Fun Size Farm

Coop Progress and Veggies in the ground.

2009-06-10T08:54:00.007-05:00

Our life seems to have taken a turn for busier, so I haven't kept you up to date. Let me see. I will add pics later, I know a visual is much more descript than my short explanations.

We finished priming and painting the rear exterior wall of the coop. We have post holes dug, and posts and supports sunk for a small chicken run. As time and funds allow this summer we will get a bigger run in place.

Our veggie garden has taken shape. I got some really cool hinges frames from a local guy that are great for tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. How I wish we could find more. John will be busy soon helping me get some more frames together. Let me see, to list off what has been planted...a few basils, 5 varieties of tomatoes(Early girl, Brandywine, Cherry, Roma, hmmmmmmmmm.....and another kind that has slipped my mind), dark purple eggplant, turnips, a few varieties of pole beans, sugar snap peas, zinnias, carrots, cucumbers, corn, green peppers, sunflowers, beets, asparagus. We still need to build the bed around the asparagus and the strawberries. The purple and green bush beans are not in yet, and a batch of garden peas and a variety of radishes .....starting to get nervous, but it will happen, all in good time. And I would like to get a few berry bushes in. I have been looking at blueberries, raspberries, and cherry trees. we will see what I come up with.

Our last batch of chicks(that some how I have no pictures of still) are enormous and about 6 weeks old. I really need to get pics of these, they are so cute, Partridge cochins....very small with feathered legs and feet. Our last batch of chicks were all bantams. They will be good for the younger children to handle.

To do list on coop....

Prime ceiling of porch
paint ceiling of porch gloss white
make sure all eves have been fully gloss painted
cover 3 showing nails on roof with asphalt caulk
trim shingles on front and rear edge of roof
find razor knife and scrape paint off windows
finish installing run posts and supports
attach fenced run to coop with pop door trim
lash run fencing to posts
install threshold on human doorway
install and prime and paint vertical doorway stop
figure out what trim needs to be acquired for outside of coop

Several weeks ago we got a dozen fertile eggs

2009-05-26T14:24:00.003-05:00

from one of the poultry club leaders for the preschool classroom. They were placed in an incubator and 21 days later 7 chicks hatched, under the watchful eyes of about 60 kids. They stayed in the classroom for a few weeks, then we brought them home to join our flock. Last night we let them out of their small fenced off area in the coop to join the other birdies. A few of the Barred Rocks have really taken to these littlies as mother. I thought I would share pics of them today.

Finished Painting 3 Sides....

2009-05-25T14:14:00.002-05:00

Butter Yellow. This weekend I painted the north side, south side, and front. It started raining, so back side is still unpainted, but as soon as we get a free moment we will be painting it as well. The chickens seem to be loving the coop. I love the way it is turning out.

We were able to go to the Farmer's Market here in town and show a few of our birds with other members of the poultry club on Saturday. It was so much fun. Both of the older girls took a bird, the girls were enjoying showing their hard work, and the birds were well behaved. It was a lot of fun.

To do list for this week

2009-05-22T07:58:00.003-05:00

Well, the kids are out of school...thank goodness. So we have lots of plans for the yard and gardens. Of course finishing the coop from the outside is now our priority. So, the short list to do first before we begin trimming it out and building the run.

Prime ceiling of porch
finish priming porch posts
remove vent and prime the square around it
fill hole made by wood borer (GRRRRRRRRR!!!!)
make sure all eves have been fully primed
cover 3 showing nails on roof with asphalt caulk
trim shingles on front and rear edge of roof
find razor knife and scrape paint off windows
start painting over primer(start with north side)

Priming Priming Priming

2009-05-19T20:23:00.003-05:00

I spent a few hours primimg today...nearly done. Just need to pull out the vent, prime around it, and prime the porch ceiling. I think we have used 5 gallons of primer so far...maybe 6! Yikes!

Rooster Window Pulls

2009-05-18T19:21:00.004-05:00

I just checked the mail and guess what came in today??? Some hilarious drawer pulls I ordered for the windows of the coop! So, I ran straight out there and installed them.

Priming Right Along!!!

2009-05-18T19:13:00.002-05:00

It is such a nice beautiful sunny day out today, so with a few hours and a couple gallons of primer...voila! 3 sides are primed, just need to prime the back, the porch ceiling, and the front porch gable!

Checkin' Out Their New Digs

2009-05-14T22:38:00.005-05:00

I think we have a bunch of happy birds and happy kiddos ...the moment we have been waiting for! We set a small enclosure inside the corner, with a lamp for our 7 youngest birds, in a few weeks, they can join the others. Off to bed for everyone, sleep well feathered friends! I gotta' go clean the dining room!

