MJ's little flock

[BY Bob]

I hope to work on it a little each weekend. I won't push it. Instead it'll be a pleasure project, to be undertaken at a leisurely pace and with love and care, both for myself and for the hens.

Luckily one of the neighbours is a woodworker in his spare time. He mostly turns things on his lathe, but he knows all about woodwork and about chickens, so I'll be relying on him for advice when it's needed. It's the same man who gave me his big car to use yesterday and showed me how to tie the lumber down securely with the ratchet tie. A top bloke.

I'm so glad you have such talented backup. I believe you won't need it because I know how determined you can be. You will do this and have something of which you will be very proud and your hens will love!

You got this!

 

[BY Bob]

The one problem is that, because I'm not skilled, I can't do the roof first. I'll have to work from the bottom up. It'll mean the roof will be a little trickier, but I'll have been pondering it for longer, so I'm sure it'll be a better outcome even though a tradie would do the roof first.

I would do the roof last in general. It makes everything below it harder to do. Why would a tradie do the roof first?

 

[BY Bob]

I had the study floorboards done last week. The finish needs a few more days to cure but it looks fantastic!

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That really does look fantastic!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

No I haven't a sketch of that but it's going in the top left corner of the run, which is beyond the tables in this photo.

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The posts in the photo will form the corners of the roost.

It won't be a coop like you're used to with your cold winters. Instead, imagine a roost over a raised and easy to clean floor with walls on three sides that reach only as far down as the raised floor to create a breezeway beneath, and a skillion roof.

The patch beneath will therefore be double shaded some of the day and triple shaded most of the day. I'll put food and water under there.

Once that's built, I'll dispense with the old tables and put some plantings where the tables are and it goes without saying, I'll exclude the hens from that patch until the plants are well-grown. I'll be selecting the plats from what I see thriving around the neighbourhood, things like plumbago and wisteria, and from one of dad's ornamentals that he put in the wrong spot. That won't be until spring at the earliest.

Once the plantings are established, the hens will have a good stretch of deep shade, plus the misting. By then, the flock should be around 6-8 hens and I hope to have provided sufficient layers of shade for them to stay cool when the heat is at its worst.

Shade layers are brilliant, especially with misting.

I love the sound of that plan. I can’t wait to see it come together. Very exciting !

Ditto!

 

[Aussie-Chookmum]

I had the study floorboards done last week. The finish needs a few more days to cure but it looks fantastic!

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Is that a trap door I see in the corner in the second photo?

That is a really nice, dark floor. Do you know what type of wood it is?

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

These pics are from 3 weeks ago when they first arrived. I plan on taking new ones next week.

They are so pretty!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I think this confirms for me that I couldn't cope with trying to hatch eggs under a broody; if I feel this sad vicariously, I don't think I could do it myself! But I think you're very brave for giving it a go, and also being prepared for the worst and not over-optimistic.

I tried to incubate a few duck eggs last summer and they all died a few days before hatch. I opened them and sure enough they almost made it. I have no way of knowing what happened. I was really bummed out.

 

[MaryJanet]

I tried to incubate a few duck eggs last summer and they all died a few days before hatch. I opened them and sure enough they almost made it. I have no way of knowing what happened. I was really bummed out.

Isn't it awful when it goes wrong. I'm glad I managed my expectations or I'd have been truly shattered.

 

[MaryJanet]

Is that a trap door I see in the corner in the second photo?

That is a really nice, dark floor. Do you know what type of wood it is?

Yes, that's the door to the cellar. It's a little gummed up from the finish but I'm loosening it carefully with a stanley knife. It's freeing up and so far I haven't damaged the surface.

The floor guy also installed the flush fit cellar door pull for me.

It's pine. Mostly 100 years old, but the boards from the wall to the edge of the trapdoor are only 20. It's stained to a bespoke shade. I couldn't tell you the recipe although I know it was 60-30-10 mix of different stains.

 

[MaryJanet]

I would do the roof last in general. It makes everything below it harder to do. Why would a tradie do the roof first?

Because there are fewer obstacles to climb around if you do it first, which is convenient when you're working above your head.