New plan! (LOTS O PICS, adding them as I go)

[WhySayWhat]

More work done! I got the space next to the People door covered in Hardware cloth yesterday! I should have taken a few more pics, but I thought we were going back outside after lunch...it didn't happen, lol. But, here's what the first panel (I needed 2 since the door is about 3' tall) looked like after I got it stapled in place! The cut outs are the door hinges.

It's attached to the coop on the outside of the wall to the left in that picture with LOTS of staples! I think I'm going to lay a board over the outside too before I paint, to give it extra "hold". I nee to get out there this afternoon and work on the other side where the larger gap is. After I get it hardware clothed in, I'm going to make a removable wood panel to go over the mesh for during the winter. The board I'll use is already sitting in the hole, blocking critters at the moment. One of our neighbors has started giving the squirrels white bread. How do we know? The darned things are bringing it up onto our deck to stash! I found a half a slice of bread jammed into a little space at the top of the railing to the stairs yesterday! Those creatures dig up my window boxes looking to hide the peanuts the neighbors give them too....

Anyone have a good, non-lethal, way to deter them?

 

[WhySayWhat]

I actually got the rest done today!

Not that it was much...just had to attach the other 2 panels of hardware cloth, but I've been saying I need to do it for far too long, lol.

From the inside...

And the outside!

I have a perfectly sized piece of wood to cover the large area with during cold weather, but this way I have lots of air flow during the hot months! Up next is attaching paneling to the inside on the roof! Though I have been toying with covering it with hardware cloth and tarping it for winter...less cutting that way!

I also need to attach a few runners over the wire where it's attached on the side of the coop.

I'm kind of saving the painting until after the 10th, my Mom and nephew will be here to help on the 13th, lol.

 

[Valerie Dawn]

"Anyone have a good, non-lethal, way to deter them?"

Squirrels - like other mammals - are not fond of hot pepper, sauce, powder, flakes, etc. And the nice thing about that when you have chickens is that it doesn't bother the birds.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Moth balls. Might give them a try. They are good for discouraging rabbits.... http://www.ehow.com/way_5390132_homemade-squirrel-deterrent.html

 

[WhySayWhat]

Hmm, Pepper...I'll get some this week and coat my deck in it!

Totally NOT chicken related, but....I get to host a Sewing House party! May 7th (it's a Saturday) for anyone near Spokane that wants to come and play with Singer's newest sewing machine! The "party project" is an accessory bag (for crochet hooks and the like), and you get 2 other patterns to take home with you and lots of coupons and thread and stuff! Toss me an email if you want to come...I don't think I know enough people to meet the "party guest numbers", lol. Besides, what a great weay to meet new people...food, drinks, sewing projects...!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Okay, I can't find a recent "stink eye" thread...so I'll post my new favorite pic here. This was a few days ago, lol. Clyde was looking at pecking the flash just as I took the picture!

 

[WhySayWhat]

I got some work done! Sorta...

After spending the better part of an hour cutting a sheet of paneling to pieces (and not getting it to fit no matter what I did), I had an epiphany...

And thus, my new roofing plan was born! The first pic shows what I had accomplished with the paneling...they still didn't fit! The second is my solution, on the left side anyway.

I have a ton of boards that I pulled off the now open sides of the pallets, I also have a number of miscellaneous pieces that are about the same size (2x4s, small cuts of OSB, & Plywood). All I have to do is nail them down! And, of course, cover any gaps! How simple! I can't believe I didn't think of it before! Of course, about the time I figured that little notion out...my other half was home and wanting to go on our walk and make a run up the street to Costco so we could look for the new TV we're getting in the very near future! Tomorrow I'll get the roof on and figure out where I'm cutting a hole for the pop door! I didn't have any nails outside with me...

Tomorrow though...I'm gonna brush all the sawdust out before I crawl in there and lay down, lol. My entire front and back were covered in sawdust from rolling around in there trying to get the paneling up!

Here's a little of what it looks like as of today...the door is open in the first pic, I think I'm going to end up cutting the pop door to the left of it about where the bright orange paint is. Second is the end my neighbors behind us will see ( this is the side that points out into my yard). And last, is the view from the side the stairs go over...that's the side I call the "back", lol. Still a few pieces of I need to attach here and there to make everything secure...but it's getting there! I have a super busy 5 weeks coming up! One or the other of us will be out of town most of the time, but I should be home enough (and have help in the form of company) to get the run finished in that time! I better, or we may end up with house chickens in diapers, lol.

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Looking good!!

By the time you get it all painted and the run done, it will look like a pro job.

I've been busy with other stuff lately. Hubby got a new boat that needs some fixing up. So we are not working on the new chicken coop yet. My project is put on hold to work on his projects. It's a give and take, which works quite well around here.

 

[drumstick diva]

Clyde looks like he's been smokin' some funny weeds

 

[WhySayWhat]

Lol, Clyde is actually a girl.

She moved just as the camera went off...my new cell phone is a windows phone and it doesn't "take" right when you push the button, it flashes then takes. All three love the flash, they try to peck at it!

ACL...The give & take works around here too, but this project is all me, so I do it in spurts when I have the time and the weather is cooperating, lol. Today I'll be working on getting those "roof tiles" secured, my other half is under the impression I can just "out rocks on top to hold them down", lol. I think I'll move them to the inside of the coop and then screw/nail up through the top. That way I can hold them in place and do the screwing/nailing! At least the weather is working with me now!

We went this morning and bought a new television for our bedroom...we've been talking about it for quite a while now (at least 4 years) and finally found one we liked while we had the money to get it! We got a 40" Magnavox LCD flat screen and a full motion wall mount for just over $500! Of course, we took advantage of the fact that I still have a tax exempt driver's license (I can't prove I live in WA, so I can't get a DL here, lol) and saved $60 there! We "could" have waited until Wednesday too when my mother will be here, but this way my other half has a day to play with the new TV before he leaves for L.A. tomorrow!

The girls have really ramped up their food consumption...I need to go buy another bag of feed today! Good thing I have a coupon for 10% off, lol. Going to pick up a tube of Durvet/Ivermecterin Dewormer too, I have a coupon for that to get it for $3.27! I may even pick up their "big girl" feeder today too...I have a gift card to use!