The Proud Builders

2009-05-14T21:56:00.001-05:00

One last peek around the coop...all is ready on the inside. We are all so proud and excited about what we have accomplished! Now it is time to bring out the birdies.

Final Finishing Interior Details

2009-05-14T21:26:00.001-05:00

Painted the cabinet doors to the "attic" today. Then I put hook and eyes on the bottom and some sort of hasp closer thingo in the middle where the 2 sides come together.

Removed the vent to prime and paint the rear gable interior, primed, painted, caulked a small gap, then had John re-install vent.

Hung small chains with "S" hooks at the ends to hold up the roosts when I want to clean under them. Then I put a screw on the wall to hook the chains to when they are not in use.

Two big ceiling hooks were hung with chains and big "S" hooks at the ends to hold the waterer and feeder. With great joy, the children filled them.

While I finished the painting and caulking of one last spot, John cut the frame for the north window interior. I quickly primed and painted those...installed them wet. Then I used my bit of recycled rubber packaging and hammered up my doorstop. The paint was pretty wet and slippery, so it is a little crooked.

Just for fun, I found an iron door mat grate, so this welcomes you at the front door.

Now, I think we are ready for the birdies to move in. YAY!!!!!!

Chicken Door

2009-05-14T10:18:00.003-05:00

Finished the chicken door. It is primed and painted, inside and out, and moves freely in it's track. It is 14" tall and 12" wide. We used another piece of left over drip edge to protect the seam between the sheething and stud. Not sure why an arched door, but a 12" plate worked well at the top for the arched section. Then I screwed 3 screw eye bolts in to hold a locking some thing or other. For right now a piece of left over 1/4 round, it will be different later.

A bunch of little bits.

2009-05-14T00:33:00.003-05:00

Today's list..what was done...? hmmmmmmmmmm.....................

~paint any missed spots on front interior wall.

~prime both cabinet doors, inside and out.

~cut out and install chicken exit door

~prime chicken exit door

~caulk last gap near ceiling at rear

~prime 1/2 rear gable interior

~prime and paint frame of screen in south facing window

Pictures later!!!!

The Sleepover

2009-05-13T08:38:00.002-05:00

Last night we finally got the interior of the coop completed enough for a camp out. Yes, I know, it was a school night, but they all slept out there anyway..the 7 kids and John. The babe and I slept in the house. Yes, I know, party pooper. They seem to have all enjoyed themselves. I got out there this morning just in time to snap a pic through the front door of the last 2 sleepy heads.

Second Window Screen, Rear Gable, Vent, and Cabinet doors

2009-05-12T10:13:00.003-05:00

Today we were back at work on the coop. This afternoon I got the screening on the 2nd window. Then, I caulked some more. After soccer and Girl Scouts, we were back at it. John got the rear gable up and installed a vent. Then he cut the second door to the cabinet, and got it hung. While he was working away with the tools, I started clearing out all our tools and extras that had accumulated inside. So, once again...we are very near completion of the inside. So, tonight the kiddos and John are going to take a sleepover out in the coop. Hopefully by nightfall tomorrow the chickens will be resting peacefully in their new digs.

Thinking ahead for tomorrow....

~paint any missed spots on front interior wall.

~re-install stud braces on either side of doorway.

~prime and paint both cabinet doors.

~install hook and eyes to cabinets to keep then closed and to ceiling to hang open when needing access

~ frame out north facing window screen

~prime and paint the frame

~re-install door stop

~install chicken exit door(and whatever goes along with that)

~caulk last gap near ceiling at rear

~prime rear gable interior(remove vent first)

~paint rear gable interior

~re-install vent

~caulk any gaps

~prime and paint feet of roosts

~install hook and eyes on bottom of roost and ceiling

~prime and paint frame of screen in south facing window

~paint rafters

~hang chains to hold feeder and waterer

.......fill feeder and waterer and MOVE IN THE CHICKENS!

A Window With a Screen, Roosts on Hinges, and Strike Plates Installed

2009-05-11T22:38:00.006-05:00

Keeping myself busy with coopy loveliness, the littlies and I managed to get a few things accomplished. I found a few more places where the caulk had not been painted...took care of that. I think those unpainted spaces breed when I am not looking.

