from the roof, then I will continue with the rain barrels. For now we are just throwing the buckets of water off into the woods. :(
In the daylight, and with the rain behind us....
A day or two later we went to check out the roof. Besides not being square, it wasn't too shabby...I mean it's for a chicken run for crying out loud. It definitely looked a lot better than the tarp! P put some final screws in, and we both agreed we would need a few more cross pieces between our rafters to support future snow fall...
Next on our grand list was the gutter install. My grand plan in my little head is to install a gutter at the end of the roof, and then have it run into two rainbarrels. Then we can attach a hose to the rainbarrels and be able to provide water for the chickens without hauling water in buckets.... Green, earth friendly, and ingenious I know...
So we installed the 24 foot long gutter, (a little too low on the fascia I think,) and went to install the end caps but they were the wrong size. So we moved on to other projects in and around the barn. About an hour later, it started to rain...
I ran over to the chicken run to see how the new roof and gutters were working...or not. We watched the rain shoot off the roof into the gutter, (and sometimes missing it completely.) I felt like a kid watching their science fair project for the first time to see if it would work or not. A few minutes later, water began trickling out of the two gutter ends. SUCCESS!!! We high fived eachother. And watched our creation for a few more minutes before going in for the day.
We went down to the coop the following day and to our dismay, the sides on the inside of the run were pretty wet. The rain from the gutters was running into the coop. So we took our two buckets and put them at the ends to use as mini rain barrels until ours come in. FYI...a 5 gallon bucket fills up really quickly when used to collect rain water run off....
Next on our grand list was the gutter install. My grand plan in my little head is to install a gutter at the end of the roof, and then have it run into two rainbarrels. Then we can attach a hose to the rainbarrels and be able to provide water for the chickens without hauling water in buckets.... Green, earth friendly, and ingenious I know...
So we installed the 24 foot long gutter, (a little too low on the fascia I think,) and went to install the end caps but they were the wrong size. So we moved on to other projects in and around the barn. About an hour later, it started to rain...
I ran over to the chicken run to see how the new roof and gutters were working...or not. We watched the rain shoot off the roof into the gutter, (and sometimes missing it completely.) I felt like a kid watching their science fair project for the first time to see if it would work or not. A few minutes later, water began trickling out of the two gutter ends. SUCCESS!!! We high fived eachother. And watched our creation for a few more minutes before going in for the day.
We went down to the coop the following day and to our dismay, the sides on the inside of the run were pretty wet. The rain from the gutters was running into the coop. So we took our two buckets and put them at the ends to use as mini rain barrels until ours come in. FYI...a 5 gallon bucket fills up really quickly when used to collect rain water run off....
Raise the Roof
Well the wind started comin' and the Washington rain made it's way to our 5 acres. For several days we went down to the coop, and found that the blue tarp we temporarily put up for a roof was starting to sag and fill with water...
We knew we had to get the roofing on, but because of long work hours and fewer day light hours, we were running out of time.
I ordered 16 foot by 3 foot lengths of galvanized roofing from our precious hardware store Ace. Because of the size of the sheets, we had to have them delivered. (I decided 16 foot anything hanging out of the back of our truck should be a once in a lifetime thing, and we had already done that once.) Our favorite Ace employee Aaron, (the one who keeps promising us our own parking space,) was the one to make the delivery...he had been curious about seeing our "chicken coop" after the dozens of trips we had made into his store collecting odds and ends...insisting it was all for the chickens.
Well...we weren't there when he made the delivery....but when we saw him the next time at Ace, he fondly referred to it as the bomb shelter.... He said he was impressed, and then looked at Patty and jerked his head toward me, "She really likes those treated 2x12s doesn't she?" P just rolled her eyes in agreement...
Bomb shelter huh? Well I considered that a huge compliment!!!
A few days later, after work, we got one of the pieces up. Considering the run is 10 ft tall at it's highest point, we had to bust out the big ladder. The girls didn't like the ladder in their run, and it ruffled them enough that they started laying their eggs outside! One minute nothing would be there, and the next, a damn egg. So we let them run around outside to forage while we took on the roof.
After the first piece went up, it was obvious that our glorious chicken run wasn't exactly square...(I know, we were shocked too!) For the sheet to line up on the side, it was crooked hanging off the bottom edge. The right side hung off about a half inch, and the left side hung off about 2 inches. Well that's kind of close right? So we continued. Fortunately the sheets weren't heavy but it was absolutely pouring! P was up on the ladder screwing the sheets into the 2x6s, and I was holding the ladder, helping with the extension cord, handing up hardware or standing outside of the coop, holding the sheet. Which was awesome because it was like standing at the bottom of a waterslide....all of the water flying off the roof and landing in my mouth, my face, or down my shirt.
Well, as we all know from past experiences, P's patience went down the toilet by the end of the first sheet. I don't blame her really...she had the shitty job, and the fact that the sheets weren't lining up square pissed her off even more. (I thought it added a modern art look to the run...which didn't help matters either.) It was at about this point that some forest sprites joined in just to see how bad they could %&@$ with us...
