The Coop Building Has Begun (Oops I forgot to publish this) from 2018

So, my whole body hurts and I am sunburned in weird places like the tops of my hands and the backs of my legs, but the chicken coop is starting to take shape. (Yes, I was nicely coated in sunblock and reapplied it several times, but I still burned.) Last weekend, we set the support posts into 3 foot holes, which I dug rather crookedly and we didn’t notice until after the posts were set.

I hate Oklahoma clay when digging is involved. Those holes may not look like much, but it was similar to digging through rock with a shovel. Hubby kindly explained, after I finished digging, that it’s easier to dig if you dump water in the holes. I worked really hard on those holes. It killed me when he told me just how crooked they were.

I mean, seriously, that’s a LOT of dirt. The wheelbarrow is bigger than I am when it leans against the garage. I am 5 ft. 1 in. In height. This was a huge accomplishment for me.

Hubby also decided I needed shade after taking one look at me. I became a lobster rather quickly. Those posts are shockingly level. The ground is not level, but the support posts are level.

Once the posts had a chance to settle for a few days, we started building the coop to line up with my crooked posts. None of us wanted to dig new holes. So, the walls went up first.

Remember how I said I was going to frame it with pallets, well Hubby decided that he was taking over my project and went out and bought a ton of plywood. Also, remember how crooked that cut on the compost tumbler door was, you will know exactly which parts I cut as you continue through the pictures. I was fully supervised with the power tools and saws freak me out. I wore my gloves and safety glasses because I don’t want splinters in my eyeballs.

As the walls went up, Hubby was walking around the coop slowly asking me how I planned on roofing it. I explained I wanted a slant roof with a slight overhang and a gap between the walls and roof, which I would close off from predators with construction fabric or this roll of fencing that has 1 inch square holes. This roll of fencing is extremely thick and he’s guessing it is meant for goats. He was thrilled I didn’t want a normal roof. I don’t think he wanted to try to frame out my crooked little square building.

See how uneven the ground is? He made the coop door for the chickens rather large. His reasoning was, what if two chickens want to leave at the same time? I couldn’t argue with that reasoning. Please, don’t panic about those gaps. The floor has not been built yet and this coop will be safe from predators. We are burying fencing almost 2 ft. out from the building walls and the floor will start with concrete pavers and then, plywood on top of the pavers secured to the walls with those L-shaped brackets used for industrial shelving. There are a few reasons behind this flooring design, but the main reason is to keep the inside of the coop dry. Because of the slope, rainwater would run right through the coop. With the concrete pavers, there will be space for water to flow through, but the coop floor will not get wet. The pavers we are using are almost 6 inches thick. They will also deter predators who manage to get past the fencing while digging. We will also be digging out the floor a bit to make it level prior to installing pavers.

I wanted a rounded top door, but once I tried cutting it with the jigsaw, I got maybe an inch cut and told hubby to make it a triangle. (I draw crooked too 😂 He was not happy when he realized I drew a crooked triangle for him to cut out) I’m not sure if you can see it, but each wall is two pieces of plywood, stacked on top of each other. This was necessary because the coop itself is about 5 1/2 feet tall. I can comfortably walk through the door, but everyone else has to duck.

The triangular topped door has some 2×4 boards as support because a plywood door is kind of flimsy. There are also 2×4 boards on the inside around the doorway because he wanted to make sure an animal couldn’t pull the door off easily. Also, the door will have to withstand Oklahoma winds, which can be 70 mph and higher. My neighbors were outside while we were building. (You can see their house, which is an acre away, in the 7th picture.) Her hubby will be over next weekend to assist and learn (He has never built anything either) because his wife decided she wants chickens over on her property. So, he’s going to help and then, when he starts building, we will help them because they are fabulous neighbors. We don’t have any other neighbors aside from a concrete prefabrication place (which is a little bit south of us, past her property and across the street from her and I have the School’s Agricultural Farm north of me.) So, we always help each other out whenever help is needed.

Hubby lined up the t-posts for the run just to see how big he wanted it. He wants it to go to the first tree right next to the nose of the truck. I know what you are thinking, that’s way too short of a fence for chickens and they will jump or fly over it. Not to worry, the run will be fully enclosed. I am taking pvc piping and arching it over the run area then, I have two dump truck covers (they are heavy duty mesh material) and they will go over top of the pvc arches. The run will be fully enclosed and the cover will provide shade because it is black. If you have no idea what I am talking about, think of a dump truck hauling sand, rock, or gravel, they have a tarp like cover over their load. That’s what I am using. Hubby brings me home the coolest things. He works on diesel engines so, he has access to some weird stuff, like dump truck covers that have minor fraying at the edges and are no longer deemed safe by the company. They throw them away or let mechanics take them for projects such as my chicken coop and run. He also brings me blue plastic 55 gallon drums, pallets, and I have a dump truck liner as well. (I am using that for another project.)

