photos of the chicken roof

chicken coop additions

today we are building a roof for the chicken coop.
i think it will go pretty smoothly. we have a dearth of cheap beer and a fantastic step by step list which we created after two and a half hours at home depot and another two in my backyard, thinking things through.

we need to build a frame for it to rest on, secure that to the run, and then attach rafters which will hold the plastic sheeting.

the tricky parts will be getting the sheeting attaches and getting the structure atop the run. however, at this moment i am confidant and i have the whole day ahead of me to work on this. i will report back!

ever so humble

after a serious whirlwind of out of town and out of house action, i finally found myself with several days of leisure time. and while a good chunk of it was spent with a particular man in my life, i did actually spend some of it being productive in the backyard.

last night i surveyed my backyard and thought—we're getting there.
things don't look quite so trashy.

the three day weekend was good to me.
i got a lot of things cleaned up, put away and planted.

the garden is nearing completion, thank god. tomatoes are looking good, beans are sprouting, i'll plant the last of my potatoes today.

always, continuously , working on the chicken coop.
added a wood border at the base to keep hay in, will be refitting the roof this week hopefully. will be adding a area of gravel around the coop to ward away muddiness and give the chickens something to do. right now i have three-fourths of the chicken yard fenced off and am trying to green it up a bit with some yellow clover and pasture grass mix. yesterday it sprouted, and with rainy seventy degree weather for the next week, i could be well on my way, finally.

otherwise, the chickens are good. all outside loose together. couple of roosters have cropped up, much to my dismay and i will need to work at getting them out the door soon.

next week i will try to get my scrap wood out to the dump.
might try to get a shed put in too.
wouldn't that be utterly fabulous?
god, i don't know what i would do with myself.

just too good

the garden energizes me.
in the kitchen i'm frantic. in the house—slobbish. but in the garden i am with purpose and happy. at least, these are the poetically ideal sentiments i am left with after sunny, productive, fresh air days.

i was lucky to have a sunday with clear skies.
fall is an absolutely fantastic time to garden so long as its warm and dry enough to work in the garden. which, sunday it was. and all this week it will be. my theory for fall gardening is that trees, perennials and shrubs are all on sale. huge sales.

and if you get things in the ground and are attentive (as i will be) things winter over and get a faster start on the growing season come spring. i am looking forward to seeing what pulls through.

weeks ago i looked into my backyard to find it lacking in fall color.
since then i have been on a studious quest that has turned profitable as well as physical as i have actually been able to locate some of the specimens that i've sought after.

my backyard began with:
a flowering quince (profuse coral flowers)
a locust (yeech)
a black walnut (bright yellow fall color)
lilacs
and...another tree of sorts.

this sunday i added a:
'Mowhawk' Viburnum (orange-red in the fall)
Euonomys (red in fall through february)
Bailey Red Twig Dogwood (red with red branches)
Butterfly Bush (red-purple flowers in the spring)

tomorrow is to be good weather and i am taking the afternoon off.
tomorrow i hope to add:
witch hazel (arnold? bright yellow flowers as early as feb, yellow foliage)
japanese maple (several, whichever i can find in town...i hope)

eventually i hope to add:
american cranberry bush 'wentworth' (a viburnum, with edible fruit.)

for the love of animals

the grey cat is sleeping in the basket i created for him.

that makes me feel good. although it takes me that much closer to owning him. but really, can a neighborhood cat be owned? i just don't want him to be cold or wet or hungry.

and anyways, he's good company for milo and aesop. and keeps the other nasty cats away. he doesn't have a name yet. first it was henry, then jean-luc. neither fit. perhaps he can't be mine because he has no name. he is so utterly roly poly and cuddly too.

the chicken run roof collapsed under pressure from the rain.
while its a hassle, it is inadvertently bringing me closer to having the chickens sleep inside their coop. i hope this weekend to have enough dry moments to re-roof both the run and the coop, and then shove those birdies into it for the night. if i could get the front door to work better, i'd be set....

the rain is also wreaking havoc on my fence.
i wish it would stop raining for 5 days so i could seal it.

the weather is getting the best of me, and my animals.

this weekend i so seriously need to roof the chicken house its not even funny. i roofed the chicken run and even that is not going so well, because water pools in it and sags down. now it leaks, through the miniscule holes created by the industrial staples holding the tarp on. fuuuuuuuck.

this is of course, only an issue because its raining. a lot.

the grey cat that thinks it lives at my house now thinks it lives in the chicken coop. the heat lamp is an obvious draw. and i'm such a bleeding heart animal lover, that i've set it up a bed next to the house.

i can't help myself. its cold and wet and really, really, cold.

last week, last weekend, when it was sunny and warm and blue skies....i was amazingly productive. fence erected. flower beds dug and allium bulbs planted. shrub purchased. hole half dug.

all good. back in the saddle next weekend. lawns mowed, coop finished, coop moved, chicken run roofed, backyard composted. and...friends, family, guests, all enjoyed.

(((its only tuesday however, several more rainy cold days to go.)))

observations about chickens

my chickens appear to think i'm their rooster.
(well, really i am. in a way. but...not that way.)
each one, once it starts laying, periodically will freeze and squat when i walk by. for me, it provides me an opportunity to pet and socialize them. but their position to me suggests they are expecting to be mounted...

isolde has started laying...
under the qunice bush next to a small turqoise (egg shaped) football.

the weather has drastically changed, getting very cold.
i've decided to start feeding the chucks more, help them beef up and stay warm. i can't remember if i was told to do this, but it seems to be an inherently intelligent decision.

the coop needs a roof, soon.
but i'm away this weekend, so...next week.
it needs to be light. if possible. lighter than what i have now. but, fully sealed. i also intend to run an extension cord and a light/heat lamp out there. if for no other reason than to lure the chickens into the coop (and not atop it.)


p.s. these are the nesting boxes i bought for 1$ on craigslist. i painted them white and attached them to the far side of my coop (the most private side, for my finicky chucks.)

anyways. chickens. 'nuff said.

status report: heavy lifting? check!

today i tackled the coop upgrade and move.
the only immediate thing left i to attach the nesting boxes.
i'm feeling pretty proud. my coop tasks were ambitious.

i am not sure if i am up for digging post hole tommorrow.
but my other overly ambitious goal is to have a fence erected by monday night. a very long fence to reign in the chucks.

the animals are driving me slightly mad.
the cats are needy, the neighborhood cat obnoxious and pushy, the chickens are stubborn and a little stupid. then i throw a dog into the mix...all hell breaks loose. every once in awhile its just a little too much. especially with the neighbor cat bursting into the house at every chance.

tomorrow i'll attach the nesting boxes.
three chickens are laying now. io, brigitte, and odette (i think). last tuesday through an ingenious brainstorm, i found their egg cache. while in portland i had bought a set of nesting boxes for a dollar. these days i am more than happy to pay someone to do something for me, the glory of doing it myelf isn't nearly so enticing.
(especially when i can pay 1$ for it...)

the bedrooms are painted. also a big list item marked off.
sigh. is it really true? is the end really in sight?

sundays are good.

sundays are good days.
i get more done on sunday than i do all weekend.
my first egg arrived on friday and today i got two. one light tan and one light blue. my nest boxes are pathetic. i need to make some adjustments but don't have the oomph to get the job done.

move the door hinges to the bottom

raise the coop onto the cement footers

make new nest boxes and locate them on the floor

better roosts inside

finish off last wall

purchase waterer and hang it

add 2x4 to roof for stability

in the meantime, the chickens are loose in the yard and enjoying themselves. until i can get the yard fenced, they can only be loose when i can be around the check on them periodically.

its closing in on 1pm and already i've worked in the kitchen, moved a carload, mowed a lawn and trimmed hedges. which is pretty good for me these days. i'm hoping to dig up plants at the old house but in this heat it doesn't sound very pleasant.

enough procrastination, time to get back to work.

the coop coup

tonight i hosted a kuehe. coop, coup.
i staged it around 10, 9:43 to be exactly approximate.
in the dark of night i snatched my chickens up in their sleep and quickly deposited them in their temporary quarters—the dog kennel.
by 10:57 i had two cats shoved into a small animal carrier intended for a jack russell terrier in her puppy years.

the cats are now investigating their new home.
the chickens are cursing their fate, to sit in a dog kennel until noontime tomorrow when i will be able to bring them to their luxurious new coop and run. sans rooster (who is currently inhabiting the garage so as not to wake my neighbors at 4:45am anymore. or me.)

in 26 minutes i will have been awake for 18 hours.
during that time i have cleaned out my bathroom, moved nearly all my major furniture pieces, moved my coop, assembled a chicken run, set the kitchen right (mostly) and gone to far too many yard sales.

tonight is my first night in my house.
the living room isn’t finished, the bedrooms not started and the fence is two-weeks out. but all in all i am feeling content and accomplished and my feet are tired so i must have been busy.

the green in the bedroom is bold but i like it. i no longer want to paint my room grey because i am unable to determine what a good grey is. it will be blue, erie canal perhaps.

my self made chicken run was a flaming disaster and has led to the losing of a chicken: Heloise i believe. i worry about her and hope that she is hidden away somewhere. if she begins laying she could possible have a family of her own soon and it makes me happy to think of rogue chickens roaming the neighborhood. Friday my mother gave me the best surprise ever by gifting me a portable dog run—why hadn’t i thought of it earlier???

the chickens would be in it now if i had gotten the top covered or the door attached tonight before it got so dark. instead—tomorrow.

as it is, i’m exhausted. goodnight.

when it comes to the house: its one of "those" weeks

currently i'm frustrated and a little deflated regarding my house projects.
i have a list a mile long and every day i get only a fraction of it done. i have overly ambition aspirations and my inability to achieve them is wearing me down. also that i'm doing it alone.

monday i seriously hurt my back lifting improperly.
pain, shot down my hip and thigh. it was god awful.

yesterday i moved the chickens to my new house thinking that i would have plenty of time to finish their chicken run and paint kitchen cabinets and the living room. of course i did almost nothing of this, the run was thrown together, i have two cabinets still awaiting me, two and a half living room walls and a hallway.

this morning i went to check on the chickens to find that cats had chased them loose. spent my morning wrangling chickens, lost one entirely. again had grand plans for the coop and run tonight and by the end of the night the chickens were still locked up in a dog kennel. the saw was frightening, the coop heavy, my back started hurting and the run a task difficult to fathom. tomorrow i move the chickens back. they simply cannot live 24/7 in a dog kennel and i still can't catch the rogue chicken in my yard.

i'm worried about both of them. the one in the yard because she's alone and its stormy. the one loose because she is probably completely lost, also alone...where will she end up? who will find her?

of course much of this i am doing alone.
today completely alone and that is what wore my out. with my back i'm not nearly as effective and i continue to injure it as i work. it is paining me incredibly right now—and it was fine all day. as someone attempting to undertake several projects alone, i can say its a lot harder without someone else. even if it is just someone to be stumped with you. or someone to calm you down or cheer you up when you are at your wit's end. or someone to use the saw.

tomorrow i do nothing on the house.
friday. paint. and clean up the kitchen.
i'll work on the coop and run over the weekend.
maybe the fence, but that is a stretch.
sigh. it'd be nice to have a hug right now. i'm feeling a little blue.
luckily milo decided to sleep with me.

more progress made

today i installed a thermostat by myself.
i also worked in the kitchen. ripped out hideous contact paper while ella, billie and the beatles sang. my grandma helped and couldn't believe the music i was playing—i thought she would enjoy it and i'm glad i was right. the stuff to remove sticky stuff smells oppresively of oranges. yeech. i used it the wrong way and had to do my cabinets all over again, much to the dismay of my nose.

things that need to be done before moving in:
+paint the kitchen & bathroom cabinets white
+paint the living room & bedrooms
+fence the backyard
+finish the chicken coop

the coop is so close. if only i could get my hands on a circular saw.
perhaps tuesday i could get my grandpa to make the cuts. by wednesday they are gone, so i could just wait him out and use it myself (he will only do it for me, not let me do it.)

today i got the roofing put on the top and part of the run set up, i need pegs to hold down the bottom of the run so the chicks don't squirm underneath. quite obviously i've never roofed anything, i stupidly attached the overlapping pieces the wrong way, so if water runs from front to back, it gets underneath the roof. doh. one more layer tomorrow.

technically i could move in with the fence on its way. but truly i will have plenty of packing to keep me busy i feel like there is more that needs to be done but in all liklihood i am just moving slowly. everyone wants me to be excited or nervous and i'm neither. i was impatient and i continue to be so, but i will admit there is a touch of concern floating around in the back of my mind. it would be nice to get the basement in liveable condition sooner rather than later, so i could rent it out (at least the bedroom.)

with the coop and kitchen done i can move some things over.
i have no couch. hmmm. too late in the night for further thoughts.
more work tomorrow!

mission (nearly) accomplished!

yesterday i closed on my house.
i signed the papers and stepped out into the thunder riotous echo of a thunder storm which i had been eagerly awaiting. what might be for some a harbinger, was for me a celebration.

today i spent my day primarily working on the chicken coop. last week i attempted to make progress but got only as far as getting the wood purchased and installing the floor and the back. i'm using deck screws that came with their own bit, i hope they will last long (and the bit has proven incredibly helpful.) it was hot and exhausting work—not to mention thought-consuming as much of the coop has been, i lasted a few hours and then became exhausted and discouraged. it was like 100 degrees out, so i am not feeling too pathetic or anything.

today i installed the cabinet doors on either wall that will allow me to clean the floor of the coop easily. i then installed the roof, which i have also made hinged for increase airflow and ability to clean. unfortunately i had two-fewer hings than i had thought, and i forgot that i would want shorter screws (otherwise defeating the purpose of the hinge). the roof also extends nearly an extra foot in the front as a rain-guard or shade or whathaveyou.

i painted what i could. i'm painting it with barn paint from beryl, it is supposedly mildew and weather resistant. i'm painting every inch of it with it—inside and out, to stave off mildew and other issues. the roof will be black, the building red, the windows and doors are white. or will be.


by tomorrow it should be finished, except for the nesting boxes. i need to pull down the roofing materials in my garage tomorrow, finish the roof and back of the house. i need to finish the facade, but this is how i intend it to look. tomorrow i will make the appropriate cuts, figure out how to attach the windows, and finish it. i have boards to attach on the inside and 5ft pieces to find for roosts.

tonight i began to make the run, but will tackle the ivy jungle tomorrow when i have close toed shoes on (not flip flops where bugs can crawl on me....) i'll need to make a new feeder and waterer (finally figured out why my first try failed me so miserably—science, gravity, water, you figure it out.) i'll need more litter for bedding.

it has certainly made it more challenging but more cost effective to build with recycled materials (in the sense that my doors and windows were all snagged from kitchen cabinets, my wood primarily from scrap piles.

i am feeling especially accomplished today. the coop was so overwhelming, i am feeling so productive with so much of it behind me—the end is insight indeed! tomorrow i will finish the coop and tackle the kitchen cabinets, and the exhaust fan. it took a little while to get motivated, but i just need to remember i'm not a morning person.

i'm a night owl. hoo-hoo.