fuzzi's Chicken Journal

[lightm]

I was going to work on the hoop coop today, despite the cold, damp "raw" weather. But then Frank (tree guy) came by, with his helper Chris.

Before:
View attachment 4046079
(this was a garden years ago)

After:
View attachment 4046080


It's amazing what someone can do with a Bobcat!
View attachment 4046081

They also cut all the privet and other weedy stuff along the fence
View attachment 4046082

After they left I didn't feel like working on the coop, I was physically dragging from yesterday's building marathon, cold, so I just puttered.

I raked where the guys cut the brush but missed getting the branches on the burn pile. Look what I found!
View attachment 4046084
Yes! It's a piece of metal that I might be able to use as a patch for the hole in the tin. I'm going to try to use the used tin (from the old shed overhang) as a roof on the new coop, roost end.

I then cleaned the chickens' waterer, and rinsed and filled two rainbarrels, and dug a small ditch to divert water away from the new coop, as there was a low spot directly in front and underneath the coop.
View attachment 4046087
View attachment 4046085
View attachment 4046086
(yes, we get algae in the winter here)

It's supposed to rain, cold rain, for the next few days. I'm not on a strict timetable so I think I will continue with my hoop coop construction next weekend. Hopefully it will be dry and mild by then.

Oh, and the newly cleared area? I'm planning on planting blueberry bushes and elderberry shrubs.

wow, that was impressive work with the Bobcat.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Looks good!

 

[fuzzi]

After church I'm going to stop by the local nursery and see what they have for blueberry bushes. I was looking at options online last night but shipping makes the otherwise reasonable advertised price rather steep.

I'd rather support local businesses, too.

 

[fuzzi]

Oh, and if it's reasonably dry this afternoon I may plant peas and carrots.

 

[Molpet]

After church I'm going to stop by the local nursery and see what they have for blueberry bushes. I was looking at options online last night but shipping makes the otherwise reasonable advertised price rather steep.

I'd rather support local businesses, too.

I used to get from Indiana Berry but I see they don't have free shipping anymore
https://www.indianaberry.com/blueberries.html

 

[Winderdear]

After church I'm going to stop by the local nursery and see what they have for blueberry bushes. I was looking at options online last night but shipping makes the otherwise reasonable advertised price rather steep.

I'd rather support local businesses, too.

We don’t have anywhere local that sells berries here, so I also buy from Indiana Berry. They sell bareroot plants for about $12 each and I think shipping is $17.

For elderberries, I buy cuttings. There are lots of small nurseries online who offer them. You can just stick your shovel in the ground, make a little cleft and pop the cuttings in. Planted at this time of year, they’ll start rooting by spring. Also works well for currants and gooseberries

 

[fuzzi]

The sun came out this afternoon, wow!

I measured the newly cleared area, put little fence sections on the edges.

Then I drew a rough diagram:

Not to scale. Obviously.

After church I went to the local nursery to see what they had for blueberry plants. I was able to find three different varieties of rabbiteye blueberries (2-3 are needed for cross pollination) and one is an earlier variety, too.

Powder blue, Tifblue, and Premier

They didn't have any elderberry plants so I will check online to see what I can find.

The blueberry plants were a little more expensive than ordering online, BUT I got one gallon potted plants versus bareroot plants, AND I didn't have to pay for shipping. Oh, AND I supported a local business.


I picked up peat moss, too.

Went by Ace Hardware, picked up a wire brush for the coop build, and some coping saw blades.

When I got home I found my orders had arrived: fender washers, zip-ties, and drinking cups for the waterer.

I fed the chickens one leggy collard plant.
Before:

After:

And finally, I planted some early Spring vegetables: peas, rutabaga, carrots, and turnips!

It's supposed to rain this week, but I gave them a little gentle watering before I came inside.
Back to work tomorrow.

 

[1muttsfan]

Wow good job that was a lot of work!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The sun came out this afternoon, wow!

I measured the newly cleared area, put little fence sections on the edges.
View attachment 4046822

Then I drew a rough diagram:
View attachment 4046823
Not to scale. Obviously.

After church I went to the local nursery to see what they had for blueberry plants. I was able to find three different varieties of rabbiteye blueberries (2-3 are needed for cross pollination) and one is an earlier variety, too.

View attachment 4046825
Powder blue, Tifblue, and Premier

They didn't have any elderberry plants so I will check online to see what I can find.

The blueberry plants were a little more expensive than ordering online, BUT I got one gallon potted plants versus bareroot plants, AND I didn't have to pay for shipping. Oh, AND I supported a local business.


I picked up peat moss, too.

Went by Ace Hardware, picked up a wire brush for the coop build, and some coping saw blades.
View attachment 4046829

When I got home I found my orders had arrived: fender washers, zip-ties, and drinking cups for the waterer.

I fed the chickens one leggy collard plant.
Before:
View attachment 4046831

After:
View attachment 4046833


And finally, I planted some early Spring vegetables: peas, rutabaga, carrots, and turnips!
View attachment 4046835
It's supposed to rain this week, but I gave them a little gentle watering before I came inside.
Back to work tomorrow.

You're wearing me out!

Nice job, you've made a lot of progress.

I'm always SO tempted to plant when the weather gets like it has been, but this is February in the mountains, so ...NOT YET (but soon)! I'm enjoying your plantings and post though.

 

[fuzzi]

You're wearing me out!

Nice job, you've made a lot of progress.

I'm always SO tempted to plant when the weather gets like it has been, but this is February in the mountains, so ...NOT YET (but soon)! I'm enjoying your plantings and post though.

Here in zone 8a I can plant peas, carrots, turnips, argula, and lettuce February 1st. Chard and beets need to wait until March 1st.

I cannot remember where I put my rotation charts. I try to wait three years before planting the same crop in the same bed.

The bed I planted yesterday was brand new, not been planted before, so I knew I was safe.