In between the coop and the shed that needs a new floor and some other minor repairs, I am building a greenhouse. Eventually, the shed will also be a chicken coop with both coops sharing a run. One coop for meat birds and the other for laying hens. I have all sorts of projects planned. They just take time and money so, I am building them slowly. I am extremely grateful I have a husband who can weld, has tools, and while he laughs at me because of how bad I am at building things, he is always willing to help me so, my projects end up being useful instead of junk. I couldn’t have done any of this without him. I couldn’t even lift a sheet of plywood on my own. The kiddos (two adults and a 17 yr old) are also willing to sacrifice their weekends to help their Momma. Their reasoning is, “Momma, you never ask for anything so, when you ask for help, we are all going to help you.”

Our 21 yr old daughter’s boyfriend was extremely helpful because he can lift plywood sheets and he was happy to help. He’s looking forward to helping with the fencing because he does fencing as a side job. So, it will definitely be done right since he knows how to build fences.

An unrelated update, the horses we were boarding have moved to their new home. Their dad bought 20 acres after falling in love with the quiet on our property. He was so excited about owning his own land, but promised to bring them by for visits when he takes them to the park, where the rodeos are held (it’s a beautiful set of arenas) because it’s free to use. He also promised to give them their favorite treat once in a while. (Brown sugar and cinnamon poptarts) Yes, they are junk food as far as horses are concerned, but they were skittish and would run from him every time he came to feed and groom them. Then, I gave them each half of my poptarts and he would pull in and they would be at the gate by the time he got out of his vehicle. They got excited to see anyone. They mostly got apples, carrots, pears from the pear tree, and other fruits and veggies, but on rare occassions, I would either hand him the poptarts if he was trimming hooves, or bring them out myself. They have turned into extremely social horses and never run from him anymore. They were lovingly spoiled while here. All animals are spoiled here because I can’t help it, I have to spoil all of the animals.

I will continue to post updates on the chicken coop and run until it is completed. Then, the greenhouse build, and the updates to the shed. I will be ordering chicks from the hatchery once the last freeze date passes. (Mid to late May) I will be posting oodles of pictures. I have to find a way to tell them apart because the hens and single rooster will have names. Any suggestions for identifying chicks and being able to tell them apart prior to feathering out? I thought about coloring a wing with food coloring, but I would need multiple colors and I would feel bad because that may be a shock to their little systems seeing their wing blue or purple or whatever. What do you name a chicken anyway? I thought about the seven dwarves, snow white, the queen, and the rooster as the huntsman, but my daughter wants to make one or two of them. We may name them after Harry Potter characters. I have still not decided on a breed either. Any suggestions for both extreme high temps and low temps? I want hardy chickens that can survive in snow. I will insulate the coop once it’s fully built.

Until next time….

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Chicken Coop Round 2

Last year, we set up the coop and the run and right after I placed an order for chicks, we had a nasty storm that wiped out my run. I am EXTREMELY grateful that the company I ordered chicks from was kind enough to allow me to cancel my order since the chicks hadn’t hatched yet. We decided to watch what the weather did and how it affected the coop and run over the year and update designs and ensure that the chicks would be completely safe once they were calling the coop and run home.

This photo is OLD!!! This was taken of the coop and run when we built them last spring. The storm did a number on the run, the cover was ripped halfway off and almost got taken away by the wind, three of the PVC arches were ripped off of the fence posts, and 2 fence posts were ripped out of the ground completely. We fixed the fence post issue with concrete during the Fall. it isn’t a ton of concrete, so we will be able to remove the posts, if we decide to widen the run or move it completely.

This weekend, we put the cover back on the run. For those of you who haven’t be here since the beginning, the cover for the run is a dump truck cover, normally used to keep loads of sand, soil, and gravel from blowing out of the truck. Hubby brought me home two that were destined for the dump because they had EXTREMELY minor damage such as small holes or a rip or two that could easily be repaired. (I did patch all of the holes and rips and it took exactly 15 min.)

So, the cover is back on, this time we used hose clamps instead of lacing wire. We ran out of hose clamps halfway through so, I am waiting for my order of hose clamps to be delivered by UPS before I can finish securing the cover. We had some nasty wind so, I know it is secure this time and definitely not going anywhere this time.

It looks really nasty out, but it was 68° F (20°C) and perfect weather for what we were doing. Hubby and I also decided to take an old screen door from the dairy building (I have a bunch of windows and doors in there from the house being updated) and it is now the door to the run. We mounted it on the back side of the coop because it seemed like the best place for it. I didn’t take pictures of the door yet because that section of fencing isn’t completely finished yet. I will continue to take pictures as we complete tasks.

