At last, the snow has melted. Suddenly, the songbirds have returned, the peepers are heard down at the pond. The pond and the river have finally risen to normal levels. After months of waiting for these events, it almost makes my head swim.
A new project has moved to the top of the list, elbowing aside my rain barrel set-up. I'm taking in a pair of chickens. I've wanted to have chickens since I lost the farm in the flood of 1993. Last summer, I drew up some plans for the lumber I'd need to build them a little coop, and decided against doing it, especially since my carpentry skills leave a lot to be desired.
My little granddaughter Molly has been keen on me having chickens. After they got some chickens, Molly wanted baby chicks so badly that she hid some eggs under her bed for them to hatch out. Fortunately, they were discovered before they got really ripe.
Meanwhile, my daughter Isabelle had a hen that the others were pecking. The chicken was provided with a pen in the garage, to regrow her feathers. Unbeknownst to Izzy, the hen became broody in the dim garage. She laid some eggs in the corner of the strawy pen and went about her business of hatching out some chicks. There is also an Underdog Rooster that needs a new home.
There were repeated urgings for me to take the Mama and the extra rooster. It would be an ideal setup for me to get a flock without all the trouble of raising chicks under a heat lamp. The mother hen can take care of them.
One day, I looked at one of my outbuildings with new eyes and realized I can make it into a chicken house.
It's not ideal, on account of it has a floor and is on cinder blocks. I kept my big tiller in there and the mower, but can move them to another outbuilding.
The shed is made of steel siding. The falling down wooden structure is an old shed that is caught up on a tree and a fence post and refuses to come down. I shall coax it with a big sledgehammer shortly.
The pile of stuff at the right is part of my Home Depot, where I sometimes find things I can use, left by the former owners.
The steel door had a panel where the window should be. I got it off and spent an inordinate amount of time fitting in a new framed glass, from my apparently inexhaustible stock of old aluminum storm windows in yet another old outbuilding..
I find I can get lots done if I have seating to sit and think things through. My daughter Lissa has some fencing to use for the hen run and some nest boxes. I don't seem to have a right sized window for the other side of the building, but am working on it. The raccoons are seen a lot lately, so I want there to be no way for them to get into this henhouse. Lissa called her chicken house the Beakmore. It was very fancy. I shall call mine Fort Flocks.
After one beautiful day of 79 degrees, we are back to the 40's and rain and a little snow are forecast. No matter; soon the place will be in readiness for the new tenants. At last, I'll have fresh eggs and a flock of my own.
