Mmaddies Moms Page

January 22, 2011 was a very sad day for me... on the 2 previous nights I had lost 2/3rds of my flock to an unknown predator (9 the first night and 11 the second night). (to see the original post see... www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=442851&p=1) It turned out to be a mink!
In order to save the remaining 10 birds, I called a good friend and asked if she would like to add them to her flock... fully intending to just let her have them and giving up on chickens, for me, forever (I have had chickens for 20+ years). Being a good friend, she said bring 'em over... even though her husband didn't know I was coming, he stopped the project that he was working on and repaired a separate pen for my girls to go into... good friends.
8 hens went to my friends and I kept my 2 young roos, intending to take them to the Sale Barn...
Because of the encouragement of these 2 friends and you folks here on BYC, it was decided that come Spring, we would do a major renovation on the coop and pen and then the girls would be coming home! The boys stayed and go into a very secure dog crate at night, for safety.
The weather is better now and it is time to get started! The boys will be very glad when the girls get to come home!

The boys are waiting!

And, so, the "Bringing the Girls Home" Project begins...

April 22, 2011...
LOCATION... LOCATION... LOCATION

This is my secondary pen/ hospital pen/ time-out pen/ etc. It will be the location for the new coop and pen.
Today we cut out the yew and the pussy willow to make way for the run... the coop will be at the right side of this pic. and the run will extend to the left on the side of the coop.

April 24, 2011...

Because of lack of wood-working skills, I have decided to start w/a ready-made Rubbermaid storage shed... my son picked it up this morning!

DH starting to unload...

DH & DS unloading...

as you can see... they had help... ummm, chicken p**p!

cardboard out to the burn pile...

April 30. 2011...
Another windy cloudy day...

My son built this roof/pen cover when he was in high school... and he built it to last! It was HEAVY!

Just lift it up & off...

almost on the truck...

on the truck and on it's way out to the burn pile...

Move the run out...

dig for the foundation...

That's all for today... DS home to do his own honey-do list... and DH off to work... me, off to work a little later today... we do what we can with these short snippets of time. )
May 5, 2011...
When will the cold & rain end... I'm falling so far behind... and the boys are getting impatient... it is Spring after all!
May 11,2011...

The boys inspect the new foundation... DH shoveled gravel early this morning before he left for work (he picked the gravel up before work yesterday)... what a guy...concrete blocks for support and gravel for drainage and to hold the blocks in place.

The next couple of weeks will be spent on doing some repair work on the side & ceiling of the shed and breezeway above and behind the new coop & pen... once the coop/pen is in place, it will be there for a while, so NOW is the time to do that repair work while I can get to it easily. I know it is slow going but when it is done, it will be done right. Thanks for you patience.

May 26, 2011... Wow the weather has been stinky lately... but at least we're not in Missouri... (
May 27,2011... Bad news today... we are now down to 3 hens. They were still staying @ my friends house until the secure coop was done. MINK ATTACK! I lost another half of the remaining girls and my friend lost even more... so sad. I'm thinking about bringing the remaining girls home even before the coop is done... they will go into a secure dog crate @ night to keep them safe until the new coop & pen are done.
On the up side... I have 14 eggs in the incubator. )
June 14, 2011... more bad news... the boys are no longer buddies... minor scuffles the last few days but today they escalated into a bloody, knock-down, drag-out fight... BAD... one will be going to the Sale Barn soon. We really need to get the new digs ready soon!
Again on the up side... 'bator is in lock down!
June 17, 2011... Four beautiful babies! Not a real good % but 4 babies are 4 babies! I gave them to a broody mom and now she has instant family ! (... and I do mean instant... she was only broody for 5 days)

My poor decimated flock has doubled in size!!!


more to come when the weather, help & free time come together again...


August 28, 2011... Well, weather, help & free time did not come together for quite a while and the building of the coop & pen was delayed... partly due to honey bees in the floor & wall of my 151 year old house and their removal... and an allergic reaction (mine) to several bee stings... but that is another long story.
But on Sunday, August 28 my son came out and my DH and he started back to work on the coop!
Floor & walls are going up!

Doors on...

September 4, 2011
Roof on...

Drop door hole cut...

Our foundation shifted and sank a bit during our down time but the resin walls & floors are very forgiving, so we pulled it all together with several I braces...

Now on to the secure pen...
hardware clothe wrapped on the bottom of the pen and about 8 inches up the side...

September 6, 2011...
We then attached hardware clothe around the lower sides of the pen.

September 8, 2011...
Attaching the pen to the coop...
We used U bolts to snug it up real tight...

and washers & screws to secure the harware clothe to the coop...

It's all together!

Zip-ties are your friend! The old dog run was given to us by a friend and his GSD had really torn up one side... we decided to use the torn up side as the enclosed roof to the pen... zip-ties closed up all the pulled back chain link.

September 11,2011...
We added a few familiar touches to the inside of the coop so the girls & Remus will feel at home... tonight will be their first night in the new coop!

Not completely finished, but al least the birds are in it!
Next step... hauling in some sand.
September 13, 2011...
Sand is in! 1400 lbs. of sand later...
Frame work...

Sand in pen...

Sand in coop...

Sand in nesting boxes...

I sure hope that all you sand lovers are right... never used sand before.

Future additions...
windows in coop
frame drop door and put hinged drop door in
more roosts in coop
a secondary non secure pen attached to the end of the secure pen to give them extra room on those days when predator alert is on red... I have another 6x12 chain link dog run with chain link top that we will use - completed 10/22/11
lighting in the coop... probably just a trouble light hung in the coop - completed 10/16/11 using 2 clip-on lights from Menards, only about $3 each! DH drilled a hole in the side wall up near the roof line and put a 3-outlet extension cord in.
a brick "porch" in front of the big doors... an extension of our back brick walkway... mostly just to keep me from walking in the mud
wild grape vines planted on the back side of the run to grow up and over to shade the runs
a light weight roof of some sort for the secure run - completed on 10/24/11 using old 2x4s and 3 sheets of plywood we found while cleaning out the shed! Not pretty but will work to keep the snow out during the winter months... will be on the look-out for something nicer for later.

I'm hoping to get this all done this Fall but as slow as everything has gone so far, I will be happy whenever... as a friend says," I've got my fingers crossed, but I'm not holding my breath." )


Stay tuned!