After the cover was secured, we started on fencing. When the companies that sell fencing seal up these rolls of fencing, they wrap them in lacing wire and then in plastic. The problem with this is that the lacing wire blends in with the fencing and is very difficult to see. It took longer to open the rolls of fencing than it did to secure them to the posts.

Again, I am waiting for hose clamps, which will also be used to secure the fencing to the posts properly. For the moment, zip strips and lacing wire is holding the fencing in place. This is not just a single layer of chicken wire. There are hog panels behind the chicken wire on the inside of the coop. It is coated with green plastic so, it just blends and looks pretty much invisible both in pictures and from the back porch.

It really did look like it was going to storm. We didn’t get any rain, just a bunch of brutal wind. If you look closely at the photo above, you will see weird rectangles in the grass. Those are hog panels. I told you, they blend. 😁 Hubby also wants two strands of electric fencing set at 1 ft and 3 ft as a perimeter around the coop. Our friends have lost every chicken every time they start laying eggs. I keep reminding him that they don’t secure the coop entrance and the door from the coop to the run is just a doorway and not secure at all, but he wants electrical fencing. I figure it will come in handy when we eventually get calves (this is going to be a while because neither of us know anything about cattle and we are doing research and talking to people who raise huge herds.) Also, he’s male and from my experience, every guy enjoys cool things like electrical fencing, tractors, and 4 wheelers. So, I am looking at electrical fencing as his part in the whole aspect of having chickens.😂😂 If it keeps them safe great, even if it is a bit ridiculous in my mind. The shutoff switch will be on the front of the coop and the fence will be about 2-3 feet away from the fencing on all sides, so don’t panic, the chickens won’t get zapped. (That was my concern too when he said he wanted it.)

Currently we still need to secure everything once the hose clamps arrive. (I ordered a pack of 100) Then, we have to finish enclosing the run. The end of the run is still open above the fencing so, that needs fencing, the area where we put the screen door needs fencing and the door itself needs fencing because it currently has plastic screen installed. We need to add a few screws to the roof where wind has peeled up the roofing a bit and then silicone to seal where screws are added. Then, cinderblocks around the run at the bottom of the fencing (it is buried, but cinderblocks add more protection). I still need to install roosting areas and nesting boxes. Then, a raised floor because water flows right through the coop when it rains so we will let the water continue its natural course and raise the floor by adding a floor of pavers with plywood above them. This will keep predators from going under the coop to try to get in while supporting the raised floor. I will also secure fencing around the base of the coop, buried of course. Finally, I need to order chicks again.

Once chicks are feathered out and living in their new home, I will get to work on the shed next to the coop. It will become a second coop and it will be sharing a run with the other coop. We will move the door, add another dumptruck cover from the end of the run, over the coop, and attached to the shed roof. We have already fenced in the back side of the area between the two buildings because we used the white metal fence to support the new fencing. It just seemed logical to go ahead and fence it while we were installing the fencing. I may add another building on the end of the run for ducks, but I haven’t decided yet. I definitely want ducks, but they obviously need a water source and I don’t know if I want to sink a kiddie pool that close to the house. I may put them on the back side of the chicken coop and run. I will cross that bridge when I get to it.

Until next time…

Treasure Hunting on The Homestead

Today, I decided to take the metal detector around the driveway after spotting an old rusty nail on my way back from the mailbox. After my first handful of random metal objects, I went inside and grabbed a plastic grocery bag from my collection in the pantry. I have and use reusable bags, but I still have the grocery store bag my produce in plastic bags. This way, I have plastic bags for cleaning out the litter boxes or for picking up poo or vomit from the indoor animals. Accidents happen) Anyway, in 10 minutes of sweeping the gravel driveway with the metal detector, I had quite a bit of metal picked up.

The shell casings are from firearms we own, the actual bullet is not from one of ours. All of these bits can destroy a tire. I took a break to reapply sunblock and down a bottle and a half of water since the temps were at 109° F today. After cooling off I went back outside. Hubby was replacing the intake manifold on the youngest kiddo’s truck.

The manifold is replaced and the truck is back up and running. It still needs some love, an oil change, new serpentine belt, spark plugs, and new coolant as there is a mix of water and coolant in the radiator at the moment just to get it started back up.

I continued sweeping the driveway with the metal detector. I didn’t dig for anything and only retrieved metal objects on the surface because I didn’t want to put holes all over the driveway.

I couldn’t believe how much metal I found. The roof was replaced before the purchase of the house was finalized because it was uninsurable. (It was shingle over shake.) So, we got a new roof and apparently the roofers didn’t clean up after themselves.

This is all of the metal I found in a total of one hours time. I am certain that there is more, but it was far too hot for me to stay outside looking.

I cannot believe that all of the vehicles haven’t gone through multiple sets of tires from the number of nails that were in the driveway. Hubby managed to pick up a nail in the sidewall, but he did that in town, not the driveway.

