Painting the Coop

Here is another coop update:

We have the back and closest side done, sort of--we still have to finish the window and the back triangle part--and I started painting the roof. The color is Wilmington Tan. We wanted something woody-looking and somewhat light in color to keep it coolish. I'm awful about picking paint colors (my kitchen is a case in point--bright pink. I thought it would be cherry-colored), but I think I like this. I'm planning on painting the sides either Wickerware or Honey Tone. It should look kind of honey bee-ish.

We finally got some rain yesterday, so it's a bit cooler than it's been. I know the chicks are thankful. Ordinarily, I'd love rain anytime and as much as possible, but I hope it holds off tonight to give the paint time to dry.

Heat, Coop and Neighbors

So we've been working diligently on the chicken coop every chance we get, which I have to tell you is a bit hard. It's so, so hot out there. This is the hottest June I can remember. It's been in the high 90s, probably even reaching 100 degrees most every day last week. But between the heat and finding the time, we're slowly making progress.

The poor chicks hate the heat. The get a little bit of early morning sun, which is still hot, and then they are in the shade for the rest of the day. Even so, they're hot and have their little beaks open most of the time, panting. I think the chicken coop will provide even more shade and will be cooler, but in the mean time, they're in the best possible place.

When we were working on the coop Friday, my neighbor who is going to build the fence back near the coop stopped by. She wanted to talk about the fence, but, of course, asked what we were building. When I told her a chicken coop, she told me that she had grown up on a farm and loved chickens. I showed her the chicks, and the man she was with, who had also grown up on a farm, said, "You have a rooster; in fact, you have two roosters." That, with no prompting from me. I'm still hoping that he's wrong, but I'm mentally preparing myself in case he's right.

My other neighbor stopped by as well (my yard buts up to six other yards!!!) and also asked what we were building. I couldn't read his expression about what he thought about me keeping chickens, but now the secret is out. Well, for two out of my six neighbors.

Quick Note:

We have the roof on the chicken coop finished! It was too late to take any pictures, but hopefully I'll be able to post some tomorrow. The coop itself should be taking shape soon.

Early Morning Chick Report

I woke up this morning to the sound of crowing? Maybe. I'm not sure. Early this morning, I heard loud sounds coming from the chicken pen. It repeated about four or five times, but I couldn't make out who was doing it, and in my sleep-adled state, I can't even be sure that's what I heard.

I sat outside with the chicks for quite a long time, but it wasn't repeated. I have to say that if one of the chicks is a rooster I'm voting for Poppy. Jackie is bigger than Pop and also has a comb and wattle, but she just seems more hen-ny. Maybe it's also that I think we're more attached to Jackie than any of the others. She has always been the biggest and the most curious. If I have any roosters, I'm not sure what I'll do. I may be able to keep one, but I don't think I could handle two. Plus the crowing. I'm not sure what my neighbors would think of the crowing. Anyway, time will tell ....

Here's a few things I observed this morning:

• Chicks can be quite silly. Birdie was standing up near the chicken wire looking at me when all of a sudden Honey ran up and tried to jump on her back. I think because Birdie was being still Honey thought she was an inanimate object that she could perch on, like the waterer.
• The chicks are much noisier when I'm not around. I came inside for a few minutes this morning and there was such chatter. When I went back outside, they all calmed down and hardly said a peep.
• The smaller ones like to perch on the waterer and the stick I put in the pen. Poppy tried to perch on the waterer a couple of times, but she's really too big and kept sliding off.
• Poppy ate two ants while I was out there. Not a big deal I know, but I have seen them try to catch flies before--which I've never seen them actually succeed at doing--so the ants are the first bugs I've seen them eat.

Mid-Week Coop Update

I'm not sure how much time we'll have to work on the chicken coop this weekend, so Kevin came over to work on it this evening. We have the roof almost done ... although the last few pieces will be the hardest. Hopefully, we'll get a few minutes (ha ha) to get the roof done this weekend. I'll need to get some paint on it soon.

Corn on the Cob

My brother Jon and Amy brought Kaley over to see Birdie. They also brought the chicks a treat--corn on the cob! You would have thought that the chicks would be so excited about something new to eat. They only have their feed and wood chips to eat (just kidding, sort of). I put the plastic container with the corn in it in the pen originally because there were so many loose kernels, and the chicks just cowered together in a corner. We took the cobs out, thinking that they just had an aversion to plastic, but they had to find their courage to even investigate them. Finally, Jackie (of course) started to peck on a cob and that opened the door for all of them to peck at the same cob. They hate being left out. An hour later and the cobs are pretty much stripped clean.

Coop, Part Three

We worked on the chicken coop for most of the afternoon today, and I have to say it's pretty pleasant back there. We were in the sun for an hour or so and then we were in the shade for the rest of the time. As you can see, we started putting the roof on. What you can't see are the braces that we added. It's getting more stable and closer to being finished. We still have so, so much to do, but it's coming along. Plus, technically, we have about three more weeks until we need to have the coop done. The chicks won't be ready to lay eggs for a while, and I think that's when the coop will be more necessary. Right now, they'd probably enjoy scratching around in the dirt, but they're fine for the time being.