Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[BY Bob]

They are small unnecessary walls that will restrict airflow, none of the primary room walls will need to be removed. And yes, I plan on putting in lots of big grated ventilation holes with louvred openings... I don’t really need any pass through window type ones, as most of the main floor is open. I’m researching it more fully right now but there are several obvious ones I know I’m taking out.

Because we went “fast” and “economical” with a simple panelized design (all our exterior walls are pre framed and sheathed) we made some small alterations to the original design (garage became a main floor master bedroom with en-suite) but we didn’t go into a full redesign on the interior walls because we didn’t want to fork out a few extra thousand to make any big adjustments. We just made a few small necessary changes to the upstairs master bedroom closet and en-suite to accommodate our chimney.

I’m going to see how things go with the building inspector, maybe we can make some of the smaller adjustments to the plans. But they really like to send you to (expensive) engineers. Andrew and I can handle all the interior framing for the second floor, and hopefully the first floor as well, so it’s not FIL I’m trying to appease this time, it’s the duh, duh, duuumb building department bureaucracy it will probably be easier to build it exactly to specs then renovate once they are gone!

Ok, I get it now. Whatever is simpler makes sense to me. Certainly in your circumstances.

 

[BY Bob]

As to My Chickens:

This morning I took my phone out with me to capture some of the destruction, but had my hands full of ice water and chickens and just figured i’d Get it over with. Yes, you read that right, Ice water... I’m thinking mostly due to the wind, but my waterers all iced up, the ground is slightly frozen, and none of the chickens were impressed at having the nest boxes removed.

The big downside to the tractors is the occasional drafts and tarp damages in high winds, and not enough room for both the feeders and the nest boxes inside. As they are more meant to be 3 season breeding pens, I’m ok with fudging things a little until we get the house up, inspectors gone, and can move onto a woodshed and large, permanent walk in coop/s.

The trailer interior is holding steady at 12 Celsius, about 54 Fahrenheit with the propane heater, but I still expect to run short on propane before the next fill up day (Tuesday). Oddly enough the ridiculous winds seem to have dried things out a lot and I’m not dealing with any humidity issues inside. The barn is at 2C/36F, and I imagine that the true outside temperature is somewhere around 0 to -1C. I let Sammy and the girls out to free range before I noticed the frozen waterers. All the girls favorite drinking puddles (why drink from a nice clean waterer when there’s a nasty mud puddle available?) had dried up as well.

As I was gathering my weapons to attack the tarp situations, I noticed Hoppy was standing on her good leg with her limpy foot held up flamingo style. It was shaking, and she was shivering. It’s now a “barn day” for the rehab girls, and I’m going to see what I can rig up for them light wise to make it a little brighter in there. Hoppy was scooped up after I lured everyone back into the barn with some scratch, and brought into “the big human coop” for a quick once over. There’s nothing visibly wrong with her, so I’m guessing it’s just a case of weather sensitive healed up broken bones. She got a good go at the mealworm tray and was returned to the barn in a somewhat better mood.

I’ll be cooking up some eggs with berry flavored tums for everyone in there a bit later. I had to “borrow” some feed from the farm to get through until we can go to town on Monday (with mom’s pension cheque), so its the lower protein brand they don’t like of layer pellets and about 70% whole wheat berries . For everyone except the ten chicks, who still have grower crumbles. I told Andrew, if he has to, we can always play the “I’m rehabilitating your Sick chickens, and have been feeding and caring for, on average, 12 of them since March with no compensation, or even eggs” card. Yes, I bought my hatching eggs off the Farm, for Chickie Hawk’s offspring, as well as feeding and caring for the girls.

I will also be checking up on the 6 Farm chickens when I get down to do a load of laundry and dig up some more potatoes this afternoon as well. They went into a molt and stopped laying, so people have stopped checking on them daily. “Well, there aren’t any eggs to collect (they couldn’t figure out why and thought rats were getting them!) so we don’t really have to check their feed and water” If they could free range and weren’t trapped in a 4x8’ mud/poop pit I would be a little less worried about them. At least the ground/poop will hopefully be a little more solid now?

Everytime you tell stories of the farm chickens I get hyped up.

I hope they are not as bad off as I fear.

 

[BY Bob]

I really, really don't understand this mindset. Caring for any animal in unpleasant surroundings isn't fun so why not clean it up & make it a more pleasant environment both for you & the chickens? My run is a really pleasant place to sit & spend time with the girls. It never stinks. The litter is about 6" deep on the downhill side & I am working on getting it more than one leaf deep on the upside. It's not a super big space but they have logs & dead bushes to roost on, big trees for shelter & the old coop to investigate. They can dust bath either in the run or the coop's sand pit & 24/7 access to food & water. Neither space ever gets really mucky unless for some reason I'm away from home & honestly, the chickens appreciate a clean coop! Mine make happy clucky noises when they see me doing their clean & can't wait to get in to help!

I agree. A pleasant space gor you and them. It's not hard and it heads off so many problems. Plus they are living beings in our care. I say if we don't care for them well we are less than the best we can be.

 

[Kris5902]

They take heads for mounting!?
What kind of goats?

They are a mixture of meat and Dairy breeds that were supposedly “originally introduced by the Spanish” (we are basically the Canadian San Juan islands), and combined with every breed that has been brought into the island for Meat or Dairy purposes. Goats are notorious escape artists, and no one has been able to successfully keep them here, they all find a way into the Feral population eventually. Both the females and Males often have large horns. There are three distinct horn styles in the herds.

