Pirate Home Improvements
You know, I have to hand it to that man I married - that combination of Socrates, Errol Flynn and Betty Crocker who also plays a mean game of cribbage - during my recent long illness, he didn't just keep up with the kids, the house and the animals, he even spent some quality time with his power tools making some improvements to their little habitat.
Case in point number one: the new nesting boxes. "They look like bookshelves" I hear you cry. Oh, wait, that was me. And indeed, they do. On the other hand, I know of no chickens who can read or possess the thumbs necessary to use books. On the other hand, I know many chickens who are in need of comfy, private accommodations in which to make their morning ovulary deposits. The stuff in the bottoms of the boxes is rice hulls which the soft-hearted Pirate allowed the cute little smiling guy at the feed store to talk him into buying. I hope they work, because I have absolutely no idea what else we'd do with them.
And here was another of the Pirate's little projects. One of our ongoing issues has to do with the fact that chickens are rather indiscriminate poopers, and at the same time, they have a liking for flying up onto anything and perching there. The combination means that they will poop into their own water on the average of forty-seven times a day. And twice a day, we go down and clean it off and empty out the dirty water and give the chickens a good talking-to about hygiene and manners, but I fear that it's all lost on them. So, what lectures can't accomplish, carpentry can - a ramada for the waterer that keeps the chickens from pooping right into the water. Come summer, it'll also provide the waterer with a modicum of shade, keeping the water that much cooler. Well done!
And there it is now. The view from under the coop - a veritable mountain of chicken poo. Well, that's what it may look like to you, but it's spring, and what it means to me is that we now have a whole lot of pretty impressive fertilizer for this spring's vegetables! Kinda makes your mouth water, doesn't it? No? Well, never mind.
And here the little darlings are now. The reason there's a huge mountain of poo under the coop is because the coop doesn't have a solid bottom. Think about those wooden soap dishes made of slats - that's our chicken house floor. And at night, the chickens all cram themselves onto the top perch (there are two more perches just as nice, but no, they all have to screech and flap to get a spot on this one!) and stay right there until morning, letting the chips fall where they may.
Just for good measure, I took a picture of the porch right in front of the chicken house, and a big fat stack of the thing we buy most often at our place - straw bales. We need straw for the floor of the henhouse, straw for the chicken yard so they're not walking in the mud, and occasionally we use straw to keep our driveway from falling into the creek. And yes, that's what the little red boat on the left is for - the creek. Just in case there's a flood and we need to get downtown in a hurry.
And here's what happens when you let your kid take the chickens outside for walkies. She throws scratch around like Mardi Gras beads, and a month later we've got a lawn grown up from the spilled grain. That's okay. The chickens will eat that too!
Case in point number one: the new nesting boxes. "They look like bookshelves" I hear you cry. Oh, wait, that was me. And indeed, they do. On the other hand, I know of no chickens who can read or possess the thumbs necessary to use books. On the other hand, I know many chickens who are in need of comfy, private accommodations in which to make their morning ovulary deposits. The stuff in the bottoms of the boxes is rice hulls which the soft-hearted Pirate allowed the cute little smiling guy at the feed store to talk him into buying. I hope they work, because I have absolutely no idea what else we'd do with them.
And here was another of the Pirate's little projects. One of our ongoing issues has to do with the fact that chickens are rather indiscriminate poopers, and at the same time, they have a liking for flying up onto anything and perching there. The combination means that they will poop into their own water on the average of forty-seven times a day. And twice a day, we go down and clean it off and empty out the dirty water and give the chickens a good talking-to about hygiene and manners, but I fear that it's all lost on them. So, what lectures can't accomplish, carpentry can - a ramada for the waterer that keeps the chickens from pooping right into the water. Come summer, it'll also provide the waterer with a modicum of shade, keeping the water that much cooler. Well done!
And there it is now. The view from under the coop - a veritable mountain of chicken poo. Well, that's what it may look like to you, but it's spring, and what it means to me is that we now have a whole lot of pretty impressive fertilizer for this spring's vegetables! Kinda makes your mouth water, doesn't it? No? Well, never mind.
And here the little darlings are now. The reason there's a huge mountain of poo under the coop is because the coop doesn't have a solid bottom. Think about those wooden soap dishes made of slats - that's our chicken house floor. And at night, the chickens all cram themselves onto the top perch (there are two more perches just as nice, but no, they all have to screech and flap to get a spot on this one!) and stay right there until morning, letting the chips fall where they may.
Just for good measure, I took a picture of the porch right in front of the chicken house, and a big fat stack of the thing we buy most often at our place - straw bales. We need straw for the floor of the henhouse, straw for the chicken yard so they're not walking in the mud, and occasionally we use straw to keep our driveway from falling into the creek. And yes, that's what the little red boat on the left is for - the creek. Just in case there's a flood and we need to get downtown in a hurry.
And here's what happens when you let your kid take the chickens outside for walkies. She throws scratch around like Mardi Gras beads, and a month later we've got a lawn grown up from the spilled grain. That's okay. The chickens will eat that too!
posted by Aoibheall | 8:22 PM
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