Hillsboro Dave
My nephew and cobuilder, Andrew
Bracing for the side (made of hardware cloth)
The building inspector
Monday, April 27, 2009
A few friends
Hillsboro Dave
My nephew and cobuilder, Andrew
Bracing for the side (made of hardware cloth)
The building inspector
Rat-proofing the back fence
These pix are out of order, unfortunately. Logs and dirt piled up, so I can plant peas or something
*A strip of hardware cloth
We dug a little trench (?) first, so if the rats tried to dig down, they would still encounter the hardware cloth. Good thinking, eh? Maybe the rats will just dig deeper????
Getting ready to use the nail gun....
After nailing up the hardware cloth, I put some old logs up against the hardware cloth and buried them with dirt. Later, I'm gonna plant peas or some vine that will grow up to the roof and help make shade. But the chicks might eat all the peas!!!
.JPG)
These shots were taken before we put in the hardware cloth....obviously....:-)
Hanging out in the living room
This is May, a Barred Plymouth Rock
The chicks aren't afraid at all!
Don't mess with April. She's tough!
The chicks aren't afraid at all!Eeeeeewwwww
Don't mess with April. She's tough!
Mutual Curiosity
April, May and poop.
April faces off
I pushed furniture together, then put the chix on a sheet in the living room. For a while, Ernie snuggled up with me, but since April (the orange one) kept menacing him, my nephew took him up on the couch. Then Bailey wanted to join the pack and took Ernie's space. But April didn't menace Bailey for some reason. She just did soft pecks, which I take to come from curiousity.
Growing so fast
Monday, April 27th: I can't impress upon you (unless you already know :-) how fast the chicks are growing. Every day, I see new growth: longer legs, bigger feet, more feathers and/or down dropping off. In fact, they make the kitchen table dusty with their skin and down floating all over. Their new house (only 3 weeks old) is already too small for them and I can tell they want to get out.
They've been outside again, which is great because they are now old enuf to eat new things (e.g. lettuce or grit). I gave them some strawberry tops tonight, but they're not eating them. Instead, two chix are pecking on the side of their box.
For the first time, the chix are letting me pick them up without running away. This is great news. Once they realize I'm a treat-giver, they'll like me even more. But...honestly, they don't love me like the dogs do. I'm just a perch or something to peck (due to curiosity).
I'm glad they aren't scared of the dogs at all! In fact, they fly onto the dog's back to perch (they like to be up high- it feels safer). The dogs don't like it though. Like I said, I'm anxious for the chix to go outside; it's time, but I need to finish the pen. Hopefully, by this weekend.
They've been outside again, which is great because they are now old enuf to eat new things (e.g. lettuce or grit). I gave them some strawberry tops tonight, but they're not eating them. Instead, two chix are pecking on the side of their box.
For the first time, the chix are letting me pick them up without running away. This is great news. Once they realize I'm a treat-giver, they'll like me even more. But...honestly, they don't love me like the dogs do. I'm just a perch or something to peck (due to curiosity).
I'm glad they aren't scared of the dogs at all! In fact, they fly onto the dog's back to perch (they like to be up high- it feels safer). The dogs don't like it though. Like I said, I'm anxious for the chix to go outside; it's time, but I need to finish the pen. Hopefully, by this weekend.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday in the garden
Okay, okay. I don't really have a garden, but this past weekend, I stayed home and got lots of projects done; one being to mow the lawn and work on the chicken coop. So the back yard looks a lot better, but there's plywood and 1x2's all over the place. I've got big plans to start another compost pile (heat provided by dog poop :-) and plant this fancy grass seed I got last year. It's supposed to wild grasses and flowers and you don't have to mow it (more sustainable, eh?).
A friend helped me with the coop on Sunday. We rat-proofed the back fence with hardware cloth nailed to the fence and buried about 4-6 inches into the ground. But really, if a rat wanted to get into the coop, he could....
my friend is 48, in good physical shape (martial arts) and takes care of himself. Never-the-less, he had a full-blown (type 1) diabetes reaction (paramedics came, or he could have died). I was calm, cool and collected the whole time, but now I feel a bit un-nerved. I watched his personality change (from obsessing over a concrete strut near the fence) to walking unsteadily to arguing, falling down, knocking things over and generally acting drunk and strange. For instance, he didn't want to give the paramedics his finger for a blood poke. They said sometimes people get combative and they have to hold them down. Eventually, he did give up a finger....later, he was docile and cooperative. It's rough being out-of-control. You try to keep control any way you can. Anyways, his blood sugar was 27!, but he drank sugar water til it came back up to 107. Then the paramedics left.
Anyways, it's been my dream to sit in the back yard and relax since last winter!!! Now I'm really doing it. Yay!!! And the little chickies are happily eating small rocks. Did you know that because chickens don't have teeth, they swallow rocks into their "crop" where muscles rub the food and rocks together. Something like that.
This afternoon, a bunch of crows or something flew over my backyard several times. But they weren't crows because they had reddish-orangish wings. Hummmmm. The first chicken class I took said wild animals learn where to find their favorite meals, just like we do (i.e. the closest Big Mac). Hummmmm.
Bailey has been very calm with the birds, but....one flew a few feet today and she chased chomping her teeth. I heard her teeth bite together. She can't be fully trusted yet (or ever). In the meantime, the Golden (April) continues to chase Ernie. He's a wimp! But the RIR (May) is defending herself againt April. Humm? Who will be the top chicken? Must go in now. It's after 8:00pm and the chickens will want to sleep. Can't wait for this weekend. Gonna put the sides on the coop. Then, I need to build a door.
A friend helped me with the coop on Sunday. We rat-proofed the back fence with hardware cloth nailed to the fence and buried about 4-6 inches into the ground. But really, if a rat wanted to get into the coop, he could....
my friend is 48, in good physical shape (martial arts) and takes care of himself. Never-the-less, he had a full-blown (type 1) diabetes reaction (paramedics came, or he could have died). I was calm, cool and collected the whole time, but now I feel a bit un-nerved. I watched his personality change (from obsessing over a concrete strut near the fence) to walking unsteadily to arguing, falling down, knocking things over and generally acting drunk and strange. For instance, he didn't want to give the paramedics his finger for a blood poke. They said sometimes people get combative and they have to hold them down. Eventually, he did give up a finger....later, he was docile and cooperative. It's rough being out-of-control. You try to keep control any way you can. Anyways, his blood sugar was 27!, but he drank sugar water til it came back up to 107. Then the paramedics left.
Anyways, it's been my dream to sit in the back yard and relax since last winter!!! Now I'm really doing it. Yay!!! And the little chickies are happily eating small rocks. Did you know that because chickens don't have teeth, they swallow rocks into their "crop" where muscles rub the food and rocks together. Something like that.
This afternoon, a bunch of crows or something flew over my backyard several times. But they weren't crows because they had reddish-orangish wings. Hummmmm. The first chicken class I took said wild animals learn where to find their favorite meals, just like we do (i.e. the closest Big Mac). Hummmmm.
Bailey has been very calm with the birds, but....one flew a few feet today and she chased chomping her teeth. I heard her teeth bite together. She can't be fully trusted yet (or ever). In the meantime, the Golden (April) continues to chase Ernie. He's a wimp! But the RIR (May) is defending herself againt April. Humm? Who will be the top chicken? Must go in now. It's after 8:00pm and the chickens will want to sleep. Can't wait for this weekend. Gonna put the sides on the coop. Then, I need to build a door.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