Could not find the roll of welded wire anywhere that I looked(not in basement, not in garage, not in barn, not in wood shop area, not in shed...where could it be?????), so...chicken wire was available and used for window screen as well as a layer of aluminum mesh. I guess chicken wire really is neccessary to give it that coop kind o' feel! Keep the birdies in, the sweet woodland critters gone urban pests out. Then I framed it out inside. Need to remove and paint those tomorrow.

Gia and I built and painted the roosts. When they were dry, Anthony and I installed them on hinges, so they can be lifted up and raised out of the way when clean out is happening. To accommodate the hinges, we installed a small bit of 2'x4' over the stud brace thing so both sides were even. Ugh...that made no sense, sorry, thinking I cannot describe it so well at the moment. (why is this underlined?...weird)

Then I used the chisel & knocked out the places where the door latches in the jamb...and installed the strike plates. All in a days work! whoo hooo...still not done, but jeez we are almost there.

Front gable cut and installed

2009-05-10T19:32:00.001-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! I got the front of the porch put on by my dear husband. He also got 1/2 of the back on and one cabinet door! Somehow I do not have pics of those two items. I spent the day painting some more, caulking some more, and helping to hold boards and tools and what not. Oh and I devised a funny little door stopped out from a recycled item that has amused me to no end today. More on that later. We are sooooooooooo close!

Windows and Door!

2009-05-09T23:17:00.002-05:00

Windows and the human door were on the menu Saturday. We accomplished both. The front door was hung. We had to shave about and inch off the top...probably about 3/8" too much. Oh well. A little trim in the door jamb and all will be well. The windows were a little smaller than the opening we allowed. Funny when you measure things and measure some more, then it is not always right in the end...no biggee...we just put in a small board and voila. We used left over drip edge as the window sills...so cute. I cannot find our razor blade knife to clean up the windows as I so generously painted all over the glass edges(i know you can see the screen in this window, but I took the pic later as I realized I did not take one before). We turned the dead bolt around so you can use the turny lock part(that is an industry term I am sure) from the outside..it is the lock that came on the door, so we don't have the key. If we decide later we need a dead bolt that really works with a key, we can do that then.

Front Wall is on!! Chicken ladder built!

2009-05-07T23:21:00.003-05:00

John came home from work while I was at soccer with the kiddos, and started cutting. He finished up just about the time we pulled in the driveway. So, with a thunderstorm quickly approaching John and I got the front wall up tonight.

During the day today I caulked a few gaps, and built the chicken ladder...for safe entry and exit for the chickens, from the coop to the run. Then I painted over the dry caulk.

We are so close to the inside being done, we can hardly contain our excitement. Yes, I know...we are amused by the strangest things.

Closed the gaps!

2009-05-04T21:07:00.003-05:00

Our issue was the gap at the top of the walls where the wall meets the roof...almost. Not a huge gap, but plenty large enough for a raccoon or an opossum to get in. We thought about wire and making it a way to vent the building. Hmmmm...remember this winter...soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cold...no thanks, wanna keep my hens warm in the winter, we will vent with a vent. Then we thought about cutting individual pieces of board to fasten into each space.....well what a pain as each space is not uniform. Eureka...utilize the left over pieces of OSB from the roof. Perfect! So today we finished priming, painting, and nailing them up...problem solved...and it gives a nice finished look to the inside. I don't know how well you can see what i am talking about in the pictures...it is all so white.

I also happened to get the second set of fascias hung, and filled all the nail holes and painted another coat of gloss paint.

John had to work late, so we did not get the front wall boards cut.

Got the windows cut out

2009-05-03T22:06:00.006-05:00

This weekend went by crazy fast. We worked our tails off out there in the coop. I have a few pics to share, but mostly was small details. The big accomplishments were getting that 6th 4'x8' piece on the north facing wall and cutting out the spaces for the windows, painting the window opening, and figuring out the funny little window sill made of left over drip edge from the roof. Remember those great 1850's windows I found a few months back on CraigsList? They are very close to being installed.

So.........small details...let's see...

~primed and painted the "base boards,"

~finished the second coat of gloss paint on all parts on the inside walls,

~primed the odd triangular space above the porch ceiling(an act that really made me appreciate Michelangelo more than I already do) that will be our storage cabinet area for all extra things chickeny,

~primed the front porch posts and the beams that runs across the front and sides of the porch ceiling

~cut the 2 pieces of OSB that will be fitted up against the rafters on either side, where they meet the ceiling to close off that gap there, where roof meets wall,

~cut, primed, and painted the fascia boards for both sides,

~ installed fascias on one side,

~we messed around with the front door to see exactly how we are going to install that lovely beast I found on CraigsList,

~removed those horizontal pieces of stud( I don't know what you really call 'em) on either side of the door facing, seems they were a bit too long, causing the door space to bow in a bit, and the door unable to fit, so we will be adjusting the length of those and re-installing,

~realized we had not screwed in the decking boards where they butt up against the front door wall, so quickly pre-drilled and countersunk a bunch of screws.

