Spring 2015
It's been so long since I've been on here and lately it's only daughter taking care of our hens. We've gone from a few to a bunch and they still make me smile. That its, until one rooster gets on my last nerve.
We've gone from just enjoying them to my daughter becoming more interested in chickens than ever. She's studied and learned from so many wonderful people and decided, "Mom, I'm going to breed and sell chickens for others that will love them just as much as me."
And so it grew. Cochins entered our lives and a few Barred Rocks (oh look, a committee!). A polish or two and some Old English Game hens. Easter Eggers galore and three Back Cooper Marans have joined the flock. Oh, and our darling silkies
Natasha....you need a spa date!
have made my heart pitter patter as I see them in the grass looking for bugs. I've lost count of how many now fill my life and currently the incubator is filled with Easter Egger eggs for a client. So many chicks are in a brooder right now growing up to help fill the egg order and the oh, we'd like some of those too customers.
She, Chicks ahoy farms, knows them by name and what their perks are, and I still say and that one is? I'm glad my small addiction has led to my daughter's love of chickens and a hobby that has grown into something special.
And the coop? Well, that's now a broody palace this spring and the old goat house has now become the chicken coop. The bantams and the standards get along well and they all run toward me in hopes of treats! Oh please, give us some treats!
It all started with Mom, I had to get rid of my birds, can I get... Now it's Mother! Can we get this crested Polish hen and this and that and oh, isn't it just the cutest baby ever? I'll admit I'm not much better. Who'd have thought a few months ago I'd be bugging the hubbykins for another hen, a bigger coop even before the first REAL coop is started like I'm doing now?
Girl: "Mom, Andulausions are tiny chickens."
Me: "If that's tiny..."
Girl: "Dutch Bantams are tiny, really. And look, two for sale on Craigslist. Can...we...please?"
Me: "Bantams! Of course!"
Girl: "A Sebright and a Wyandotte and some other chicken are on Craigslist. Can we PLEASE get them. They are tiny!"
Me: "This weekend." And did we ever get them and then panicked over the size of
and if she was a he while s/he hide under the D'Uccle and the Sebright.
I can't imagine not having the hens in the back yard. Or the time spent watching them talk and entertain us. The eggs are nice, too. Now if the D'Uccle and the Sebright would just join in the laying parade, then I'd be crowing with happiness.
Today, we start the first stage of the coop, with the final stage and finishing steps by the end of September before the nights get chilly and the mornings get nippy.
Am I excited? Just a wee bit. I think the Chaos Chicken has hit me hard with Chicken-its. I fear there is no cure. lol
August 15, 2009. Rain Delay. All geared up, ready to build and thar she blows--- a storm to soak everything and everybody. Tomorrow? Sun. Please?
August 18, 2009: Caulking done and 2 coats of paint (outside latex paint) has been done inside the lovely area of the new hen house. The outside is almost painted but needs another
coat. We ran out of time (and energy) thanks to 90 degree weather and an urge for ice as a birthday cake. The Girls watched us paint each other (on accident) and laughing. Of course they didn't give me any eggs today. Sigh. But we are inching closer to the finish line. Pics still need to be downloaded. Already I'm thinking expansion. And new chicks. Oh, how the addiction grows. No cure in sight, I fear.
September 4, 2009: Wow, so much time has passed. We've been working as fast as we can in the heat, the rain, the oh my it's school time again dance as I try to recall the steps to that one.
The coop is finished. Painted, nest box ready for the hens, and the roosts awaiting. Only thing left on that is the pop door to be installed. The run is coming along in leaps and bounds. Tonight, the rafters went up. Now to paint, get the cheaters installed and wrap the run. And install the human door, hang the established 2009 and have the Girl put the Girls inside.
Already I'm thinking of the extension, the garden for next year. I think I need to thank Mendogurl for the bug of wanting to garden again. Pictures are forthcoming. I just need a few more hours in the day. LOL....
September 5, 2009: Worked like a fiend. Finished it but for painting some wood and putting a handle inside the run to help keeping the door closed. The girls are in and my Girl is stressing it. Neutral ground, dark out and so far, so good. She worries about her hens. Dimensions of coop-- 4 feet by 4 feet and 4 feet tall. Nesting box to the outside. The run--10 feet by 4 feet. The inhabitants: 2 Dutch banties, 1 silver Sebright, and 1 Mille Fleur D'Uccle. All banties.
What's left to do beside painting: sanding the run, getting the feeding water set up the way I want it eventually. Landscaping, too. Might have to wait until next spring.
What I'd do differently: Hmm, build bigger? That's next since I want to get 6 more bantams next spring.
