Kristen’s Chickens and Farming Ventures

[Kris5902]

Morning Kris

Morning Bob I slept in as long as the chickens would let me... 7am, oh the racket! That’s what I get for opening them up at 5 yesterday, now they are all “well the door was already open yesterday when I woke up, so why not today!?!”

 

[BY Bob]

Morning Bob I slept in as long as the chickens would let me... 7am, oh the racket! That’s what I get for opening them up at 5 yesterday, now they are all “well the door was already open yesterday when I woke up, so why not today!?!”

Oh how were teach them bad habits. Not only that the door should be open earlier but also the "if we make a lot of noise she will come" aspect. Lol

 

[Kris5902]

Uh oh... I’m in trouble then!

 

[BY Bob]

Uh oh... I’m in trouble then!

I have taught mine some bad habits as well. If mine see me looking out the back door and they are free ranging, they assume I have food for them and come running. I have no idea how I have trained them to do that but sometimes it can create a dangerous situation if I am trying to carry something out and suddenly there are hens all around my legs! Mine have also learned that if they are locked in the coop and I come outside, by yelling at me I will let them out to free range. They can create a lot of racket if they desire.

 

[Kris5902]

So, part of the ruckus of my early morning wake up today (I slept in until a whopping 7 am!) was due to the fact that Chickie Hawks girls LOVE their nest box insert. All 6 of the red girls laid, before 7, in the boxes pretty as can be. I was too exhausted to think to take my phone out with me, because the racket from everyone made me think something was wrong, so I literally rolled out of bed and went out to check/release them.

Next thing to do is unload the truck, and feed the little meat chicks! I’m really hoping the Broiler pellets are on the top of the pallet. I’m designing a feed room addition for the barn up here, which will be able to store 3 pallets of feed, and be easily loaded with the tractor and forks... but that will likely be a fairly long time in coming. I’m thinking about 8x14’.

We will also be cleaning and organizing 1/2 the barn for storage... I don’t know how the owners are going to feel about that if the fields produce enough hay to fill this one this year, but chicken is less seasonal than the beef and lamb harvests which means when I get things rolling I should be able to keep bringing in income in even the now non-production parts of the year. Speaking of which, I had someone say they would easily buy 10 birds/month (they have been buying the giant “local” $40 birds from Saltspring), so I really need to get the girls breeding and producing nice offspring ASAP.

Yesterday was long, draining, and overall highly productive. We also had several fun interactions with retail workers, and were very lucky to get our Feed. We showed up 5-10 minutes after the store closed, but they reopened their till for us and got us loaded anyway. One of the many benefits of working with a small Family Run feedstore over a big chain one!

You know how when you’re sleep deprived you get a little funny, almost like being drunk? Well that was me by about 1pm. We were looking for coolers At WalMart and wandered through the hunting section... there were three employees stocking the aisle and a couple shoppers blocking the way so we stopped in front of the small bows. In my semi delirious state I was causally asking Andrew if he thought that would work on goats/deer. Helpful employee interjected that they have a 25lb draw and are kids target bows. So innocently enough I said “well then, Baby goats! We can take them out before they have a chance to grow up!” This was apparently the best thing two of them had heard all day. Employee #3 said I could offend people by talking like that... well buddy, welcome to retail. I’m a horrible, horrible person sometimes! (Note: this is mostly due to working retail for the last decade or so )

 

[BY Bob]

So, part of the ruckus of my early morning wake up today (I slept in until a whopping 7 am!) was due to the fact that Chickie Hawks girls LOVE their nest box insert. All 6 of the red girls laid, before 7, in the boxes pretty as can be. I was too exhausted to think to take my phone out with me, because the racket from everyone made me think something was wrong, so I literally rolled out of bed and went out to check/release them.

Next thing to do is unload the truck, and feed the little meat chicks! I’m really hoping the Broiler pellets are on the top of the pallet. I’m designing a feed room addition for the barn up here, which will be able to store 3 pallets of feed, and be easily loaded with the tractor and forks... but that will likely be a fairly long time in coming. I’m thinking about 8x14’.