I really hope this insane heat ends soon. I don’t think I can handle much more of the triple digit temperatures. It would not be so bad, but meds make me photosensitive so, it is more like 200° F instead of 115°F. I dehydrate far too quickly for my liking, which results in a serious migraine and if I don’t reapply sunblock every 20 minutes or so, I turn into a crispy critter. I cannot wait for Autumn to arrive. It’s my favorite time of year. I will be taking oodles of pictures in Autumn of fires in the firepit, the trees without their leaves, pumpkins, and whatever else strikes my fancy. I can’t wait. Until next time….

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

Today, Hubby and I had to go into Lawton to have a tire replaced. The town we live in is repaving the roads and he wound up with a nail in the tire. It was in the sidewall so, new tire was needed and it could not safely be repaired. Since we were already out that way, I asked him to go through the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge on the way home. We have been experiencing EXTREMELY high temperatures and a record high was broken this week. It was 113° at one point while we were exploring the refuge.

We spent a few hours driving around. All of the hiking trails and picnic areas were closed due to the extreme temperatures. However, we were still able to explore a bit and see some of the local wildlife.

The refuge is home to a number of animals, but the two most popular species are the American Bison and the Texas Longhorn. These are roaming freely around the refuge and the only things keeping them inside the refuge are miles upon miles of fencing and cattle grates across the roadways. If you have never seen a cattle grate, it’s a metal grate that stretches across a roadway and the animals do not cross it because their hooves will get stuck in the grate.

The bison were all hanging out under trees or anywhere they could find shade. This particular bison was hanging out next to one of the education center facilities. He/She was outside of the fencing for the facility, but others were inside the fencing, for one reason or another, and unable to roam around the refuge. I was maybe 5 feet away from this bison. I was inside of the truck and I did not exit the truck. These are very large, very dangerous animals. There are signs all around the refuge stating the danger and the possibility of them ramming your vehicle if you agitate them in any way. I was only able to get this close because of the temperatures. Hubby stopped the truck, turned off the radio, and I rolled down the window to take this picture before we quickly left the area. The last thing we wanted, was to have the truck rammed by a bison.

These bison were inside of the fencing. They were segregated from the herd. They could have been segregated/quarantined for a number of reasons. Possibilities include injury, illness, some type of medical treatment, or simply for research. They are beautiful creatures and I am very glad that they are protected from harm on the refuge.

The Texas Longhorns are another of those dangerous creatures roaming around the refuge. I realize that there are probably hundreds of ranches in Texas, which have huge herds of this particular type of cattle. However, these are not domesticated cattle. These Longhorns are wild and free roaming. They will also ram a vehicle if agitated. These guys were hanging out a short distance from Quanah Parker Lake and Dam. They were approximately ten feet away from the truck. Again, we stopped, turned off the radio and did not exit the vehicle. They did not seem to mind having their picture taken. One was rubbing his horns against the tree bark before we were able to stop. We watched them for a few moments before heading to Quanah Parker Lake.

I apologize in advance for the quality of this photo. We were standing by the lake and heard mooing. There was a longhorn in the lake, eating the lilypads. He was neck deep at one point, just happily mooing and munching away on lilypads. He is in the center of the photo and cream colored.

We were pretty far away and I only had the camera on my phone to take photos as the trip through the refuge was entirely unplanned. My zoom feature on my phone causes blurry photos sometimes. The photo above has 2 times zoom enabled.

This one shows the longhorn from the other side of the lake, we drove around to the other side to get a better view. I was using the maximum level of zoom available and all that is visible is a small blob of an almost tan color.

My favorite part of the refuge is Prarie Dog Town. This is the best place to watch the prarie dogs. They can be spotted all over the refuge, but they have a tunnel structure, which is massive, in this particular area of the refuge. I love watching them run around and pop in and out of their burrows.

It is actually called Prarie Dog Town. There is a wooden fence separating the small parking area from the prairie dog habitat. Hubby had to be careful when he pulled in because there were prarie dogs running around in the parking area.

There is a fine for harassing the prarie dogs. I am thrilled that this is considered an illegal act. Prarie dogs are adorable little critters and I cannot fathom why anyone would throw rocks at them or bring their dogs out of their vehicle in order to terrify these tiny creatures. It is sad that this sign has to be posted, but I am thankful that it is and that there is a quite costly fine, which is enforced, for tormenting these creatures. They really are adorable.

This little guy walked right up to me when I walked over to the fence. He kept creeping closer as I stood there taking pictures of him and the other prarie dogs. He was chattering at me and chattering at a smaller prarie dog nearby.

They are so small. They have these round little bellies, which make them look kind of ridiculous when they stand up on their hind legs. They look so skinny when they are on all four legs.

