Black Acres: The chickens that saved me

[BY Bob]

I’ve been looking and have not been able to find any. I did, however, find this baby picture that clearly shows chicken keeping was my destiny!
View attachment 2934596

Excellent.

 

[WIchickMama]

Excited to hear more!

 

[blackacres]

I am watching! You are a very good writer!

Thank you and welcome!

Excited to hear more!

I enjoy talking about my chickens, so you’ll likely have plenty to hear.

 

[blackacres]

Part 4 - the Coop search

I looked into building one and quickly realized I didn’t have that much time to dedicate as I needed them in an ample space soon. Also, the cost of building supplies is outrageous right now. So I turned to Craigslist and Marketplace. I knew the tiny pre-fab ones were not going to work for the number of birds I had so I didn’t even bother with those. There were plenty of well crafted and beautiful coops built by others but they were out of the budget I had set. So I switched gears and started looking for a shed that I could convert.

I made a post on my FB and my best friends Mom responded that she had a shed that was in excellent condition and we could have it in trade for removing some scrap furniture and old carpet they’d sat outside. They are elderly and did not have the ability to load and haul these things themselves so I was happy to help, even without the shed incentive. Boy, were we in for a surprise.

Two days later, we arrived with a truck to load up the items to haul away. There was far more than just some old, broken furniture and ripped out carpet. We borrowed a skid loader to make the job easier and hooked up an old truck bed trailer so we could haul two loads at a time. In all, my husband hauled out six truckloads of rubbish and totaled nearly 20 hours of his time spanning three days. He was happy to help them, but pretty upset with me for “all this chicken nonsense.” Once the rubbish was gone, we had to devise a plan to retrieve the shed from the corner of the property. So we walked back to the shed to decide how to move it. This was the first time we’d actually seen the shed. It was in pretty rough shape and we weren’t even sure it would withstand being loaded, hauled home, and unloaded. But I was committed. I needed this shed. My chickens needed this shed. My husband needed me to not be impulsive and bring home chickens before having the shed.

In my defense, he says it was impulsive but I disagree. I’d been speaking of chickens for years, and quite frequently in the prior months. He just kept putting me off. So I kind of forced his hand. It was cruel, I know. But after 18 years of marriage, he should know I always figure out how to get what I want. Yes, I’m kind of a brat.

Thankfully we had the borrowed skid loader or we would have never been able to load this shed. I believe it’s a 6x8 and was originally a metal garden shed. They had wrapped the shed with plywood and painted it to make it more sturdy and better withstand the elements. They had been using it for goats and it had not been cleaned. The floor was nearly rotted through and it was full of straw and goat poop. I grabbed a shovel and went to work clearing it out. Then we grabbed some ratchet straps and started loading it on to the skid loader. After several attempts and rebracing the joists, we had it loaded.

Most of the shed survived the 30 minute trip home, only losing a few roof panels. By this time it was pitch dark so we parked the trailer and went to bed. I was up early the next morning, excited and ready to get going on this shed project. My dear husband was not so eager but out to the shed we went. Somehow, we managed to get it unloaded in one piece. It was a miracle. The picture really doesn’t show how bad of shape it was in. Most of the flaws hidden by the plywood. My husband is a collector of anything he thinks he may ever possibly need in his lifetime. We had a friend that had torn down a large composite wood deck so we decided to wrap the shed again using this material. We also used this material to sturdy up the floor. My husband set off to the lumber yard to get lumber to frame the run and I went back to TSC for chicken wire and hardware cloth and several other chicken related items I decided I needed. After the shed was wrapped on three sides, (we still haven't finished the front) the building of the run was ready to start.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Part 4 - the Coop search

I looked into building one and quickly realized I didn’t have that much time to dedicate as I needed them in an ample space soon. Also, the cost of building supplies is outrageous right now. So I turned to Craigslist and Marketplace. I knew the tiny pre-fab ones were not going to work for the number of birds I had so I didn’t even bother with those. There were plenty of well crafted and beautiful coops built by others but they were out of the budget I had set. So I switched gears and started looking for a shed that I could convert.

I made a post on my FB and my best friends Mom responded that she had a shed that was in excellent condition and we could have it in trade for removing some scrap furniture and old carpet they’d sat outside. They are elderly and did not have the ability to load and haul these things themselves so I was happy to help, even without the shed incentive. Boy, we’re we in for a surprise.