View attachment 1770545

We will also be cleaning and organizing 1/2 the barn for storage... I don’t know how the owners are going to feel about that if the fields produce enough hay to fill this one this year, but chicken is less seasonal than the beef and lamb harvests which means when I get things rolling I should be able to keep bringing in income in even the now non-production parts of the year. Speaking of which, I had someone say they would easily buy 10 birds/month (they have been buying the giant “local” $40 birds from Saltspring), so I really need to get the girls breeding and producing nice offspring ASAP.

Yesterday was long, draining, and overall highly productive. We also had several fun interactions with retail workers, and were very lucky to get our Feed. We showed up 5-10 minutes after the store closed, but they reopened their till for us and got us loaded anyway. One of the many benefits of working with a small Family Run feedstore over a big chain one!

You know how when you’re sleep deprived you get a little funny, almost like being drunk? Well that was me by about 1pm. We were looking for coolers At WalMart and wandered through the hunting section... there were three employees stocking the aisle and a couple shoppers blocking the way so we stopped in front of the small bows. In my semi delirious state I was causally asking Andrew if he thought that would work on goats/deer. Helpful employee interjected that they have a 25lb draw and are kids target bows. So innocently enough I said “well then, Baby goats! We can take them out before they have a chance to grow up!” This was apparently the best thing two of them had heard all day. Employee #3 said I could offend people by talking like that... well buddy, welcome to retail. I’m a horrible, horrible person sometimes! (Note: this is mostly due to working retail for the last decade or so )

Baby Goats......

 

[Kris5902]

Well yesterday was Too hot for much, but I built out the second nestbox and got the feed unloaded. Started cleaning the trailer a bit and putting away the groceries, and I made things far worse. I always tell myself that things usually go through a “worse” stage as they get better, so I’m hoping, based on the disaster around me, I’m finally going to get this RV into a functional space. @Ribh i feel your pain with the lack of room for storage, especially food storage.

It all started with one little bottle of Italian seasoning... I was down to about 1tsp left so I got another in town, we’ve been storing our spices, sugar, flour and such in the microwave (helps with keeping the sugar and flour dry). It wouldn’t fit in. This was the last straw, so I spent about 3 hours ripping out the built in microwave, rearranging the wires that run through the space, and putting in plywood to turn it into a cabinet. I ran out of 1/4” ply so I dismantled the drawer from under the dinette. I quadrupled our storage where the microwave was.

Today is recycling, moving the cattle, tagging and using the elastrator on the new calves before they get too big, and maybe ripping out the dinette completely. I’m going to replace it with shelving and the recliner that used to live by the door (where I’m putting the cat litter box). I need some opinions as I’m 50/50 on leaving the new cabinet open or covering it with a door like the one on the right.

I like the cleaner look of the door, but would have to pick up a little support arm thingie to keep it open. It’s also going to get an upper shelf. Backsplash is peel and stick tiles I did when we bought it. Frosting on mirrors is the vinyl stuff you can buy at Home Depot... there were mirrors everywhere! It’s a 1997 trailer.

 

[WhoDatChick]

I just absolutely love and am so impressed with how handy you are! I am very good at ripping things apart but I definitely need huds to fix and put things back together for me ... I’m like Chip Gaines on demolition day... I can tear it all down but do not want the task of having to do the technical part of rebuilding

 

[Kris5902]

I just absolutely love and am so impressed with how handy you are! I am very good at ripping things apart but I definitely need huds to fix and put things back together for me ... I’m like Chip Gaines on demolition day... I can tear it all down but do not want the task of having to do the technical part of rebuilding

I prefer taking things apart too! I’m getting better at the putting things together, our last house was from 1951, and I got a lot of practice when we renovated it. I like tiling, electrical, and am good at drywall mudding. I hate doing insulation, drywall sanding, and I “dont Do” plumbing. I’m good with basic framing, don’t like doing sheathing or roofing, and I really “don’t Do” concrete. I also can’t square up forms to save my life... I was out by 5” on our patio over 16’

Due to budget considerations I’m going to be doing our bookshelves and possibly some furniture (end tables mostly) when we get the house built. I’m also going to have to repurpose the RV fridge and stove for a little while most likely.

 

[Ribh]

I just absolutely love and am so impressed with how handy you are! I am very good at ripping things apart but I definitely need huds to fix and put things back together for me ... I’m like Chip Gaines on demolition day... I can tear it all down but do not want the task of having to do the technical part of rebuilding

X2