This one was eating and looks like a ball of fur in the grass.

They almost resemble a chipmunk or a squirrel. They don’t have fluffy tails like a squirrel or stripes like a chipmunk.

They stand up when they hear something that makes them go on alert.

They are rather small compared to the entrance holes to their burrows. To the left is the prarie dog and to the right is a burrow entrance. When something scares them, they all run straight towards the burrow entrance. They also have members of their little groups who are stationed at specific spots as lookouts. These lookouts watch for predators, food sources, and any form of danger. They are very social creatures.

We spent a bit watching the prarie dogs running around, entering and exiting the burrows, and munching on goodies found in the short grasses. They are one of the smaller mammals found in the refuge, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching them. I had to get back into the truck because the sun and the heat started to affect me and I was overheating. (Yes, I wore oodles of sunblock and no sunburn this time. I also drank plenty of water.)

As you can see, there are multiple smaller creatures than Bison and Longhorn. While this sign only shows a handful of examples, there are quite a few species of animal calling the refuge home.

It occurred to me that the map boards may provide a sense of the refuge in relation to the photos. I zoomed a bit for the second picture so, it may be legible if you zoom in on your end. I hope it is.

We then, headed towards the Jed Johnson Lake and Dam, which is one of the larger lakes located within the refuge.

The dam was not overflowing as it normally is due to the extreme drought Southwest Oklahoma has been experiencing. It was disheartening to see the lake levels so low. Many of the small creeks were completely dry. These lakes and creeks are water sources for the wildlife living in the refuge. So, seeing dry creekbeds, which are normally flowing with water is distressing because it causes problems for the wildlife, forcing them to leave their usual areas in search of a new water source.

Another issue caused by the drought and extreme temperatures is the algae that is covering large areas of the lakes and creeks. This area is just below the dam. Water from the lake normally causes this to be a flowing creek. As the lake levels are so low, this creek has become stagnant, causing large amounts of algae to grow freely.

The lake itself had areas of algae, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the creek below the dam.

An area close to where we live, within the area referred to as Texoma, is referred to as Red Rock. This area is home to the Red Rock River. This is an example of those red rocks. I was very careful to check for rattlesnakes prior to taking this picture near the shoreline of Jed Johnson Lake. I definitely didn’t want to deal with a snakebite from a highly venomous rattlesnake today or any day for that matter.

I took a few more pictures of the lake before heading on towards the next location.

I will never understand how some plants in Oklahoma even exist. This was growing in an indentation on a boulder, which was filled with bits of rock. There is no soil in this indentation. So, this plant is growing in rock, on top of a rock. That should not be possible, but here is a plant, doing just that, the impossible.

This is the bane of my existence. I cannot even count the number of these prickly pear cacti I have dug out of my property, only to have them return. I almost stepped on this bad boy. The thorns on this sucker would have gone straight through my tennis shoes. Another thing seen in this picture is the disgusting habit of many Oklahomans, littering. I took this piece of garbage with me and deposited it into the provided trash receptacle, which was seriously three feet away.

Alcoholic beverages are prohibited inside of the refuge, but that doesn’t seem to deter Oklahomans. I picked up about fifty beer cans and beer bottles throughout the day. I cannot stand a litterbug. Littering is a disgusting habit and a disgraceful example of Oklahoma. It seems to be deemed acceptable all over Oklahoma. This is especially true regarding beer cans and beer bottles. Not only did we see these items littering the wildlife refuge, but they are seen everywhere across Oklahoma. People throw them out of the window of their vehicles. This of course means that drinking and driving is a widespread issue in Oklahoma. I pick up approximately twenty beer cans and bottles from the ditch in front of my house each week. I was saddened to see so much litter in the refuge, but it honestly did not surprise me. I will always pick up litter as I am exploring because this garbage, which has been carelessly tossed, threatens the wildlife. I pick up other people’s garbage because the wildlife cannot remove it from their habitats themselves. If you are one of the people who is part of the problem, please, stop throwing your garbage on the ground and out the window of your vehicle. It takes two seconds to toss a piece of garbage into a trash receptacle. If you see litter, pick it up. Otherwise, you are still part of the problem, even if you aren’t one of the people littering. By ignoring litter, you are accepting living in a garbage filled world. By picking it up and not littering in the first place, you are a step towards a cleaner world. Please, don’t litter and if you are a smoker, throwing your butts out the window of your vehicle is littering. It is also one of the major causes of wildfires. Get a smokeless ashtray that contains your butts.

The trail to the Jed Johnson tower was closed because of the extreme temperatures so, unfortunately I was unable to take a photo of this tower, which resembles a castle tower. It looks completely out of place in the middle of the refuge. I plan of returning in the fall so, I will be taking pictures when I return. (In the fall, wildlife is visible everywhere. It’s my favorite time of year, especially for visiting the refuge.)

