Surviving Minnesota!

[Nikasha]

lvie- glad you found a home for your extra hens.

Ralphie - sorry to hear of more health issues. And the disappointing results of the lawsuit.

Holm - hope your swelling is going down. My 5 yo son got his first bee sting this week - on the lip, no less. Luckily, only minor swelling.

BC - I'm sure you're happy to hand the chicks back to their owner, but that must have been fun having those little peepers around for a bit.

Elise - echoing the others - your coop building is looking great!

DH has been doing more land-work - he got the riding lawnmower operational and has expanded his trails. We got toward the far corner of the property and climbed through some weeds and cattails for the first glimpse of our stream since we moved in. It's ~5 ft wide, shallow and clear.

He also started cutting down trees/vines/overgrowth around the chicken house, including some pretty big ones. I told him he's not allowed to cut down anything big when I'm not there to watch - I couldn't stop something from happening, but at least I would know to call 911. I have a cousin who sustained a major brain injury from a logging accident. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

The building is looking good: large enough to be a nice bunk house. Pics to follow, maybe this weekend. Plant removal revealed an area of damage on the exterior we'll have to learn how to fix. I got inside it for a good look around - easier since I wasn't carrying the 2 yo and it was brighter inside without trees in front of the windows. They appear to have the front ~2/3 and back ~1/3 separated with a wall and a full size door which is fully blocked right now. There are exterior doors to both levels on both the front and back. The larger front portion appears to be where the chickens were housed. The only interior access to the 2nd floor is through a small hatch in this portion. Anyone know what a 2nd floor like this would have typically been used for? (We haven't seen up there yet.) The back 1/3 I imagine they used for storage/working space. (There is a good amount of animal feces in this portion that will need to be cleaned out - so I only took a brief look on this side.) Both sides have one roof vent connected directly. On the back wall, there is a small chimney with a circular access point around 5 ft off the ground. Maybe a wood stove was used in there at some point? We do have a wood stove, but maybe this won't be a useful function for us.

Otherwise, we've been dealing with colds/allergies/sinus infections here, but so far avoided the other litany of illnesses that have popped up at the kids' school - hand/foot/mouth, strep, etc. There is road construction going on immediately next to their school building, and apparently on Tuesday they severed a gas line and the whole school was evacuated. Everything was fixed without incident, but this is pretty scary, especially after the recent explosion at Minnehaha Academy.

 

[duluthralphie]

lvie- glad you found a home for your extra hens.

Ralphie - sorry to hear of more health issues. And the disappointing results of the lawsuit.

Holm - hope your swelling is going down. My 5 yo son got his first bee sting this week - on the lip, no less. Luckily, only minor swelling.

BC - I'm sure you're happy to hand the chicks back to their owner, but that must have been fun having those little peepers around for a bit.

Elise - echoing the others - your coop building is looking great!

DH has been doing more land-work - he got the riding lawnmower operational and has expanded his trails. We got toward the far corner of the property and climbed through some weeds and cattails for the first glimpse of our stream since we moved in. It's ~5 ft wide, shallow and clear.

He also started cutting down trees/vines/overgrowth around the chicken house, including some pretty big ones. I told him he's not allowed to cut down anything big when I'm not there to watch - I couldn't stop something from happening, but at least I would know to call 911. I have a cousin who sustained a major brain injury from a logging accident. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

The building is looking good: large enough to be a nice bunk house. Pics to follow, maybe this weekend. Plant removal revealed an area of damage on the exterior we'll have to learn how to fix. I got inside it for a good look around - easier since I wasn't carrying the 2 yo and it was brighter inside without trees in front of the windows. They appear to have the front ~2/3 and back ~1/3 separated with a wall and a full size door which is fully blocked right now. There are exterior doors to both levels on both the front and back. The larger front portion appears to be where the chickens were housed. The only interior access to the 2nd floor is through a small hatch in this portion. Anyone know what a 2nd floor like this would have typically been used for? (We haven't seen up there yet.) The back 1/3 I imagine they used for storage/working space. (There is a good amount of animal feces in this portion that will need to be cleaned out - so I only took a brief look on this side.) Both sides have one roof vent connected directly. On the back wall, there is a small chimney with a circular access point around 5 ft off the ground. Maybe a wood stove was used in there at some point? We do have a wood stove, but maybe this won't be a useful function for us.