Here’s a link to a good blog by my nearest geographical neighbor with some professional photography work. Much better than my iPhone through the trailer window shots! This is, coincidentally, from about when we moved here. “Brown Ridge” is the vertical part of the farm, our northern geographical border, and the Cliff the local building department was worried about rockfall from.

https://www.nancyangermeyer.com/blog/the-winter-of-2017/

They are Tasty, and dress out fairly nicely. There has been talk by some new hippie-types about re-domesticating them. It will be an interesting project if they ever do get it going. As some Orphans have been turned into pets, like Millie and Woden, (the one here that liked being kicked in the head with Army boots) and for a while FIL was catching, castrating, and painting the horns of Billy’s (in an attempt to control the population and make them more edible for hunting, the painted horns were a good clear indicator at a distance that if you shoot it, you can eat it). It doesn’t seem impossible.

 

[Kris5902]

Ok, I get it now. Whatever is simpler makes sense to me. Certainly in your circumstances.

We will have to see how the building department reacts to the “oops, I forgot to add that little unnecessary wall bit” and “why, with no HVAC system, are you adding ductwork? And why does it look backwards?”

Everytime you tell stories of the farm chickens I get hyped up.

I hope they are not as bad off as I fear.

There are only six of them now, and out of the parasite ridden old coop and in the outdoor one. I didn’t want them to replace the chickens down there, this is why I offered and took on care of the red ladies. It was accepted by the primary resident and “farm manager” sibling. Her sister, however, is insistent that nothing on the farm be changed, ever. Even though keeping the chickens in full confinement was a change brought on by the advancing age of their mother and a shift in the responsibility of the chickens to someone who doesn’t like them as animals. They still aren’t kept in a manner that is appropriate IMO, but they aren’t covered with lice and SLM that won’t be treated.

I agree. A pleasant space gor you and them. It's not hard and it heads off so many problems. Plus they are living beings in our care. I say if we don't care for them well we are less than the best we can be.

Agree 100% with both you and @Ribh but we all like chickens. I don’t like spiders, so I don’t keep them as pets. If you’re not a dog person why would you have one? Even when it comes to “productive livestock” animals that provide food, if you can’t be bothered to care for them properly, buy your eggs at the store. I like my chickens, I even enjoy spending time with the meat birds, watching them interact and explore, eating grass and bugs.

 

[Ribh]

I agree. A pleasant space gor you and them. It's not hard and it heads off so many problems. Plus they are living beings in our care. I say if we don't care for them well we are less than the best we can be.

You would agree with the writer of Proverbs: The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel. 12:10

 

[BY Bob]

I have one more little rant, not chicken related, or house related, or even FIL related. You may want to skip this one, I’m still fuming and it’s been almost a week. Trophy Hunters

Andrew and I were sitting having coffee in the late morning, and we heard gunfire. Ok, FIL taking down a deer? The cold room is full of lambs and cows, so I don’t know where he thinks he’s going to hang it. Maybe a hunter we weren’t told about? We are “bad people” and now out of the info loop. A Second shot... nope goats (they are smarter and harder to hit) Third shot??? WTH? Fourth, fifth, up to seventh and eight rapid shots. Should we go investigate? He’s usually not that bad a shot. Is he trying to take out the whole herd or something? No better to just lie low and wait it out.

There were hikers in the parkland bordering our property, they fled back the way they came and contacted parks. A Parks Officer was also on parks property on the ridge above us, and agrees with our assment that the shots were definitely fired west of our trailer, which is why we thought “FIL apparently can’t hit the broadside of a barn anymore?” They came out the next day and found headless goats dumped out by the bay. It is assumed the criminals came in by boat. They removed the bodies and took DNA samples. All local Taxidermists are being required to submit DNA samples of their clients animals for comparison. It is illegal to hunt on Parkland, or carry a weapon through it, or trespass on private property to hunt/discharge a weapon. If they find them,(and I really HOPE they do!) the people responsible will be prosecuted.

I HATE trophy hunters. This, and uncontrolled dogs, is why I get so upset about trespassing. If you’re going to shoot it, be prepared to eat it... I’m not against hunting (venison pasta sauce for dinner tonight, again!) just the wasteful Disrespectful of the animal, no-good Trophy hunters, and people who don’t wait for a clean shot and just injure rather than kill the animal. Shoot at inanimate targets until you know you’re able to do it right.

I agree Kris. I cannot understand the trophy hunter mindset. The animal only exists for decorating your house? Irresponsible comes to mind. I hope they catch them and soon.

 

[rjohns39]

Good morning Kris

I too am opposed to the trophy hunters

 

[drumstick diva]

I don't understand the whole "trophy thing". An animal is magnificent in life. Not so when it is carved up, skinned, or taxidermied, or reduced to just a head/antlers on a wall.
Why aren't "trophy photos," taken with a good camera and long lens- and mounted on the wall just as good? I never had an urge to kill something just to show how skilled or lucky I was to find them.

 

[drumstick diva]

When we moved in 50 years ago, the neighbor across the street had us come in to view his home. The living room(second floor) had wild animal heads mounted on every available space on the walls. Too many. It creeped me out and I worried he would have human heads next.

He was a big Paul Bunyan of a man, and his wife was a petite woman, obviously frightened of him.

Neighbors said he moved his mistress into the house, and his wife down the basement.

No one doubted that for a minute. Thank goodness he had no kids that anyone knew about.

Eventually he moved to the wilds of Michigan to hunt . Girlfriend and wife came with. I imagine he wanted the wife to continue cleaning, cooking and maid service. Hope she was able to escape before something truly evil happened to her.