Two days later, we arrived with a truck to load up the items to haul away. There was far more than just some old, broken furniture and ripped out carpet. We borrowed a skid loader to make the job easier and hooked up an old truck bed trailer so we could haul two loads at a time. In all, my husband hauled out six truckloads of rubbish and totaled nearly 20 hours of his time spanning three days. He was happy to help them, but pretty upset with me for “all this chicken nonsense.” Once the rubbish was gone, we had to devise a plan to retrieve the shed from the corner of the property. So we walked back to the shed to decide how to move it. This was the first time we’d actually seen the shed. It was in pretty rough shape and we weren’t even sure it would withstand being loaded, hauled home, and unloaded. But I was committed. I needed this shed. My chickens needed this shed. My husband needed me to not be impulsive and bring home chickens before having the shed.

In my defense, he says it was impulsive but I disagree. I’d been speaking of chickens for years, and quite frequently in the prior months. He just kept putting me off. So I kind of forced his hand. It was cruel, I know. But after 18 years of marriage, he should know I always figure out how to get what I want. Yes, I’m kind of a brat.

Thankfully we had the borrowed skid loader or we would have never been able to load this shed. I believe it’s a 6x8 and was originally a metal garden shed. They had wrapped the shed with plywood and painted it to make it more sturdy and better withstand the elements. They had been using it for goats and it had not been cleaned. The floor was nearly rotted through and it was full of straw and goat poop. I grabbed a shovel and went to work clearing it out. Then we grabbed some ratchet straps and started loading it on to the skid loader. After several attempts and rebracing the joists, we had it loaded.

View attachment 2934688

Most of the shed survived the 30 minute trip home, only losing a few roof panels. By this time it was pitch dark so we parked the trailer and went to bed. I was up early the next morning, excited and ready to get going on this shed project. My dear husband was not so eager but out to the shed we went. Somehow, we managed to get it unloaded in one piece. It was a miracle. The picture really doesn’t show how bad of shape it was in. Most of the flaws hidden by the plywood. My husband is a collector of anything he thinks he may ever possibly need in his lifetime. We had a fried that had torn down a large composite wood deck so we decided to wrap the shed again using this material. We also used this material to sturdy up the floor. My husband set off to the lumber yard to get lumber to frame the run and I went back to TSC for chicken wire and hardware cloth. After the shed was wrapped on three sides, (we still have t finished the front) the building of the run was ready to start.
View attachment 2934715
View attachment 2934717

Wow! Hope all goes well!

You’re a great writer! How long did it take to write this?

 

[blackacres]

You’re a great writer! How long did it take to write this?

Oh, I have no idea. I started with the first post about 4 1/2 hours ago and I’ve been writing them in between baking cookies, vacuuming, brushing the dogs and playing with the chickens.

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Oh, I have no idea. I started with the first post about 4 1/2 hours ago and I’ve been writing them in between baking cookies, vacuuming, brushing the dogs and playing with the chickens.

Wow! That’s a lot of work!

 

[Ribh]

Part Two

One day, while my husband was distracted by helping some friends clear brush, I went out to the garage an emptied a large, plastic tote and set it up on a folding table. I then threw a pet carrier in the back of my Blazer and set off to TSC. I purchased chick starter, some electrolytes, feed dishes, waterers and a heating plate. Can you guess where I went next? Yep, straight to my friends house.

We spent a while chatting about breeds and trying to decide which ones I’d like to give a go. I was very indecisive, so I settled on several different ones, 9 total. We loaded them into the carrier and I set off for home with my adorable 4 week old baby chickens screaming in the back. On my way home, my husband called. Part way through the conversation he said, “where are you? Is that chickens I hear?” I let out a nervous giggle and came clean. “Yes, those are chickens you hear and they are with me in the Blazer.” He then asks, “where are you taking then?” When I said I was taking them home, I swear the sky got dark and a tornado quickly swept through. He was not happy and he sure let me know it. “Why do you do these thing? Where are you going to put them? I told you to wait. I don’t have time for this!” Amongst many other things that were said. I told him they were only 4 weeks old and that I already had a brooder made up and ready and that would give me plenty of time to figure out their permanent housing.

I got home with my babies and set up the brooder and placed them all in. They quickly settled in and began chirping away, eating and drinking. I sat and watched them for what felt like hours. I couldn’t believe it. I finally had my chickens!

Similar to what I did.

 

[blackacres]

Similar to what I did.

Great minds!

 

[blackacres]

Wow! That’s a lot of work!

I’m heading out for a Dr appointment now, so the saga will continue this evening.