Heading towards the next area, hubby pulled over so, I could take a few pictures of the bison hanging out under a tree. They were approximately 150 feet from the road. We were near French Lake when we spotted these guys. The bison and longhorn were all doing their best to stay in the shade and stay cool.

French Lake was gorgeous today. As you can see, theres algae (this type was a reddish brown) covering the water around the perimeter of the lake. The water levels for this lake were also far lower than normal.

This was such a quiet spot. I stood under a tree while taking this picture. It amazes me how being in shade drastically changes the colors in a photo. This picture is far more true to the natural color than the one just above of the same exact spot. The only difference between the two is where I was standing when I took the photo. Its almost like the difference between polarized sunglasses and regular sunglasses.

These are the trees I was standing under.

One had a big bubble of hardened sap, which glinted in the sunlight when the wind blew, catching my eye.

This little guy was flitting between blades of grass and sticks, joined by hundreds of dragonflies (a few species) and butterflies at the edge of the lake. I kept having them land on my head, arms, and phone as I was trying to get a clear shot of this one. As his wings were moving, this was the best shot I was able to get with my phone.

My last shot for the day was of the minnows swimming in the shallows of the lake. I always enjoy a visit to the refuge. I don’t get to visit it often even though it is not terribly far away from our home. It is just out of the way when we head into Lawton and we are usually in a hurry to get back home. Today, I was thrilled when Hubby agreed to take me through the refuge. He had asked if there was anything that I wanted to do since we were already out and about.

The Calm After The Storm

I always seem to dread going out to survey the damage after the storms have passed, but this time, I knew exactly what to expect when I walked out into the yard. I knew some branches had fallen because I heard them fall, but they were much smaller than expected. We lost two shutters thanks to 70 mph wind gusts. Thankfully, everything that starts to blow away ends up against the barbed wire fencing. We knew they were going to come off because of the sound they were making during the storm. It sounded like someone was banging on the side of the house. They will be bolted back on this weekend.

I will also be creating an Instagram account because I still have no idea how to post photos within a post, but I am very familiar with Instagram. It’s also much faster to post a bunch of photos to Instagram than it is to post a single photo as a header here. I will eventually figure this all out. Once I get the Instagram account up and running, I will post a link on the blog as well as in a post.

Now, for the updates. Hubby was extremely helpful this week and cut 1 inch square piping before welding it together to form a frame for my barrel compost tumbler. He will strengthen up the handful of tack welds that are not completely welded this weekend while also helping me to finish the chicken coop.

This is the process of the support beams being set up. I burn easily so hubby made sure I stayed put of the sun as much as possible. I was still sunburned.

I swear that man has the patience of a saint when it comes to me and my ridiculous mistakes. The first part of the chicken coop was to sink the support posts three feet into the Oklahoma clay. I dug four, 3 ft holes, but once I started digging, my measurements were no longer accurate I also did not account for the slight sloping and dug each hole exactly the same depth. So, I had a very uneven square and my posts weren’t level. He had to sit down he was laughing so hard. I never once claimed to be good at building. When he handed me a saw to cut the barrel for the compost tumbler, he had a good giggle once again because I cannot cut a straight line with a saw for the life of me, but the cuts lined up and the door works just fine. He will be cutting all of the wood once we finish the chicken coop because I can’t cut a straight line. (Omg I figured out how to put a picture in the post.) Here’s my compost tumbler.

He was impressed that I was able to determine just how much plywood I needed for this project because I only had a photograph to go off of. No instructions, no blueprints, no designs, just a picture. He double checked my supplies after the posts were correctly spaced and asked me how I figured it out since I am terrible at math. I laughed and explained that I just guessed. As I said, patience of a saint when it comes to me.

We will be ordering chicks from a hatchery by mail because friends have had terrible experiences with the local Tractor Supply and Atwoods (feed and farm stores) chicks being extremely ill or dying shortly after bringing them home. So, we are taking the recommendation for a hatchery from close friends who also homestead. They recommended McMurray Hatchery. I will have the chicks arrive during his vacation time because I am not allowed to drive. Live chicks shipped by mail need to be picked up immediately and having him home makes that so much easier to accomplish. I still have not chosen a breed, but that will be based on what they have available during that time frame. I only have one particular thing I want, which is no white eggs.

We are still debating getting calves this year since the horses we have been boarding for about a year are leaving this weekend. (Their owner fell in love with our property and bought 20 acres not far from us.) He doesn’t even own a lawnmower and bought 20 acres. Sounds like us when we bought our property. We had a push mower. (It was a nightmare those first few months.)

I’m not one to go back and delete an entire post because I figured out how to do something. Instead, I will keep a record of when I learned how to do it. Speaking of horses, the boys were very excited about keeping me company as I made my crooked square of posts.

