The chickens have arrived.
This morning I started the finishing of this grand chicken quest.
After work I rented a uhaul and set out to the place where the birds now used to live. My, what a morning!
I got there shortly before 9 this morning. The birds were shut in the coop last night to make sure we wouldn't have to chase them. I saw a meme the other day that said "it's impossible to catch a chicken. They run 8.3 mph and humans can only run 8.299 mph." It made me chuckle.
I backed up the truck right up to the coop and we cut off the legs. The two closest legs to the truck first, then we scooted that end into the truck. Repeat for the other end, and it was easily on the truck.
Getting it out proved more difficult. I was by myself for the most part. My helpers (Sam and Melissa) were not the most physical people, so they got to steer while I lifted and pushed.
They did good work, and we got it thirty yards from the truck to the south end of the chicken run in one big push. I figure it weighs somewhere around 300-400 pounds. Use your legs. Squat deep and lift.
We had to patch it fairly quickly and save some to do tomorrow because we're headed to my mother in law's home for Babo's party. Tomorrow I'll decide if we're raising it back up all the way or just a foot or so. Talking with my friend Kim who is much more knowledgeable about chickens, she mentioned that they like being under low things like decks and porches, so if it's low, we might be able to give them more play room and a little comfort space. It'll extend the size of the run and make the birds a bit more comfortable, while still providing enough room to clean the coop, which has access from the bottom and side.
As we were leaving the house, the birds were just getting comfortable enough to come out. I put out lots of 5 seed scratch for them and a full waterer, as well as the feeder full of feed.
I wish our day wasn't so busy and that I could be home with them. I can't wait to sit out back and watch the chickens!
We have chickens now!
It feels more like a homestead with every project :) as tired as I am, I'm so happy right now. My family worked hard this week. It took a lot of patience from Melissa to put up with my obsessive research and one-track focus. And Sam has been an incredible help with the task of assembling the coop and run. He's making his old man especially proud this week.
I'm going to take a nap for a bit.
Stay relevant y'all.
A very proud and exhausted Nate
Super excited for your experience and for you guys bud! I don't feel I need to tell you that I look forward to hearing more about all of it, but I will anyway! Family looks happy and excited! Coop looks nice!
There will be more tomorrow, no doubt! So much to do! I think I'll stick with the lower coop idea. And an herb garden in or next to the coop. Omg so much to do!
Always! And remember.. "It's never less work, just different."
Lol always more work! Never less. 😂😂
But I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Congrats on the chickens. Pretty awesome dollies you used to move the coop. One step closer to freedom.
Getting there!
"it's impossible to catch a chicken. They run 8.3 mph and humans can only run 8.299 mph." It made me chuckle."
My husband, who does most of the shutting up at night, has said this, but he doesn't chuckle much.... :)) He has a crab fishing net and evens the odds. :))
One thing we found out real fast the first year: low things make life VERY hard. The chickens like it, but try getting eggs out of there...
Re: scratch. Scratch is candy. They will eat all you give them, and other goodies too. But if they do not eat their daily ration of balanced feed each and every day, you will be inviting a nasty host of problems in, many of which are hard to reverse.
So good for you and the kids! The birds are home. Now the fun begins. :))
The fun begins!
Oh goodness. People keep saying they're glad we got it done. We've only just started, and that's so exciting!
Will they nest and lay under there instead of the nesting boxes?
Yup. Hens prefer places that are enclosed, ideally where they can't see out and others can't see in. If it's low enough and dark enough, they will go there. And being bantams, they are apt to go broody, and a dirt floor is what a broody hen wants, for the humidity. THAT will be fun. :))
It sounds like I'm going to learn a lot in this process :)
I'm leaving it low simply because of the work it would take to raise it back up again. There's a big risk I'd drop it or tip it over during the process, and it is super heavy. I do have the underneath blocked off though so the birds can't get under.
Be aware (I just remembered this) that having an enclosed area near where there is feed can harbor mice and rats...They get to be a BIG problem really fast....
howdy this fine Saturday @nateonsteemit! great job gettin the chicken coop hauled in and set up, very good redneck engineering I might add, with the wagons! very impressive. lol.
now the fun begins! what a blessing though.
God bless you guys!
We make due where we can! The wagons worked much better than I thought they would :)
I think the whole family is excited for the chickens. My mother in law even came out to see them, which was a real surprise! I was convinced she'd be dead set against the whole thing lol
haha! your mother in law will probably be coming over to get some fresh eggs! do you guys do gardening also?
That's fantastic, you did it...
We've started it :) not sure it'll ever be done lol
Cool. I like how you used branches for roosting posts.
I want chickens too, but we moved to a neighborhood that doesn't really allow it. Congratulations on your ingenuity. I can't believe those red wagons didn't collapse, but lol I've used skateboards for heavy moving when nothing else was available. HA!
btw - I'm trying to convince my husband to write a post explaining how to build a chicken feeder (self-filling watering station). I'll let you know if the post goes live.
Yes, please! What's his handle on here? I'll give him a follow :)
The trick with the wagons was to keep the weight on the front steer axles and not the rear axles. The little on had the front wheels get stuck in a mole hole and the axle buckled and turned completely around, so we had to adjust it.
As.far as not being allowed to have chickens, here's a little something that can be inspiring:
To a degree, it inspired this project ;)
awesome quote!
Pat's handle is @triplep - he hasn't posted anything in nearly 2 years. Unfortunately he's got more free time than we anticipated so I've tasked him with coming up with some blog posts to keep him out of my hair. LOL He's already drawn up the blue print of his chicken feeder so I'll make sure to get that posted over the weekend. :)