Otherwise, we've been dealing with colds/allergies/sinus infections here, but so far avoided the other litany of illnesses that have popped up at the kids' school - hand/foot/mouth, strep, etc. There is road construction going on immediately next to their school building, and apparently on Tuesday they severed a gas line and the whole school was evacuated. Everything was fixed without incident, but this is pretty scary, especially after the recent explosion at Minnehaha Academy.

Glad the new farm adventure is going well.

BTW the lawsuit thing was years in the past, I had hoped I didn't have anything bad from the spill. BUT about 15 years or so ago when I started getting pneumonia, I figured they were wrong about my injuries.

I am feeling pretty good today and I had coffee with Ivie, we solved all the chicken problems on the planet and them some.

 

[BantyChooks]

I am feeling pretty good today and I had coffee with Ivie, we solved all the chicken problems on the planet and them some.

So did you figure out how exactly I am going to create a bio-secure space to put returning showbirds in?

 

[I Love Layers]

Nice coop Elise! I agree with Ralphie, lol


Went to the chiropractor. Bad stuff, basically my arches are really bad so it is affecting everything, ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and neck. I was hoping that is not what it was but it is. So now I get to spend a bunch of money on supports. She looked at my left ankle and said I most likely sprained it pretty bad at the first meet high jumping. So next week she wants me to come in again after getting supports and see if the supports helps my ankle any. I will probably have to go and buy a brace though...

 

[lvie]

Nice coop Elise! I agree with Ralphie, lol


Went to the chiropractor. Bad stuff, basically my arches are really bad so it is affecting everything, ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and neck. I was hoping that is not what it was but it is. So now I get to spend a bunch of money on supports. She looked at my left ankle and said I most likely sprained it pretty bad at the first meet high jumping. So next week she wants me to come in again after getting supports and see if the supports helps my ankle any. I will probably have to go and buy a brace though...

Bummer ILLs. The payoffs are the healthy internals from playing sports but sometimes hard on the externals. Glad to hear you are enjoying Volleyball and Chuck! Cute!

 

[lvie]

View attachment 1111678 Do you think Jerry will miss this one?!

Better not.

I'm feeling the space in the coop cramping up with the cockerel club growing. Right now it's ok. But come winter.

Oh ivie if I could adopt them I would. 12 is a nice number. I hope to be down to 8 by winter. Maybe 9.

Jerry probably gave you that one just for chick sitting. Have fun on your camping excursion again this weekend BC. We need to make plans the end of September when the leaves are changing 'up nordth.' Nice driving weather, beautiful colors. So many places we could meet.

 

[lvie]

Baby Chick - almost 5 wks now

Remake of the 4x4 coop. I had a good foundation to start with otherwise every single cut and screw is MINE!

Rosie, the best broody hen in the world

Gilda Radner (always talk - talk - talk) and theres Copper in the back ground making sure I do no harm to his girls. Gilda arrived in 2014 and is still laying strong.

Irene (after one of my aunts) who also arrived in 2014 and is going strong. One of the British girls is taking care of Irene for some reason.

These are four of the six gold comments who are going elsewhere to live. Gosh they are good girls but getting fiesty as they approach one year. Fighting amongst the flock.

Here is one of the California Whites who is leaving with the Gold Comets. Ahhhha! Sad to see them go. Glad to see them go. I will be down to 16 birds. Much more manageable.

 

[duluthralphie]

Jerry probably gave you that one just for chick sitting. Have fun on your camping excursion again this weekend BC. We need to make plans the end of September when the leaves are changing 'up nordth.' Nice driving weather, beautiful colors. So many places we could meet.

Like a mushroom woods...

 

[Tfred1399]

Hey PC experts!!

What age should I expect my first egg? Late March pullets. Has to be any time now, huh?

 

[ejb3810]

Tfred, yes anytime now.
Ralphie, hope you recover soon. when the lungs do not work properly a person has big problems.
Layers, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As someone who is living with the complications caused by years of neglecting the body playing sports, I can tell you that the price is paid in later years to a greater degree than when young and unafraid.
BC, surely you were tempted to talk Jerry out of a few of those chicks ?