We opened up the “fence” and made even more room for the chicks. While their inside area was opened up, they experienced bright sunlight outside for the first time. They preferred the shade.
I use some scrap wainscoting and screws to attach the ends of the barrier to the posts so we have less chance of escapees. They are really enjoying running around. We also gave them some grass clippings for the first time. They LOVED it. It was so fun to watch!
Someone is building a nest in our honey suckle! I was weaving in loose ends, and gently avoiding pollinating bees, when I spotted something that was not a product of my weaving. I’m not sure which kind of bird is nesting here, but I will have to check back to see if they complete the nest, or abandoned it (it is rather close to the front door).
Here is a picture of one half of the honey suckle. The smell is wonderful!
Or is it? Is wainscoting in again? Or did I just date my coop?
Not that it matters. I didn’t install it for looks (and there are no trim boards, so there’s a big finish no-no); I installed it for safety and cleaning. For safety: it keeps the chickens from pecking the asphalt paper and either damaging themselves (it is STICKY when it gets warm), or picking holes in the vapor barrier. For cleaning: the boards are made of solid PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which is a kind of plastic. Easy to clean and water-proof. It was not cheap (but cheaper than wood boards), but I am hoping it will work long term and be worth the investment. The whole coop isn’t cheap, for that matter, but we aren’t raising chickens to produce eggs for big-box company A, we are raising chickens for our personal educational, health, and entertainment purposes. We do have a budget, money set aside for the project, and are tracking costs. Not that I’m sensitive about installing wainscoting in my coop.
Well here is something I’ve never seen before. A wolf spider with her egg sac. I’ve seen wolf spiders carrying the littles on their back (and still have nightmares), but haven’t seen the pre-kingdom-of-the-spiders version.
I disturbed her when I was digging around the coop. Scooped her right up with a load of dirt! Rather than flinging the whole thing, I took her gently over to the edge of the woods and let her go. Much better her outside than inside the house.
Faverolles have five toes on each foot. I have twelve chicks. I did not do the math when I decided to clip their sharp little nails. I did not manage to clip every nail (I was going to file, but the nails are still so little and the toes are kind of floppy), but I did manage to only expose one quick. 1 out of 120 is not bad. I quickly (#punintentional) put some “no-pick” purple goo on it and the chick was fine. And all of them have at least been exposed to the process. Phew.
Critters and Craft 