By this time we were about half way done...it was getting dark...absolutely pouring...and P would get to the top of her ladder, and her drill would unplug from the extension cord...or we would go to move the tarp over to slide another sheet up, and it would release gallons of water on us...or she would go to screw something in, and the screw would fly off the end of the drill and off into the dark. At one point P came flying backwards off her ladder, and I was able to catch her enough that she landed on her feet but she still jarred her back. It was literally pitch black at this point, and the deluge, (As Bear Grylls would say,) was not letting up. We were working by a small lantern.
We went to put the last piece on...and how unsquare our Taj Mahal is was crystal clear. At the bottom it was flush, and at the top it seemed to hang off a foot and a half. That can't be right can it?! I had to move the ladder around outside of the run so P could get the last piece up. Well, for anyone that knows the "Little Giant", they are great, but heavier than hell. So in the dark I tried to maneuver the wet ladder around to the other side. I opened it up to about 12 feet, and tried to bring it upright...At this point P was past her threshhold, and left whatever ounce of patience she had left in the coop. She watched me lift the ladder, and watched as it started to come down for me... I must have squeaked or something because she helped grab it just as my head made it through one of the spaces and it came crashing down on my shoulder. Fortunately...it didn't hurt as much then as it did later...
We managed to get the last piece up by enough screws that it would hold until daylight. We closed everything up, made sure all of the chickens were safe and sound and headed back up to the car. We were both soaked, dirty, in pain and grouchy.
Eat that Bear Grylls....
We knew we had to get the roofing on, but because of long work hours and fewer day light hours, we were running out of time.
I ordered 16 foot by 3 foot lengths of galvanized roofing from our precious hardware store Ace. Because of the size of the sheets, we had to have them delivered. (I decided 16 foot anything hanging out of the back of our truck should be a once in a lifetime thing, and we had already done that once.) Our favorite Ace employee Aaron, (the one who keeps promising us our own parking space,) was the one to make the delivery...he had been curious about seeing our "chicken coop" after the dozens of trips we had made into his store collecting odds and ends...insisting it was all for the chickens.
Well...we weren't there when he made the delivery....but when we saw him the next time at Ace, he fondly referred to it as the bomb shelter.... He said he was impressed, and then looked at Patty and jerked his head toward me, "She really likes those treated 2x12s doesn't she?" P just rolled her eyes in agreement...
Bomb shelter huh? Well I considered that a huge compliment!!!
A few days later, after work, we got one of the pieces up. Considering the run is 10 ft tall at it's highest point, we had to bust out the big ladder. The girls didn't like the ladder in their run, and it ruffled them enough that they started laying their eggs outside! One minute nothing would be there, and the next, a damn egg. So we let them run around outside to forage while we took on the roof.
After the first piece went up, it was obvious that our glorious chicken run wasn't exactly square...(I know, we were shocked too!) For the sheet to line up on the side, it was crooked hanging off the bottom edge. The right side hung off about a half inch, and the left side hung off about 2 inches. Well that's kind of close right? So we continued. Fortunately the sheets weren't heavy but it was absolutely pouring! P was up on the ladder screwing the sheets into the 2x6s, and I was holding the ladder, helping with the extension cord, handing up hardware or standing outside of the coop, holding the sheet. Which was awesome because it was like standing at the bottom of a waterslide....all of the water flying off the roof and landing in my mouth, my face, or down my shirt.
Well, as we all know from past experiences, P's patience went down the toilet by the end of the first sheet. I don't blame her really...she had the shitty job, and the fact that the sheets weren't lining up square pissed her off even more. (I thought it added a modern art look to the run...which didn't help matters either.) It was at about this point that some forest sprites joined in just to see how bad they could %&@$ with us...
By this time we were about half way done...it was getting dark...absolutely pouring...and P would get to the top of her ladder, and her drill would unplug from the extension cord...or we would go to move the tarp over to slide another sheet up, and it would release gallons of water on us...or she would go to screw something in, and the screw would fly off the end of the drill and off into the dark. At one point P came flying backwards off her ladder, and I was able to catch her enough that she landed on her feet but she still jarred her back. It was literally pitch black at this point, and the deluge, (As Bear Grylls would say,) was not letting up. We were working by a small lantern.
We went to put the last piece on...and how unsquare our Taj Mahal is was crystal clear. At the bottom it was flush, and at the top it seemed to hang off a foot and a half. That can't be right can it?! I had to move the ladder around outside of the run so P could get the last piece up. Well, for anyone that knows the "Little Giant", they are great, but heavier than hell. So in the dark I tried to maneuver the wet ladder around to the other side. I opened it up to about 12 feet, and tried to bring it upright...At this point P was past her threshhold, and left whatever ounce of patience she had left in the coop. She watched me lift the ladder, and watched as it started to come down for me... I must have squeaked or something because she helped grab it just as my head made it through one of the spaces and it came crashing down on my shoulder. Fortunately...it didn't hurt as much then as it did later...
We managed to get the last piece up by enough screws that it would hold until daylight. We closed everything up, made sure all of the chickens were safe and sound and headed back up to the car. We were both soaked, dirty, in pain and grouchy.
Eat that Bear Grylls....
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