April Fools, In A Variety Of Ways...

The other day I had to make a mad run down to southern California and then back again the next day, and as I always do, stopped at the Coso Junction rest stop along highway 395 in the Owens Valley. The ravens were out in force as usual, croaking at each other and begging for goodies.

OK, so we always feed the ravens here. As a matter of fact I packed along some peanut butter filled pretzels just for them, which they heartily approved of. But being ravens, they can't just hop up and grab the goodies--goodies must be approached in a flighty, ninny-hammer manner, though with an element of style.

If you can manage it. Otherwise, just run up and awkwardly grab the food while practically lying on the ground in a retarded manner while your buddies look on in saddened dismay at being even remotely associated with you.

Also, today being what it is, we pranked the kid a bit. The hatch is supposed to be a week away, but around noon we set this up and started asking loudly and excitedly, "What's that noise? Do you hear peeping?!" and got her to go over to the incubators, where she found this:

Well, she bought it for about half a tick, then started to laugh.

She's used to us messing with her by now and isn't fooled easily.

Easter Origami...

Been folding some special little things in honor of Spring, some fancy tied bows and Easter bunnies in Easter egg colors. I may fold some baskets later on if I have more time, but these fold quickly.

I think the Easter bunnies look very dapper all dressed up for Spring!

Yesterday at the grocery store we found pre-dyed, hardboiled Easter eggs. Talk about taking all the fun out of Easter! 'Sorry kids, dying eggs is too messy and I'd have to actually spend time doing something with you. Have these nasty, depressing factory eggs instead!' Boo.

Also, facial pain not improving, gonna have to go to the dentist and get my face x-rayed to see how badly my teeth/maxilla are broken after smacking myself in the face with that pair of channel locks while building the chicken coop. After years of experience I'm fairly sure I have two breaks in my maxilla and that my two front teeth are history (oh, the joys of being a Registered Dental Assistant!), which will be bad since when I smile I show everything in front.

On the plus side, maybe living in the country and keeping chickens calls for two missing front teeth. Hmm.

Attention, Historians...

...the most hated person in history is NOT, in fact, Hitler.

It's me.

At least, going by the chickens' reactions to me lately. They really, really now how to lay on the guilt with a freakin' trowel.

See, chickens are NOT big into any kind of change in their routine or surroundings. They want everything to stay just as it IS, thank you. Even if it's a change for the better, changes are viewed with unhappiness and distrust, and they'll look at YOU--in their minds the occupier of the position of Head Roo and Giver of All Things Good--to fix it, and fix it NOW.

So when we moved, and subjected our flock to various and sundry (and repeated) offenses and indignities of relocation, stuffing them in carriers, making them live in cramped quarters, etc. we found ourselves apologizng over and over again and trying to make it up to them with extra attention, cuddles and treats.

Food goes a long way in chickenland.

But this morning I went out to check on them and got a dose of heavy duty ChickenGlare from at least 6 of the oldsters. The chicks from last year's hatch were blithely out in the run, dashing about in the 25 degree weather with the wind & blowing snow, not really minding the chill. Youngsters are notorious for being kinda brain-dead and naive, and as such are more flexible in their thinking.

The dignified old ladies of the flock were another story. Their expectations are set in concrete. You don't mess with the ladies' dignity and sense of balance. They like to know what to expect in life from one moment to the next, and moving from southern California to northern Nevada in winter, haha, is NOT condusive to friendly human/poultry politics. They'd huddled in silent groups at the back of the coop. This is what I got from them.

The Stare has the power to drop lesser creatures in their tracks. The Frizzles especially contrive to look extra pathetic, as if those curling feathers only serve to allow the cold to get directly to their skin. I'd unwittingly compounded my sin by forgetting to go out there with goodies in hand to make up for the weather. The piteous looks, Lordy--the whining about their poor miserable condition was truly heartrending. The repeated loud and vocal appeals to me to DO something was undending. You'd think I was twisting off their toes.

I got out of there as fast as I could. Besides, it was cold out there!

I sense a large mealworm order in my future.

How To Spend Two Weeks...

...on behalf of a bunch of chickens.

So we're in the new house, but the chickens aren't here yet, and we're feeling bad that they are still living in the barn miles away and it just doesn't feel like home yet without them.

So as soon as we get ourselves settled in enough for our day to day needs, we go hammer and tongs at building the new coop & run. We are fortunate enough to have two sheds in the back yard, one of which will become the new coop--on the left of the picture, the one without the roof on the right:

Only problem is, it's in the wrong place. It needs to be moved over towards the middle of the yard and back about 20 yards. This is soon accomplished by pulling it loose from it's moorings and dragging it with lots of nylon rope, some improvised rollers and the Jeep. We also rent a trencher and dig the trench for the run posts and the buried wire--vital in areas where predators know to dig under the coop wire to get at your birds.

In this pic the coop has been moved, it used to be on the left where the chunk of old plywood is lying on the ground. The framework on the ground is the carport pipe structure that was the old run, moved from the old house.

The trenching shows where the edges of the run will be, it is so we can bury the run hardware cloth underground about 6-12 inches to foil digging predators.

One thing we have here in SPADES is rocks. This area is an old glacier field and when it left, it left all kinds of damned rocks. Dig down two inches and your shovel will hit a rock. Or 12.