I will definitely miss them greeting me each day, but we won’t be buying horses. Neither of us can ride due to medical issues and the kiddos don’t particularly like horses. We may board horses again, but for now, letting the pasture be wild for a bit is fine with us.

I will continue to post updates until the chicken coop is completely built and then it will be mass amounts of baby pictures of the new chicks. I am so impatient. I want them now, but I also want their coop completely built before they come home. That way, I don’t have the stress of getting it done as they grow.

Until next time…

Chicken Coop Disaster Averted

This past weekend was filled with nonstop rain, which was probably a good thing because it became abundantly clear that the spot I had decided upon for the chicken coop was definitely NOT going to work out as planned. I walked out towards the edge of the fenced area, which we refer to as put backyard and slowly but surely began to sink into the muddy Bermuda grass. This was a Major issue. I began walking the fence line to see if it was just that section or if I had to rethink my entire plan from the beginning.

I sunk in several places, but the worst was almost ankle-deep. I can’t have chickens sinking into a mud pit and a coop isn’t something that is easily moved. I also don’t want them getting wet, as my coop plan looks like a small cottage garden shed. This was not looking good. Then, I walked over to the garden shed in the corner of the yard, the one I had originally planned on turning into a chicken coop, and the ground wasn’t squishy. (I actually squealed with joy when I came to this realization.)

I squished my way back to the house to have hubby come approve my new spot because decisions are made together when something is built or added and we both have to look at it. He came out in his muck boots after looking at mime, which were caked in mud and Bermuda grass. (I hate Bermuda grass.) He agreed with my squishy vs. solid ground  assessment and preferred this new spot to my original spot. He also noted that it would be a much shorter walk in the winter months when our backyard turns into a sheet of ice and snow.

The new spot will need a bit of leveling and I convinced him to drive to the back of the property where previous owners dumped various building materials into a fenced in pit right next to the ravine there our property fencing ends. (We own half of the ravine and it is fenced to show the property line, but our fencing that we keep up with stops before the ravine.) Among the random bits of old plumbing, rotting wood, and other random building materials that have been in this pile for who knows how long, there is a lovely pile of rocks. These aren’t small rocks, these are rather large and I can’t pick them up. They are flat on the top sort of like rocks that would be used to make a path and all are at least a foot wide. They are irregularly shaped and orange, like almost everything in Oklahoma. He piled these into the bed of the pickup and delivered them to the new location of my coop in progress. (I dismantled the pallets this past weekend, which was no easy feat.) These rocks will either become the foundation of the coop, or a predator deterrent around the coop. Either way, they will be used.

I also had him get on the ladder and pull down the corrugated metal roofing sheets, the sheets and scraps of plywood, and the 2×4 and 4×8 boards, which were in the rafters in the garage. Then, I had him pull down the split fence posts that he had stashed in the old dairy building rafters for me last year. These will be roosts  they are round wooden fence posts that have been split down the middle. I found them in that pile of random building materials and stashed them so they wouldn’t rot out in the elements.

I am trying to decide of the remains of the bottle calf shelter, which was taken out by 80 mph winds last spring will be useful for the chicken coop run. The corrugated metal roofing sheets will definitely be used, but the wrought iron fencing posts that were welded together to make a frame for the roof, may not work for the coop.

Perhaps, it will work for a goat pen or a pig pen because I want micro piggies just because. I also want ducks, cows, and a donkey. Everyone says they are mean and I don’t want one. I definitely do want one and I would name him Eeyore. I don’t care if everyone says donkeys are mean, I have never met a mammal I didn’t like. Reptiles and insects fall into the iffy category. I like some, but not others. I want as many critters as I can fit on 10 acres. I want to figure out how to make our puddle of a pond a bit deeper so i can stock it with fish as well. I have entirely too many projects.

The chicken coop and double barrel compost bin will both be finished and put into place this weekend and hopefully I won’t be too exhausted and I can go get my baby chicks. I will be testing out some designs for feeders found on Pinterest and will let you know how each design pans out. I will also be testing a rain gutter and water barrel watering system. I am really hopeful that the rain barrel system works out well because I have three options for a water source and none of them are very close to the coop location. One is on the front side of the house (left side when facing the house), one is on the right side of the house, half an acre from the house, and the last one is next to the horse stalls and 3 sided building. (I will draw up a layout of the property and post it as the featured picture for a post or place it on its own page.) Having a water source at the coop, which doesn’t require lugging water around would be beyond ideal and I have plenty of blue plastic barrels to build a rain barrel system that will hold plenty of water  I think one would be plenty since it holds 55 gallons, I will just need to  find a way to keep overflow from flooding the run and the coop, which shouldn’t be too difficult. I can just have a gutter system leading away from the coop and the run. Perhaps a small ditch to ensure nothing floods. I will keep you posted.

