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The Chicken Run Attached to the New Coop

Building The Chicken Run

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After building the chicken coop for our new chicks, we turned our attention to the chicken run.  We wanted to give our chickens as much room to roam in complete safety as possible without spending a lot of money.  They will get to free range in the backyard as much as possible, but we needed an area where they could be safe while we were away at work and still get out of the coop.

We wanted it to be completely enclosed and since chicken wire came in a 50′ roll, we decided on a 6′ x 10′ area.  The coop would take up 3′ of one side so these dimensions required 49′ of chicken wire.

I began by digging a 6″ deep trench where the fence would go and 10″ deep holes for the posts. The chicken wire would be buried 6″ deep to stop digging predators from entering under the fence.

Next I built the back side of the fence. 3 posts with a top rail and a bottom rail that would sit on the ground. We attached the chicken wire to the fence with a staple gun and dropped the posts into the holes. This way we could bury the posts and the chicken wire at the same time.  Do not be stingy with the staples. As we found out in our recent chicken disaster you do not want to have an area that is not securely attached. After that incident I went back and put a staple in every other ring on the chicken wire all the way around the run.

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Building a Small Chicken Coop

Building the Chicken Coop

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The basic design for our chicken coop was a 3’x4′ square.  3′ tall with a simple slanted roof. It is to house chickens so it is not necessary to go overboard, and I am very proud of myself as I usually go overboard.

Lowe’s had 2×3’s on sale. 2×4’s are the usual material for wall studs and floor joists but let’s face it, chickens don’t weigh that much.  With the price of lumber (as well as everything else) these days, any savings was appreciated. I decided to use 1/4″ OSB instead of plywood due to the price difference.  The moral here is, while we love our chickens, they are still just chickens and don’t need a “William Sonoma” mansion.

Chicken Coop Supplies from Lowes
Chicken Coop Materials from Lowe’s

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Baby Chicks at Tractor Supply Feed Store

More TSC Chicks

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Have I mentioned that we love Tractor Supply? Friday evening we went into TSC to get some more chicken feed for the chicks. Of course we always have to look around no matter what the time of year. But being it is “Chick Days” we strolled on over the see if there were any baby chicks or ducks left.

I couldn’t resist. I had to take a few pictures of those adorable balls of puff!

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Closing In The New Deck

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For sometime now, the deck on the back of the house has been in serious need of repair/replacement. It was already needing work back in 1999 when I first moved in. The boards were splitting, splintering, and bowing up. Nails were popping out of the wood every where. I have been so afraid someone was going to trip and hurt themselves on it. It was also a real eye soar.

Is that ugly or what?

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Garden Wind Chime

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I love wind chimes. I do not think Jon shares my passion for them. I believe to him they are more of a racket than melody. On our front porch we I have three wind chimes. Two of them I got years ago at the same time. They are identical except one is black and the other is just metallic.

Black metal wind chime
Black “Coated” Wind Chime

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Chicken Cam – “Teenage Chicks” Day 27

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The chickens are now 4 weeks old. Most of them are almost covered in feathers now. There is still our “runt” that has a lot more fuzz than the others. The weather today has been absolutely fabulous! It was so sunny and it got up to 60 degrees today. In the sun it felt even warmer. We decided to take the gals on their first field trip outside.

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Ta-Da! My Crochet Dishcloth

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Now, that is a dishcloth!

Plain and Simple Crochet Dishcloth

I just had to take a quick minute to show off my dishcloth. This is the third one I tried from the quick beginner dishcloth pattern. I crocheted this one Sunday evening after church while watching a little TV. I am only using the chain (ch), single crochet (sc) and turn, but it is finally all coming together.

Much thanks to all those with helpful advise and encouragment! Now, I’m thinking scarf…..

Daffodils in Bloom in Early Spring

For the Love of Daffodils

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I love daffodils. I like flowers in general, but I believe I love daffodils so much because they are usually the first flowers to bloom. Many times I am almost surprised when I see them. I excitedly think “the daffodils are blooming already”. They are the first signs of spring around here and it just makes me smile.

Saturday morning as I pulled into the driveway after running some errands I caught a brilliant yellow glimpse of spring in my flower bed. As soon as I got out of the car I had to go right to it and soak in the beauty.
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Beginner Crochet Dishcloth

My Quick Beginner Crochet Dishcloth

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My Maggie Weldon’s Quick Beginner Crochet Dishcloth has not been so “quick” for this “beginner”. The pattern says it should look like the photo above. The first attempt I took it apart and started over so many times that my yarn had frayed terribly bad. I ended up starting with fresh yarn so that I could again easily see what stitch was what and not hang my crochet hook countless times. Still,  I was struggling.

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