It's been so long since I've been on here and lately it's only daughter taking care of our hens. We've gone from a few to a bunch and they still make me smile. That its, until one rooster gets on my last nerve.
We've gone from just enjoying them to my daughter becoming more interested in chickens than ever. She's studied and learned from so many wonderful people and decided, "Mom, I'm going to breed and sell chickens for others that will love them just as much as me."
And so it grew. Cochins entered our lives and a few Barred Rocks (oh look, a committee!). A polish or two and some Old English Game hens. Easter Eggers galore and three Back Cooper Marans have joined the flock. Oh, and our darling silkies
Natasha....you need a spa date!have made my heart pitter patter as I see them in the grass looking for bugs. I've lost count of how many now fill my life and currently the incubator is filled with Easter Egger eggs for a client. So many chicks are in a brooder right now growing up to help fill the egg order and the oh, we'd like some of those too customers.
She, Chicks ahoy farms, knows them by name and what their perks are, and I still say and that one is? I'm glad my small addiction has led to my daughter's love of chickens and a hobby that has grown into something special.
And the coop? Well, that's now a broody palace this spring and the old goat house has now become the chicken coop. The bantams and the standards get along well and they all run toward me in hopes of treats! Oh please, give us some treats!
It all started with Mom, I had to get rid of my birds, can I get... Now it's Mother! Can we get this crested Polish hen and this and that and oh, isn't it just the cutest baby ever? I'll admit I'm not much better. Who'd have thought a few months ago I'd be bugging the hubbykins for another hen, a bigger coop even before the first REAL coop is started like I'm doing now?
Girl: "Mom, Andulausions are tiny chickens."
Me: "If that's tiny..."
Girl: "Dutch Bantams are tiny, really. And look, two for sale on Craigslist. Can...we...please?"
Me: "Bantams! Of course!"
Girl: "A Sebright and a Wyandotte and some other chicken are on Craigslist. Can we PLEASE get them. They are tiny!"
Me: "This weekend." And did we ever get them and then panicked over the size of
I can't imagine not having the hens in the back yard. Or the time spent watching them talk and entertain us. The eggs are nice, too. Now if the D'Uccle and the Sebright would just join in the laying parade, then I'd be crowing with happiness.
Today, we start the first stage of the coop, with the final stage and finishing steps by the end of September before the nights get chilly and the mornings get nippy.
Am I excited? Just a wee bit. I think the Chaos Chicken has hit me hard with Chicken-its. I fear there is no cure. lol
August 15, 2009. Rain Delay. All geared up, ready to build and thar she blows--- a storm to soak everything and everybody. Tomorrow? Sun. Please?
August 18, 2009: Caulking done and 2 coats of paint (outside latex paint) has been done inside the lovely area of the new hen house. The outside is almost painted but needs another
coat. We ran out of time (and energy) thanks to 90 degree weather and an urge for ice as a birthday cake. The Girls watched us paint each other (on accident) and laughing. Of course they didn't give me any eggs today. Sigh. But we are inching closer to the finish line. Pics still need to be downloaded. Already I'm thinking expansion. And new chicks. Oh, how the addiction grows. No cure in sight, I fear.
September 4, 2009: Wow, so much time has passed. We've been working as fast as we can in the heat, the rain, the oh my it's school time again dance as I try to recall the steps to that one.
The coop is finished. Painted, nest box ready for the hens, and the roosts awaiting. Only thing left on that is the pop door to be installed. The run is coming along in leaps and bounds. Tonight, the rafters went up. Now to paint, get the cheaters installed and wrap the run. And install the human door, hang the established 2009 and have the Girl put the Girls inside.Already I'm thinking of the extension, the garden for next year. I think I need to thank Mendogurl for the bug of wanting to garden again. Pictures are forthcoming. I just need a few more hours in the day. LOL....
September 5, 2009: Worked like a fiend. Finished it but for painting some wood and putting a handle inside the run to help keeping the door closed. The girls are in and my Girl is stressing it. Neutral ground, dark out and so far, so good. She worries about her hens. Dimensions of coop-- 4 feet by 4 feet and 4 feet tall. Nesting box to the outside. The run--10 feet by 4 feet. The inhabitants: 2 Dutch banties, 1 silver Sebright, and 1 Mille Fleur D'Uccle. All banties.
What's left to do beside painting: sanding the run, getting the feeding water set up the way I want it eventually. Landscaping, too. Might have to wait until next spring.
What I'd do differently: Hmm, build bigger? That's next since I want to get 6 more bantams next spring.