So, tomorrow while John is at work, we get the pleasure of finishing the installation of the fascias, priming and painting those lengths of notched OSB to close the gaps, and hopefully installing those buggers. That way when John gets home we can cut the pieces for the front wall and get those installed...maybe more if he is up to it.

I am planning on making screens for the windows. We will put the windows on a hinge, they will open out, but not all the way...working on exactly how that will all work. So, what I am hoping is to make screens that we install on the inside of the windows, using 1"x 1 1/2" opening welded wire(like for the bottom of rabbit cages) and then a layer of screen like for windows or screen doors, then frame it with something that looks nice, but plexi can be added in winter for warmth and cutting down on drafts. I am still working on the plans for this. Should not be too hard.

Roof has been shingled!

2009-04-27T22:18:00.003-05:00

So, yesterday afternoon and this morning...look what I did!!!!! Yep, burned my hands on hot shingles, got blisters from hammering in a million nails, and got asphalt glue type substance stuck to my backside. This was so much fun! I love roofing, however, it is very high up..yikes! And I was 2 2/3 shingles short, so need to go get another pkgs to finish the ridge cap.

Still priming the interior!!!

2009-04-26T11:14:00.002-05:00

While John is on the roof, various children and I are hard at work inside. The interior is primed now, except the front wall which we haven't installed yet. Now to paint! We have chosen high gloss white!

Roof boards are all up and some felt paper

2009-04-25T23:07:00.003-05:00

Today John and the boys finished putting the OSB up, the drip edges on the eves, and started rolling out the felt paper. Next...we will open the stack of roofing shingles and learn to roof!

1/2 the roof is on and the rafters have been painted

2009-04-18T23:39:00.000-05:00

Here we are busy at work on the coop again. It was a busy Saturday filled with soccer and a short jaunt to the Gateway Poultry show. We helped out a wee bit, and checked out a few gorgeous birds. So, we rushed home at the end of the day to see if we could get some things accomplished. Well, John was home first and painted the primer on the rafters, and the gloss paint on the roof boards. We worked together to get the boards up on top and nailed down. We worked right up until dark. We had hoped to get both sides of the roof up, but alas, just one side, Sunday we will see what we can do. We are getting closer everyday!!

Started priming the inside walls!

2009-04-16T20:20:00.002-05:00

We all worked together today and primed a lot of the interior. Boy, I had a lot of helpers. Work on this will continue tomorrow.

Primed the OSB underside of the roof prior to installation

2009-04-16T18:14:00.002-05:00

With Lexi and Gia's help, we primed 7 sheets of OSB. I think that will be easier than doing it after they are up there.

Another 1/2 wall up

2009-04-16T08:05:00.001-05:00

John and I got the 5th sheet of the exterior attached last night! Now we just need to cut out the south facing window.

A tiny bit of the roof has been attached

2009-04-15T14:07:00.007-05:00

So the first piece of the roof is on. John and I got it up there last night and hammered in to place just as the daylight faded to black. Hopefully today we can get some more of the roof on. I will be sure and keep you up on any new progress.

Half of each side wall attached

2009-04-12T18:48:00.000-05:00

Rear Exterior wall has been attached

2009-04-12T17:42:00.000-05:00

Two 4'x8' sheets of grooved exterior plywood and we have a back wall!!

Fixed the miscalculation, 2 sets of rafters added

2009-04-12T17:13:00.000-05:00

Added a set of rafters at the front and back!

More Rafters

2009-04-11T17:07:00.006-05:00

More rafters are on. Kids are having a ball climbing all over like monkeys. Now we are solving a slight miscalculation, no biggee, just need to add longer bits of top plate to accommodate a pr of rafters at front and back.

Ridge Beam and a Few Rafters

2009-04-11T14:22:00.002-05:00

John and Anthony have been busy this morning. Finally it is not raining, so we can make coop progress! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last night we got the porch ceiling put on

2009-04-02T08:39:00.005-05:00

Last night as the kids and I were at the Poultry Club meeting, John wrestled this sheet of plywood to get it up on the porch. He cut it to size up there and cut the slots for the rafters. Unfortunately as he began to screw it in place he accidentally screwed a hole in his finger, so the progress on the coop will have to continue this evening.

One month of chickens!

