Spruce the Coop…I won something!
Well I have always appreciated what she writes and how she is such a resource to this particular community so I left a note on her blog (which is nice to do on people’s blogs every once in awhile. Hint. Hint) Here is what I said,
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- Got to love the sticker!
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- The sachet of mixed goodness
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- Thinking about making tea with it.
The Foster Chickens have been adopted
Where did my friends go?
Just a quick update on the ladies in the garage…They are just over five weeks old and all excited about life. I started with 20 and now am down to 14 because my friend David got his coop done before me and took them to their “forever home”. We have been foster parents for kids and when they leave it was always hard to see them go. This time around with chickens it is much easier. We were sad for a minute or two but know they would be going to a great home with Dad and at least of the daughters are excited about their new pets makes it much easier.
Check out his coop that he built, I just have this one picture sent from a text. I hope to get more pictures soon of the coop and girls to blog about! But for now here are a few from my garage coop.
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- David’s Coop pre roof
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- King of the mountain
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- Under the light
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- Where did my friends go?
Digging lumber up from the snow
Got to my friend’s house to pick up some of his lumber he had in stock for my chicken coop. He picks up sales all the time and had some extra 2×4, 4×4, and siding for me. I figured out I will need to give him a dozen eggs every week for 10 years to repay him!
We designed it on his computer then went out to his shed and this is what we came up with. We needed to load it on the tractor from D & G Equipment (another friend of ours) to get it through the snow to the other side of his shop. With the side door slid open we pulled in the 2×4 and got them cut to specs. I then labeled each piece to make construction much easier…once the snow stops coming down.
I brought the lumber home in my urban truck, otherwise known as a mini van with the seats removed!
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- All the wood and fencing
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- The updated design
Snow or not my girls need a home
There continues to be a steady outpour of snow here in the Northwoods but that cant stop me from getting my 20 chicks a better home. They are still doing great in the garage pen i set up but progress is still needed. These are my plans for the coop. My friend helped me lay it all out on the computer. Those that are local can probably figure out who would put a chicken coop through their CAD program. He has been such a great friend. Today I am filling up the back of the van with some lumber and will start building the walls in the garage very soon. If the snow stays any longer i might need some help chicksitting at your house.
We don’t need an Easter Bunny…We got Chicks
After a two year stoppage AGrowingFamily is back in the chicken business. Since leaving Washington we have wanted to get chickens again. This summer among other things we are going to get a garden going and have a few chickens to compliment the growing vegetables. On my day off this last week I took off for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Why the U.P. isn’t part of Wisconsin is beyond me. But that is another post.) in search of some chicks I could actually pick out.
Yes I could have ordered through the mail but I like to see them first. The Tractor Supply Store in Iron Mountain, MI was the nearest spot where I could make this happen. So I took the trek by myself and spent some time in the store and met a nice lady that was a customer who took about 30 minutes to get me back up to speed in the world of chickens. She was amazing and it reminded me about what I wrote about in my book Ride On about the motorcycle community. There are many similarities.
With a full cart of supplies I needed and 20 chickens in a box I was on my way back home. I made a nice size brooder box with some cheap plywood and shipping flats that I had. I added the lights and feeding containers and we were in business. I got way more than I need because I am growing some for friends. They of course came over during the week to check them out.
Now I need to figure out the fencing and a coop for outside. (But we wouldn’t want to be too far ahead of ourselves.)
Chickens are out
When we got home from Wisconsin we started to let our chickens out into the run for the day. We are growing a four of them for a friend so the hen-house is a bit small for them now that they are bigger. They have been loving it outside. Eating food out of our hand is still a favorite past time.
cool things about chickens is that they go to sleep at night without you telling them. The fist night they were in the run they started to next down on the ground so I got in the pen and helped them to go up the run. The second night the white Amerucana tried to round them up the steps and one didn’t want to go. I help her up via the outside door. This was a mistake, because the next night she was clueless of what to do. So I got inside the cage and put her in the right door.
Now like clockwork I go outside at 9pm and they are already inside the house waiting for my to close the door to the run. One night I was out late and wondering if they would stay in the house with the door open or not. I got home at 10 and they were asleep. Good chicks!
This whiter one is ring leader