For the remainder of this week, I will be leveling out the new area chosen for the coop, deciding where to use those lovely rocks I made Hubby haul for me, and determining if the old bottle calf shelter can be used for the coop or the run. I will also be learning how to build feeders from pvc (I get to use the purple sealant stuff that makes me light-headed.) And I will be mixing up a batch of whitewash for the base-coat of the coop. I will be painting inside with whitewash and the outside with house paint. I also need to find a cute window flower box DIY  for the coop windows. Only because everything looks cuter with flowers.

Until next time…..

 

Here comes the rain, again…

I am so ready for spring weather. Every single time I plan a project for the weekend, it has either been cold or raining. The same goes for this weekend, but I am not giving up. I am bound and determined to get my chicken coop built so I can get my chicks at the beginning of May. I have been waiting until May because I want to make absolutely certain they don’t get cold. Where I am, when we have freak ice storms or snow storms in spring, power outages come along with the storms. I am so worried this will happen and it is extremely rare for snow or ice to happen in May. (It did snow last May, but we have a generator and kerosene heaters so, I will keep my babies warm no matter what.)

I am so thoroughly excited about having chickens again. I have not had chickens since I was very little, 9 or 10 years old. Back then, I wasn’t responsible for the well-being and care of the chickens, but I adored sneaking into the coop to collect the eggs from nesting boxes. I Remember walking into the coop once and my favorite chicken, whose name was Big Bertha because she was the largest hen we had, had become broody. I went to collect her eggs and she started puffing up her feathers and yelling at me in rather loud clucks and screeches.  She pecked me and I knew better than to try again. It took some time, but she eventually hatched four of the cutest fuzzy little chicks. My mother being the crazy woman she is, allowed me to carry these chicks around in a basket all day with Big Bertha chasing me around trying to get her babies back. I fed them from my hand and made sure they stayed warm in their basket, even though it was at least 90° outside I had an old dish towel in the basket as a blanket. Eventually, they lost their downy fluff and feathered out, which meant no more basket rides, but they were the sweetest hens my mother ever had. The single rooster was a bit off  and acted more like a hen than a rooster. He was friendly and loved hugs so, I guess I did something right as a child with the chickens.

Hubby has insisted that we have at least one rooster. I have an irrational fear of roosters because one of my mother’s roosters was particularly mean and liked to chase me and peck at my heels before fluffing out his feathers and flapping his wings at me. I was quite small as a child so this rooster was pretty scary. Speaking of irrational fears, I also fear geese. I was playing in the yard minding my own business and one of the geese decided to bite me between my shoulder blades. This mean bird latched onto me and would not let go. I was about 3-4 years old at the time so the goose was approximately the same height as I was. So, I am running across the yard with a goose latched onto my back, wings spread, and I’m screaming bloody murder. My momma said it was the funniest thing she’d ever seen and she had to stop laughing before she came and rescued me from the goose. That goose ended up being dinner that night because it chose to attack me. I don’t like eating goose either.

Anyway, back to the chicken coop, I am determined to have it built and have a run set up by this weekend. I have waited three years for chickens. I am not waiting any longer. I had to wait for chickens because of the well deciding to break at very inconvenient times, other things would break, kids going to prom and graduating, all of these things cost money and were more important than my wanting some birds. This year, I budgeted for the coop, run, chicks, feed, and supplies as well as an emergency buffer just in case something suddenly decides to break. (Something always breaks on the homestead.)

The coop will be build from plywood, pallets, metal roofing sheets, and some construction fabric. Before you even say, well pallets are terrible quality wood, let me tell you my experience with heat treated pallets. My dad was a terrible carpenter, but he made us wooden toys and built me a table and chair set from pallets for my tea parties with my dolls. I was 3 years old when he built this table. I am now 38. I still have that table and it’s the strongest piece of furniture I own. It wasnt painted or sealed. He didn’t even sand it from what I am told and it has stood up to the test of time. Therefore, the frame of my coop will be made from pallets. I am hopeful that this coop will last as long as my table has.

I grew up on a homestead on a very small lot of land just outside city limits. This meant that the neighbors had pigs, everyone had chickens, everyone had a garden and families would swap produce to have more variety. This is the feeling of home that I intend to recreate. My children grew up with fresh baked bread, food cooked from scratch, and I bought farm fresh eggs because the ones in the grocery store don’t taste as good. (Someone once told me that they were almost a month old before they reach the consumer. That’s terrifying.) I want all of the grandbabies, when they come along, to come visit and see chickens, a garden, farm animals, and experience that slower way of living where everything is homemade and just tastes better. Sheets are dried on a clothesline and every evening in the spring and summer end with a tall glass of ice cold sweet tea on the back porch. This is my dream and I will make it a reality.