Work work work

We got a lot done again this week/weekend.  We finished installing all the windows, got some trim up, put the floors in, got the nest boxes mostly finished, worked on the upper roof and maybe most importantly...found a door!  We had been waiting for just the right thing for weeks, checking the Re Store, craigslist, every store that sells used/damaged doors.  

Aaron found this door for free on his bike ride home from work!  Total score.

It needs a lot of work, I got most of the old paint off one side today.  Luckily Aaron saw online that you can use a heat gun to get the paint off more easily.  

And, also luckily a heat gun came with the house.  It does work well, and made the process much less tedious.  

Lots of little helpers!  It turns out, I think all of my chicks are girls.  Good because they are all girls.  Bad because I was really banking on that Welsummer (bottom left) being a boy, and because of that got some extra chicks.  Now I have 9 birds, which is wonderful, but I think too much for our city lot.  I have a home for the brown one in the middle if it's a girl (it's the only one I'm still unsure of).  He/she is way too skittish even with all the people time I spent with it.  After having Bert, who we can't even get near, I'm not doing that again.  It makes it so hard when you can't catch them easily.  So I think Bert is getting the boot too.  Anyone want a 3 year old easter egger?  7 birds sounds much more manageable.  

It's really hard to take good pictures of the coop, it's really tucked in, both behind our garage and near the corner of our lot and next to a tree.  Kind of too bad because it will be hard to see once it's all done. But we like that it's not visible from the street.  

I'm hoping we can get everyone moved in by next weekend.  We still need to finish the lower roof, the nest boxes and the door, which is going to take some time since it needs to be cut down and mended in some places.  I'm ready, I miss my automatic door locking everyone in and letting them out first thing in the morning!

Bigger, Better.

We worked our butts off this weekend and made good progress on the coop.  Thank goodness for sun breaks in all the rain we've been having.  Two more sections of wall to put up and all the windows but one (along with lots of other things).  I didn't get a picture of the window we put in tonight, it is to Aaron's right in the photo.  

The babies are already loving it!  And practicing laying eggs!

Slowly but surely.

Progress has been slow, but we were getting somewhere until this bad weather hit.  We found all the windows we needed in Junction City at a place called Discount Windows.  They must have had an acre of windows, it was crazy.
Hoping for this rain to let up this weekend so we can get some work done and move the chickens into better digs.

It's Happening.

It's happening and there's no going back now.  The big chickens will be sleeping in the garage until further notice.  We're planning as we go, so hopefully this will turn out well and go quickly!

Coming Soon...

Coop upgrade and expansion project!

Tweenagers

They're getting pretty big!  Unfortunately, they are still living part time in the house.  Which is becoming a problem.  They've outgrown their box (understatement).  Last week we picked up a little coop for them in Corvallis.  It's pretty flimsy and not secure at all.  Not my best purchase ever, but we were desperate for something to transition them to outside.  So while I'm waiting for Aaron to predator proof the coop, I'm getting them used to the cold, hard world without heat lamps.  They do okay down to 60, but it's getting into the 30s at night still, so they aren't quite ready.  

 

My baby!  Still hoping this is not a rooster.  I am not going to be able to handle that well.

This weather has been great for letting them run around.

Little bit of a photo bomb.

Rooster, you are fine and all, but I'm ready for you to move on.  Counting the days until this one is old enough to give to a friend.

Seriously.  Please be a girl!

My "roost" is barely big enough now.  I love spending so much time with them, but it will be nice to reclaim our living room.

Their new tiny coop!

I went to run some errands and came home to this.  How Buffer?  Why?  I'm not sure how long she was in there, less than an hour, but jeez.  I was all worried the babies were cooking in the sun or something and she was the one that needed to be rescued.

The older hens were spending lots of time around these little ones today.  Camilla was the first to act out in aggression - maybe because they are getting as tall as her?  She was trying to peck them through the fence.  The black one held her ground and pecked right back!  I'm not sure they'll be so brave when there isn't a barrier.

Next project: Expand chicken coop and add privacy fencing to block the view of our yard from the street.  Never mind the half gutted house...

Fence!

We haven't done much work on the yard, but I've been dying for a privacy fence.  We decided first priority was this back fence since it had huge gaps and the neighbor behind us has a (well behaved) dog.  The little ones could easily get themselves into trouble popping through there.  We had 7 different fence styles in our yard.  You can see how ugly it was.  

So we talked to our neighbors - who we really like, I'm sad we can't talk over the fence as easily now - and they said they would split costs with us.  So we ripped that old fence down.  It looked better immediately and it was nice to pretend all those raised beds were part of our yard :)

This was a 10 time to the store project.  I hate that.  It was really difficult to retrofit everything, especially to the pipes set in concrete on the retaining wall.  That area didn't turn out as plumb, but it was our only option.  We also filled in all the gaps at the bottom from the slope with pressure treated lumber.  We got most of our supplies at Parr Lumber and I am in love with that place.  Most of their prices were better than or competitive with the box stores, but the quality on the lumber was much, much better and their customer service is excellent.  We're going to pick up some cedar for raised beds in a few days, they only carry it this time of year and it's crazy how much less it is than everywhere else we looked!

Clearly the work of the person who lived here before us.  He's left us all sorts of surprises.  I thought Aaron was going to put out his back getting that one out.

So nice!  75 feet of beautiful cedar!

Aaron is off camping this weekend, so I decided to surprise him by staining it before he got home.  You can see the difference below.  We wanted something to protect the color, but not alter it.  I used Sherwin Williams Woodscapes, untinted in Semi Transparent.

I love it!  Now we need one facing the street (too many chickens!!) and along the lower end of our property and I'll finally stop feeling like I'm being watched all the time.