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

[AlabamaChickenLady]

How's those little peeps doing? Bet your just loving them.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Oh, they are so much fun! I am so glad I got a BR, she's turning out to be my favorite, lol! My original plan had been for 2 EE and 1 SLW...due to when the feed store was getting the breeds in, I chose 2 SLW and 1 BR! She has such a great personality! The SLWs are much smaller than she is, but everyone is starting to feather at about the same rate. I've already got plans to go looking for play sand tomorrow so I can get them something to scratch in...they spend a good amount of time whileI'm in there scratching at themselves, lol. The SLWs scream like I'm chasing them down with an ax when I move them to another box to clean the brooder...but my BR just loves to be picked up and cuddled!

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

LOL, the others will come around, give it time. Last week I had one Americana chick that got her head stuck up under the waterer and I didn't think she would make it thru the night. But about an hour later she was perky and alert. She's fine now.

Just this morning, the kids woke me up extra early

to tell me that one of the chicks had a peice of pine bedding stuck in their beak. My son proudly told me that he removed it. But my oldest daughter (panicing) told me that the chick had a hole in its beak and it was bleeding.

So, I took the chick in my hands, looked it over closely, and informed the worried kids that the hole in the beak was just a nostril. And then I told them that the chick only suffered from a bloody nose due to the pine chip. Then I put the chick back in the brooder, the kids went off to school, and I went back to bed.

I guess 20+ years of mothering has paid off. LOL I can now diagnose a nose bleed in a baby chick!!

 

[WhySayWhat]

Awesome diagnosis though! I was on the phone with my mother yesterday when my oldest nephew "pushed something on the door" and made it so it wouldn't shut for her. I knew immediately what had been done, but my Mother stopped listening as she went itno panic mode (they were at the movies to see Rango). I finally got her to listen, she had handed the phone off...and I tried explaining what had happened. She finally decided I didn't know what I was talking about, but that she would send pictures of both the driver's door (the "broken" one) and the passenger door.

I agreed but told her to call me back as soon as she sent the pics. When she called back, I was able to tell her exaclty what to do (our SUV's latch freezes in odd positions in the winter, so I know this problem well). When "pushing" on it didn't work I finally asked her if she had tried opening the door...she told "it IS open! I need to shut it!", lol. I said "Yes, but have you tried opening it?"... that did the trick. My 7.5 year old nephew had engaged the door latch by sticking his finger in the hole and pushing on it, lol.

They made it to see their movie with enough time to stop and get popcorn and a soda, lol.

And...my sister found out she's pregnant again... I have choice words I'd really like to call her, lol. Some people have all the "luck"! We've been trying for the better part of 7 years with no luck! On the bright side, her Doc will finally have a chance to do the hysterectomy she needs (her uterus is falling out), but has been putting off because she didn't want to totally give up on the idea of having a girl some day. They were expecting to start "trying" in 2-3 more years!

 

[Valerie Dawn]

Maybe you just need those little chicks to get your mothering hormones going yourself! Allow yourself to get into the whole nurturing thing.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Quote:
Ha...My nephews practically lived with my SO and I when we lived in the same town and since we moved, the oldest two (the youngest is still in diapers) come for extended visits a couple of times a year! Our oldest nephew will be here a week after school gets out to spend 3 weeks here! He'd never go home if we let him stay, lol. I don't mind being an aunt...but when my sister and her entire family have to pack into my Mother's single wide, 80 ft, trailer...that's where I have an issue with the whole thing! There are already 4 adults and 3 children living in a space barely big enough for 2 people! They started this year looking at what it would cost them to build a larger home on the property, that could handle 7 people, but they just started saving for it, it won't be here in the 8-9 months before there will be 8 people crammed in that tiny house. It's the house I grew up in, I know how tight a fit it was when it was just the 4 of us! We've pretty much given up on having our own and are "waiting" until things are more financially set to look into adopting, but even that is difficult because we aren't married and I don't work!

Anywho...I got some work done today on the coop! Voila! Doors!

