Chicken Boot
Ahh, the roller coaster of Texas weather. Last Friday, meltiiiing. Bet you remembered to read in your best witch voice today, didn’t you? Ha!
Saturday, less than 24 hours after recording 116 in the trailer, layers were needed. Cold weather aside, the weekend’s plans were to continue on with the chicken box. Completion was the goal.
As you are well aware, time is not on your side at times. Worked hard all weekend, and yet the coop is still not done. Some of it just has to do with the time required to complete a task. Some of the delays have to do with inadequate tooling. Some of it has to do with inadequate tool holder. Yup, you guessed it, me. So, I can’t seem to use an ancient old wood stapler. Big deal. Give me a hammer. Ha, showed you. Looks like crap, but hey, it’s attached.
The Planner not liking the results of the stapler brought out an even older model tool. A wood staple designed to be hammered into wood. While this “old as man procedure” worked and worked well, we would be “old as man” by the time hammering these buggers in were done too. Nope, this is not gonna work either. Gonna have to get a pneumatic stapler for the remaining chicken wire.
Then there were the misplans. Cutting strips to decorate the nesting box for purely aesthetic reasons sounded like a perfect idea. However, the stripes when nailed into the box lined up perfectly with the gap meaning the stripes could be pulled right off. Don’t worry, who needs staples and nails when there is industrial grade glue. When asked why the other forty million strips were not glued on? I was told, “for aesthetics, nails make the presentation look pretty.” Ugh. Me and my idea to have a fun, inviting, non-coop like, chicken coop.
By Sunday afternoon, the weather was still very cool and the chicken coop was even cooler. The Planner sure can design and implement a fantastic coop.
Monday, odds and ends were completed on the coop and the first of two primer paint layers were applied.
Tuesday, the Kid finally managed to destroy the weak-lined, plastic water bottle holding the chicken food. Not comfortable with cutting the PVC needed to modify the feeder myself when building the feeder in the first place, I thought the water bottle was a great temporary/permanent replacement fix. Handing the salvaged PVC pipe from when the septic was installed, yes it too was from one of my many mistakes, the Planner skillfully modified it for the chicken feeder. Now, the feeder not only holds more food it is easier to fill. Remove feeder, pour in food, and replace. Nice.
While replacing the feeder, a few peeps decided upon their own to fly to the coop. Escaping sounded good on paper but once acted upon they ran around helter skelter, scared and frazzled, attempting re-entry into the brooding box. Gotta get these winged escape artists a bigger playpen!
With freebirds caged, it was back to work. Still lots of priming to be done before painting can even be started. Notice how I am the only one painting…..
Late Tuesday as we were cleaning up a another mishap. First the chickens escaped and then the doggo escaped. After calling and calling for the doggo, we thought she was a goner. Getting up there in old age, we thought she wandered off and lost her way back. Thought the ticker gave out without notice. For a few brief moments, all was a sad affair. Nope, death is not a word in the unsinkable doggo vocabulary. Her owners were calling and calling while she attempted to dig a hole to the center of the earth in pursuit of a gopher. Stupid dog. Got me all sad and puffy eyed for no reason. I am SO GLAD she came back. Stupid dog. As I write this blog I am all teary-eyed again. Stupid dog.
Wednesday afternoon, I came home to a primed coop. I was tempted to leave the coop this bland white coloring. They are chickens by the way. Who said they needed a color coordinated, fun painted coop. Oh, wait, I did. Me and my big mouth.
Thursday, while I was at work taking a picture of a man carrying a concrete monkey on his shoulder along with a 15 foot aluminum pole….. (never know when you need a concrete monkey), the planner was sending me pictures of the coop being painted. Yeah, lime-a-licious paint. Hole-E-crap! That is a very bright, sunglasses are needed, green paint.
Waiting for in person decision on continuing with this Kid picked out color, the roof was attached and a chicken roost was built. Upon arrival at home, the color was even worse. It was more yellow than green and neither was a nice color. Taking it under further consideration, the paint was put on hold and south wall was covered chicken wire.
Friday, the south wall 1/2 wall attached and the chickens in their brooding box were placed inside the coop for a transition period while a quick trip was made to the local feed store for more pine mulch. The Kid climbed inside the coop to place the mulch. There was a temporary moment when it was debated to leave the Kid and remove the peeps. Let us debate: the Kid and the peeps both squawk and stink, are messy, and hard to hold. It really was a hard choice.
The choice was made for the few stolen moments like this morning when I had the Kid with me at work for lunch with a friend. The chickens will, not matter how much I want, never let me have a stolen moment. They will always look like death is upon them, even when they are being booted out into a much needed, new, larger home.
With standard chicken waterer and feeder at the ready, the little peeps were released into the new homes. The heating pad protected in the corner will still provide the warmth needed at night for a few more weeks. Giving the chickens the boot from their nesting box was worth the wait. Oh by, the way, the coop is still not painted on the outside. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe…