Monday 5 October 2009

Getting a start on expanding the chickens area.


We have been talking about expanding the area the chickens are kept in. Mostly so they are able to roam about more without having to lock up poor Shadow in the laundry (not that she minds). This became more of an urgent need after geting back from holidays. The girls had experienced over a week of complete freedom in the yard and when we picked up Shadow from the boarding Kennel on last Thursday they had already been out half the day so were not too upset about going back in the run. However come Friday and not being let out till the afternoon and only for a short period they were beside themselves.
So on Saturday with Shadow hiding in the laundry because of the wet weather I let the chooks out and started working in the rain. Neither I or the chooks cared about the rain. It was only the heavier periods of rain that seemed to ruffle their feathers so they hid under the Mulberry tree and one of the large bushes we have.
I stupidly started to do the work with no gloves and my wedding and engagement rings on. One reason that was stupid is my engagement ring is actually a some what elaborate antigue ring with a number of small pink rubies in it. Another is because in the wet it can be a difficult thing to use a wrecking hammer on cemented sandstone rocks but with rings on it hurt like hell each time the hammer hit the cement. Of inside I went to put the rings in a safe place, on the way in I realised probably not a good idea to be out ther in my slippers either. Yes I was out in my slippers, but then again I have been known to suddenly decide the yard could do with my touch on things and go out in my nice clothes and healed leather boots and work away.
I decided that none of my shoes were real wet weather yard working shoes so I ended up  out there in Brian's Blundstone boots. Need to buy some of my own I think.

Ever since we moved in the this place I have hated the horrid mess that was along the shed. There was this horrible vine overunning a trelise and the shed and the mulberry tree a;so taking over the fence. I hated it so much, Brian cut it back a bit a while ago and removed the trelise but left the majority of the ugly choking vine. Now it's mostly gone just need to get down the side of the shed to eliminate it totally.
There were sandstone rocks cemented into place forming a little garden edge along the side of the shed. Like the garden bed the chook house is in now.


Vine and ugly plants all cleared, look at that pile of sandstone waiting to be re-used elsewhere.
Waiting now for the weather to fine up a little before working on it further.

A few of the girls scratching away doing their job.

I plan on having their enclosre run from the shed right down to one of our vegie patches. A large area but there is an old plastic cubby in that area that holds all the chook stuff like feed and wood shavings etc. Plus and apple tree in there too. I also want to get a few more chooks too like a couple of Silver flecked Wyndote and maybe a Silkie or two. Still deciding on if we should get a couple of chooks that could be broody very easy or an artificial incubator or approaching the neighbours about us having a rooster rescued from the RSPCA. My heart wants to go rescue a poor rooster that has been dumped on the RSPCA, even though if we ended up with rooster chicks we would do something entirely different when they got big enough and started being very rooster like in their behaviour.

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