Old War Time Posters

I thought this was interesting. A motivator for keeping chickens in your backyard.  :o)

Brooder Modification

So Sunday Night, Ember decided that it was possible to escape the brooder from the top. Luckily I caught her in the act. Otherwise she would have been a tasty treat for Killer.

So at MIDNIGHT, I had to scrounge up the materials to make this cover for the opening. Ta Da! Here you go.

Sad News

We are down to four now. Fluffy drown this afternoon. I'm not really sure what happened. I just found her laying in the waterer. :o(

I am thinking about going to get two more chicks.... I don't know if my heart can take this...

Gardening

So this season, I am not going to start a garden. I will save that for next year, after I get these chickens down pat. Last year I bought this blueberry bush and can you believe that I didn't kill it? I just plucked these yummy berries, they were delicious. Sorry Jack, I didn't share.
~Hazel

Checking Out the Coop

 Fluffy checking out the coop, making sure that Jack is doing it right.

 Right now, fluffy gets lost in the run.

 Shorty confers with Fluffy, it's looking good.

 The move in date will be here in no time. I'm thinking sometime in June.

 Jack and Jack Jr. putting more sand into the run.

Tonight I found Fluffy sound asleep with her head in the food, the little piggie.

Five Will Have To Be Enough

Sad news.... Little Rocky died yesterday morning. She wasn't doing well the night before. She was very weak and was so much smaller than the other girls. I'm not sure what went wrong. Since we got Ember, Ember has become the alpha. I think she was kinda ruling the food and water. Poor little Rocky was at the bottom of the pecking order. I am now keeping an eye on Ember and taking her out every once in a while so the others can eat a little more freely.

Black Jack was cuddling with Rocky the night before, she must have sensed that she wasn't well and was trying to keep her warm.

Five is NOT Enough

So after realizing how big the chicken coop is going to be, Jack and I decided that we should have the maximum amount of chickens that the city will allow. So I took my darling niece, Kae, back the feed store and had her pick out another chick from the same batch that her sisters came from. 

 This is little Ember. She really is a beautiful bird and I believe that she is a brown Leghorn.

 She fit in very well, no harassment going on. They all just love each other and cuddled all night long.

Six IS enough.

A and J from next door came to visit the girls. They just love them and are welcome to come and play anytime.

Things Are Really Moving Along

 Jack worked very hard this weekend. Lots of sun, I'm glad he put on his sun-screen.

 We put some of the sand in, we'll have to go and purchase a few more hundred pounds. I guess we can use this as an awesome sand box while the sand is still clean.

 DGD loves it. She is hoping her daddy will build her one.

 Julia

So now all of the chicks have a name... Fluffy (Delaware), Black Jack (Barred Plymouth Rock), Rocky (Barred Plymouth Rock), Julia (Rhode Island Red) and Shortcut (Rhode Island Red). I'm thinking about going back to the feed store and getting one more from the batch to make our limit of 6 since the coop is so big. ~ Hazel

It's Coming Along

Piece by piece, moment by moment, the coop is taking shape.

~Jack

Chicken Obsession

Okay.... I'm not sure what is driving me to start collecting chickens, but it sure is strong. I have been thinking about it none stop, researching on the internet, talking to people about it and yes, even dreaming about it. I wonder if I am subconsciously worried about the State of California and it's economy and that raising chickens will give me a sense of self-reliance or maybe it's because I'm getting closer to being an empty nester and I need to make sure that I replenish my flock. What ever it is, I'm having a lot of fun and I think Jack is too. Yesterday I went to get my chickies. I met DD and DGD at Midway Feed where we picked out our girls. I got
  * 2 Barred Plymouth Rock
  * 2 Rhode Island Red
  * 1 Delaware
They are absolutely adorable! I am going to let the kids name them. Right now three are named, Fluffy (Delaware), Shortcut (RIR) and Black Jack (BPR). We just need to name two more tonight when the Grandkids come by.
~ Hazel

 Saying goodbye to the family.

 The Brooder

 Shortcut (RIR)

 Fluffy (Yellow Delaware)

 PeeWee, checking out the new members of the family

Killer and PeeWee welcoming the girls.

The Most Expensive Eggs in Town

Okay... after buying the lumber for this project, Jack has informed me that our eggs (if we ever get that far) will be the most expensive eggs in town. This project is WAY more expensive than I dreamed. I was originally thinking of getting a used playhouse and adding a little run to it. It would have done the trick, but THIS coop will be much sturdier and will last a long time. Nothing but the best for our little chicks.
~ Hazel

Jack decided to use pressure treated wood for the studs and the bottom plate and regular doug fir for the rest.

Starting a Project

Why is it so easy to start a project and almost impossible to completely finish it? I can't tell you how many projects we have started around this house, just to leave the final touches to some future date. We get so ambitious, walking down the aisles of our local home improvement store, dreaming of all the fantastic improvements we can make. Thinking about more that one project at a time while walking down those aisles can be very overwhelming once you get home. I do the same thing at the craft store and the fabric store. I think it's because I'm more of a dreamer than a doer. Don't get me wrong, I do a lot of things, I just really like dreaming. Right at this moment Jack and I (Hazel) are working on an old Airstream trailer, a cabin in the mountains, a vacation home at the river, and a chicken coop in the backyard. The chicken coop is my idea and the rest are Jack's. As I write, Jack is in the backyard setting the foundation of our chicken coop, so this is where I'll start this blog, with the adventures of the chicken coop and hopefully, we can finish this project to it's entirety.
 - Hazel

 Breaking Ground

 Killer is hoping for a gopher to pop it's head up.

 The dang sprinkler head is in the way.

 Jack is so handy.... just moved that sprinkler head.