We have wood.

It has been a while since the last installment of GPD. There are two main reasons for that. One, I have been busy and tired. I have been telling myself I need to do a chicken blog tonight, and end up in bed. Two, there is not much going on day to day to deserve a blog entry. I will tell you a little bit about the chickens and then a little bit about the coop.

First the chickens. Princess and Fairy are both doing well. They seem bigger every day. They are getting some brown feathers on their chest and wings. From what I understand they will be all brown when they mature. They poop often. They eat more than I expected and drink less than I expected. We give them some outside time each day. It’s fun. They have found this little pile of dirt, that used to be mud but is now dried and they give themselves dust baths. Something I guess chickens do. It is for sure an instinct, because no other chicken ever showed them where or how to do it. They definitely like to perch. Any time they can get on something with an edge or something similar to a branch, they get on it. That is all for the chicken report.

dirt/dust bathing

On to the coop, both current and future. I know all my readers out there. And there are many of you. Want to see the coop plans, well, so do I. I am sorry to say, there are still no materialized coop plans. However there have been great advancements in the acquiring of coop building materials.

First off was the awesome find of the scrap pallet wood I found on base. Asked the owner, he said it was mine for the taking. A good shipmate and fellow Whipped Dog let me borrow his truck and the wood was brought home that night. I am going to go off subject here bit, so I can get back on subject later. It will make sense. So, half of the deck that I made last year is looking a little beat. Not only does it look a little beat, but the boards are loose and they creak like crazy. I wanted to replace about half the deck. The side that get very harsh sun. I wanted to do this, had the truck, so, I made the trip to Lowes and got the wood for the new decking. What does this have to do with GPD you are asking? Here is the part where I get back on subject from being off subject. I am going to use the beat up and weathered wood from the deck along with the free wood from the base to make the coop. This coop will be made with 100% re-purposed wood. How green of me. More like, how cheap of me. I had to buy a few things. The wire for the sides and the floor, some screws etc. As for the plans, they are coming soon. Trust me, soon. Like many things that I build I tend to design and acquire materials in the wrong order. I see what I have or what I can get, material wise and then I design what I am building around the materials. This chicken coop seems to be no different and is proving that rule to be a rule. Now that I know what size and amounts of wood I have, I can start the design. More on that in another blog.

Free, New and Old Wood

  

The two ladies now reside in this sweet set up. It is, if you can’t tell, a Rubbermaid bin that I have cut a few holes in for air flow and an anti-slip carpet mat on top of to keep them in. The price was right, and the clean-up is very easy. I find myself doing most of the cleaning. Time and quality of job would be severely sacrificed if I had Geneva do it. I still make her help in some small way, but I clean it each day.

Rubbermaid coop, secured and a peek inside

 

I think that about sums it up and catches you up. They are growing fast that is for sure. And are going to need a bigger place soon. Have a good Memorial Day weekend, and remember what it’s all about. Our veterans who didn't make it home.

Your humble veteran
(Geneva posed me this way and took the photo)