The run roof going up. This was quite harrowing to raise, by the way. It swayed and did the hula in such a way as to have you fearing for your life.

But go up it did, yay!

A better look at the trench where the wire will be buried at least 6 inches below ground, bent outwards to foil digging predators.

The run posts were seated in cement, which got a field test with 65 mph winds the very next night. None of it ended up in the next county the next morning, so we must have done good.

The run roof goes on, just in time for a light snow.

The first course of wire goes up on the right side! We use 1/4 inch welded-wire, also known as hardware cloth--NEVER chicken wire!

More wire on the other side, and the doorway is framed in...

Because we now live in an area that sees much colder temps and higher winds than where we used to live, we're adding insulation to the walls & ceiling of the new coop. It will also have a heat lamp or a barn heater for REALLY cold nights.

The courses of wire are overlapped by about 4-6 inches and secured with UV resistant zip ties, which will seal out rodents that may try to slip between the wire edges. Chickens and their food attracts such things.

Unfortunately for me, while I was cranking down on a zip tie with a huge pair of channel-lock pliers, it broke and I smacked myself in the face with the damned pliers. Cut the Hell out of my upper lip and judging by the way my upper arch is flexing, I'm fairly sure I've got two fractures in my maxilla and may lose my two upper front teeth. Time will tell.

The doorway framing is done and the roof goes on the coop.

The plywood coop roof is overlaid with tar paper, which will in turn be sealed with Henry's and given a final covering of shingles.

Remember all those damned rocks? They go into the trenches as a digging predator deterrant. JUST TRY AND GET AT MY CHICKENS.

It's getting there...the trenches are topped off with dirt.

The door is on!

Time to go inside--this is the coop before it gets insulated.

The insulation goes up...

...and the walls are then sheathed with plywood. Except for finishing touches, the coop and run are finished, yay!

But I still feel like something is missing...hmm...

I know!

Pissy, carsick chickens!
I swear when they saw me coming at them with those carriers again they nearly wept. But at least this time it was a shorter drive. Plus they got a small amount of revenge in me getting my arms all scratched up from hardware cloth edges.

Aaaaanndddd...they're IN!

Temporary roosts in the form of some moving boxes, our garden bench and a ladder.

Also temporary are the nest boxes, repurposed moving boxes with new, smart-ass labels such as 'Fresh Chicken' and 'Fluffy Butt, This End Up'.

 

Pompadour inspects them...

...as do Fran and Pong.

The next day sees the flock cruising their new digs. Sadly they are confined to the coop & run for now as we still have some fence repairs to do on the rest of the 1/2 acre before we can let them roam it.

Weedcat the splash Giant Cochin roo in the middle.

But they're here at last, and waking up to roosters crowing and hens clucking finally makes it feel like home. Sadly neither Phoenix our Head Roo nor Millie our MilleFleur Belgian d'Uccle hen made it, both passing away at Christmastime. But they are here in spirit, as one of the first things we did after buying the house was to bury them in a special corner of the yard.

Today it's snowing, and the chickens are getting to enjoy their first experience with that. After the weather clears in a few days we'll be able to finish the roofing, add real nest boxes, roosts ladders and roosts, and get them settled for good.

Then I can go back to unpacking and painting!

It's Still Chickam After All!

On the subject of chickens, we're planning on having our annual event--Chickam--on Easter weekend in April--the 7th & 8th. We'll set the eggs in the incubator on March 17th and 21 days later should have chicks hatching!

At the end of Chickam last year, due to the move we truthfully weren't sure if we'd ever be able to do it again--a lot hinged on how soon we found a new home, if the Internet providers in the area could handle a webcast, how much chicken coop/run construction we'd have to do, how much time and work would have to be devoted to the new house, etc.  So when we said goodbye to everyone last year, we thought that might have been it.

But we know how important it is to the people who love it, and fortune has smiled on Chickam and we're gonna make it happen!

We haven't chosen the breeds we'll hatch yet, but I'd like some MilleFleur Belgian d'Uccles, plus some chicks from our own hens. Several folks around our neighborhood have chickens and sell eggs, so I may get some eggs from them to add to the mix. We'll be web broadcasting the hatch live, with sound, then we place the cam in the brooder box 24/7 for the following 8 weeks so you can watch the chicks grow up.

It's been VERY popular in the past and is fascinating and educational for adults and kids alike! See my website for details, here, scroll down to 'Chickam':

 http://jackshenhouse.com/VSChickLinksChickam.htm

Yay!

I don't have my copy yet so I haven't read it, but the 'Chickens' magazine article I contributed material for, 'The Basics of Behavior' by Cherie Langlois, has been published! If you wanna read it, it's in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue:

http://www.hobbyfarms.com/chickens-magazine/chickens-january-february-2012-table-of-contents.aspx

It was fun to participate and the lady who wrote the article was very nice, fun and knowledgable. Also, the little booties & hat on the hen standing in the snow on the cover are freakin' adorable.

I Swear I Didn't Plan It This Way...

But it's kinda amusing just the same. My new kitchen paint matches some of my hen's eggs.

The view from my back yard looking towards the nearby mountains...

We had a lovely sunset last night.