All the digging and moving dirt yesterday was well worth it. We are getting drenched. The spot right in front of the door is dry and mostly solid. Our neighbors graciously brought us cardboard so we can walk down the hill to the coop instead of slide.

I think I still need to raise the level of the ground under the porch; even though I tamped down the dirt, it still isn’t as solid as it will be after a couple soak and dry sessions and lots of foot traffic. Here is a picture a few hours later.

The water is flowing along all the trenches around the runs, so we may have to adjust our plan and fill all of them with rock instead of dirt.

The chicks are doing OK. The temperature in their brooder is staying above 50, but the low is forecast to be 41. I put a blanket around the heater end of the coop (the EcoGlow is radiant heat and the blanket is at least 12″ away), which helps some. I’m keeping a close eye on the temperature. I may need to figure out an additional heat source.

Here is a video of one chick trying out perching on the stick!