2009-04-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

Our Barred Rock chicks are one month and a day old!!!
They are so friendly. Here is "Cheeper." Vincent has really fallen for this girl!
Soon her new home will be complete!

Front porch decking is on!!!!!!

2009-03-31T09:40:00.000-05:00

Well, the front porch is complete. Yay! One step closer to no more chickens in my dining room!!!!

Porch decking cut!!

2009-03-29T01:54:00.000-05:00

Now to get it screwed in place!

Porch posts and hurricane ties

2009-03-29T01:46:00.000-05:00

We got the porch posts, ledger, top plates, and hurricane ties on this week. Next we get to cut a bunch of wood for porch deck, porch ceiling and rafters!!!

Attaching rafter ties to ridge beam

2009-03-28T12:27:00.000-05:00

All the kids and the boys' friend, Sam helped hammer the rafter ties to the ridge beam today in the cold rain.

And our second batch of chicks are here!!!

2009-03-25T21:40:00.001-05:00

Our second batch of chicks are here. There are 12 off these little ones. Only 8 of them are ours. This batch includes 3 Black Sumatras, 4 Black Australorps, 2 bantam White Rocks, and 3 bantam Rhode Island Reds. The 2 White Rocks and 2 of the Australorps will go to my nieces. Although, I think the reds may be Dark Brown leghorns...hmmm...time will tell.

Front wall framed and installed!

2009-03-22T20:41:00.000-05:00

The front wall is framed out and nailed down! This wall has the human door in it! I raised it up so if we use the deep bedding method in the winter months, we will still be able to get the door open.

Framed out and installed 3rd wall

2009-03-22T20:28:00.000-05:00

This wall will have a south facing window!!!!

Framed out and installed side wall

2009-03-22T20:01:00.000-05:00

The second wall has been framed! This wall will have a window looking towards the north.

Framed out and installed back wall

2009-03-22T19:49:00.000-05:00

Even amazing ourselves that it is starting to look like a building!!!!

We installed vinyl flooring

2009-03-22T17:45:00.000-05:00

For easy cleanup, the installation of a vinyl floor seemed to make sense. installed it a little big and trimmed the edges...work fast and furious with the adhesive!

The coop has a floor!!!!

2009-03-22T14:40:00.000-05:00

The floor of the coop has been screwed on tight to the foundation!! Two sheets of treated 3/4"plywood will make up the interior coop floor!!!

Larger veggie plot this year tilled and ready

2009-03-22T11:32:00.000-05:00

On this busy afternoon, we had a nice fellow with a tractor come out and till up our existing garden and make it bigger. We now have a 45'x45' space for food.

I have an equal size space picked for next year!

Now to get my grow table set up and seeds started!

Placed the joists on the risers today!

2009-03-20T19:31:00.000-05:00

As soon as the joists were finished being nailed togather, we moved the whole thing back to the patio risers. Rechecked to make sure everything was still level, made a few adjustments, and now we are ready to install the floor!

Floor joists!

2009-03-20T18:24:00.000-05:00

Then we removed the rim joists and did the floor joist hammering on the concrete pad as to not knock anything off kilter.

Patio risers are level!! whoooo HOoooooo

2009-03-20T00:20:00.000-05:00

With a fair amount of doing, everything is level! Time to start building up!

We begin our chicken coop

2009-03-19T13:07:00.000-05:00

First, we figured out the number of chickens we should have to provide the amount of eggs we need. Then we calculated the square footage based on number of chickens. So, we found a fairly level spot in the yard and laid out the patio risers and rim joists.This looked like a good spot, some shade, some sun.

Feathering out quite nicely!!

2009-03-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

Not bad for 19 days old. The sound of chirping has filled our house and it is so pleasing to hear, very relaxing actually!! And they are great pets for toddlers.

Our Golden Phoenix Rooster

2009-03-14T21:48:00.001-05:00

Hopefully he will be a good boy and our neighbors will love him as much as we do. The most gentle calm animal I have ever encountered. Lexi wants to show him at the fair this summer, we will see how it goes.

Yellow legs, tail feathers, and wing feathers!!!

2009-03-09T00:53:00.000-05:00

9 days old and growing!!!

Our first chicks have arrived!

2009-03-01T22:35:00.000-06:00

So, for 5 years I have begged and pleaded for chickens. It is no secret I would rather live on a farm, but urban life I must lead. So, join us on this blog for our adventures in urban farming.

To get the ball rolling on our chicken coop, I ordered chicks. They arrived, so with these new little fuzzballs in the brooder, time to get busy!