No pop door yet and I have yet to fix that back corner on the right that's still open (there's a piece of OSB crammed in it in the pic)...but it has 4 walls! I'm going to wrap both front and back corners on the right with Hardware cloth to size down the "gaps", but it should help with ventialtion too, so I'm happy with that! The door has a bolt action lock at the top and a hook & eye at the bottom. I'm going to attach a chain with a caribeiner small enough to work woth the eye to hold the big door open when I need in there. That is one heavy door and it prefers to be open, lol. I guess it isn't "square"...lol.

Then, I need to work on getting a piece of panneling on the inside to act as a roof.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Ha...My nephews practically lived with my SO and I when we lived in the same town and since we moved, the oldest two (the youngest is still in diapers) come for extended visits a couple of times a year! Our oldest nephew will be here a week after school gets out to spend 3 weeks here! He'd never go home if we let him stay, lol. I don't mind being an aunt...but when my sister and her entire family have to pack into my Mother's single wide, 80 ft, trailer...that's where I have an issue with the whole thing! There are already 4 adults and 3 children living in a space barely big enough for 2 people! They started this year looking at what it would cost them to build a larger home on the property, that could handle 7 people, but they just started saving for it, it won't be here in the 8-9 months before there will be 8 people crammed in that tiny house. It's the house I grew up in, I know how tight a fit it was when it was just the 4 of us! We've pretty much given up on having our own and are "waiting" until things are more financially set to look into adopting, but even that is difficult because we aren't married and I don't work!

Anywho...I got some work done today on the coop! Voila! Doors!

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l573/Marcy_Dunafon/coopdoor.jpg http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l573/Marcy_Dunafon/coopdoor2.jpg

No pop door yet and I have yet to fix that back corner on the right that's still open (there's a piece of OSB crammed in it in the pic)...but it has 4 walls! I'm going to wrap both front and back corners on the right with Hardware cloth to size down the "gaps", but it should help with ventialtion too, so I'm happy with that! The door has a bolt action lock at the top and a hook & eye at the bottom. I'm going to attach a chain with a caribeiner small enough to work woth the eye to hold the big door open when I need in there. That is one heavy door and it prefers to be open, lol. I guess it isn't "square"...lol.

Then, I need to work on getting a piece of panneling on the inside to act as a roof.

Good job.

 

[WhySayWhat]

Thanks!

I realized the other day I need a staple gun to help affix the hardware cloth to the coop (and to get the run built)...guess I'll need to make a trip to Home Depot, lol! I want to pick up a bag of play sand while I'm there to make a mini sandbox for the girls too... I saw a little one on another gal's blog the other day and it was a great idea! I wish I could afford to do sand in my whole run! They'll have to survive with one of those plastice turtles I think though, lol. (If I can find one at Good Will or one of the other thrift shops...)

This one at Sears isn't too bad a price...

 

[AlabamaChickenLady]

Yup, your going to need a staple gun for the fence on the run. But I also have a suggestion for you. Try to pick up some of these little nails and use them in addition to the staples.

They are used to hold down felt paper when putting on a new roof. I found that (with the kids) the staples will tend to push back out when the fence is pushed on. With my little ones, they have roage balls flying everywhere,

they lean up against it, or pull on it to "LOOK" at the chickens and this puts pressure on the wire and the staples were pushing back out and leaving open spots. We had some of these left over from when we put the new roof on our house last fall. We just put them every 8-12 inches and then staples in between to fill in any spots. With the large plastic washer, it will hold much better. The nails are only about an inch long and the washers are about an inch accross.

You said that your nephews will be coming to stay with you from time to time. You may have some roage balls of your own flying around the yard plus the leaning on the fence to just "LOOK" at the chickens. LOL

By the way, looking very nice. You are making good progress. My hubby said I can't collect pallets to build our next little coop. But I'm still watching your progress. He may get moved to day shift soon, and what the hen builds while the rooster is at work, will just be our little secret. LOL

 

[WhySayWhat]

I still have a gigantic stack of pallets on my garage, lol! We ended up only using the 2, plus I took 1 apart...so I still have 7 sitting there.

I ran out of "extra" time today, so I didn't make it to Home Depot...but I may do that tomorrow! OUr weather is supposed to be sour for the rest of the week, but I really want to pick up at least 1 bag of play sand (under $4 a bag)!