Not people proof, but I hope the locks are complicated enough to thwart the raccoons.
I have one lock on the entry to the runs and another on the back door. I had these locks in my stash. I thought they would be smaller when I ordered them, but alas, they were not. They are better fitted for this application, and by attaching the chain I don’t have to search for the key.
I smoothed out the ditch for water inside the run, laid down some landscaping fabric, and placed stones.
This should help the chicks stay out of the mud, at least a little. Some of them were a little leery of it, though.
The runs are wired in! At least on the outside, which is to keep predators out. The division of the runs to make it so I can rotate areas will come later.
I installed the batteries in the automatic chicken door. Let the testing begin! And of course there is a storm coming through tonight. Oh well, you can’t win them all.
The chicks love being able to go out whenever they want!
When you have a child with special needs there are many people at school who help and interact with her daily. I love that my daughter wants to get them all a present, but making that many things is hard for her, so we come up with things we can do in steps. For this year’s thank you cards, she picked a bold outline font from a filtered list, and I printed them on card stock. We then set her up with watercolors and turned her loose painting! Because the print is bold and water colors are light, they came out readable every time. She started out trying to color carefully, then quickly moved to broad strokes. All of them came out lovely, and unique!
To write in each note, we will do a few at a time so it isn’t overwhelming (for either of us!!)
For Mother’s Day I received a rain barrel rock. I set it up just before the rain came, and now it is full!
Let me tell you that it was a pain to get set up right. Everything was going well, I leveled a space, put a layer of sand, leveled again, set brick, followed all the instructions on measuring (even measuring thrice), cut and installed the diverter, tested by running water on the roof… nuts. The tube was about 1/2″ too high on the barrel side. I had to remove and reset the brick three times to get it to the right level. Ugh. But, when we had an inch and a half rain fall, it filled my 80 gallon barrel all the way up! So it was worth making it right.
Now I can use the water for my old garden (not the failed garden in the chicken run). I have strawberries, carrots, and rosemary that I’m sure will appreciate it!
