Coop deVille

The ADVENTURE BEGINS!! We left the local ranch-supply store the middle of March, with 5 chicks, heat lamps, feeders, waterers, pine shavings, and baby-chick feed. A week later we purchased 16 more chicks for a total of 21. The breeds we chose are Wyandotts, Delaware, White and Silver Leghorns, and Black Jersey Giants. They were so tiny, fragile and vulnerable. They lived in our dining room for 2 weeks until they drove us all nuts and they were moved to the garage. Matthew is making sure that Jinx, the cat, kept her distance. They are now a month old and have out-grown their box and another box had to be added. We are pitying their close quarters and something has to be done!

We've spent weeks pouring over books from the Library. We read about chickens and coop designs. We looked all over the Internet and found some fabulous sites!

http://www.mypetchicken.com/ This site gives great information on chickens

http://www.backyardchickens.com/ This site has about 450 coop designs.

Victor has gotten a brilliant idea and made a simple stand out of 2 x 4's with chicken-wire stapled to it. It is firm and is able to stand up by itself, creating a circle. We've put the pine shavings on the garage floor, hung the heat lamps, and now they are enjoying the added room. Victor even designed an A-framed Roost for them.

Victor bought some wood and adds it to a supply of barnwood that we were fortunate enough to be given. You can't see it in these pictures, but the wind is blowing bitterly.

March 25th.....

Well, it's now April 9th and it's snowing!! It will be another few weekends before the Coop deVille will be finished and the chicks can enjoy their new insulated home.

Winter in Montana lasts until June!!

Chicken Farming

I have a dream. A dream to raise enough egg-laying foul to furnish our family with nutritious eggs... and a little mad-money for Lori! I wonder what I will do with my "egg-money"?

I am wishing for the good ol' days when they had barn-raisin's with the neighbors.  We need to have a good ol' fashioned coop-raisin'.

A sweet woman my husband knows from work, gave us some chicken magazines. I had no idea there were magazines solely devoted to raising chickens... with multiple issues. What could they possibly have to write about? Perhaps they would write about the kinds of things I've been wanting to know, such as:

How big should we build the coop?

What do you feed chickens?

What is the difference between the kind of chickens you eat and the kind that lay eggs?

Which ones bite?

Do we need a ROOSTER for proper egg laying?

Where can I buy a rooster-muzzle?

Who babysits those feathered-foul when we go on our lavish vacations with all that egg-money?

10 Guilty Pleasures

I 've had a problem, lately, coming up with blog subjects. Mmmmmm, I say to myself, what shall I write about today? Tonight, I snooped around Blogland and found a topic I liked, "10 Guilty Pleasures". Must I find pleasures that I feel guilty about? I don't feel guilty about pleasures in my life... but perhaps I am supposed to. I believe that one must only feel guilty, about a pleasure they have indulged in, when they feel they don't deserve it.

Top 10 Pleasures List - Guilty or Not

1. Soaking in the Garden Tub. This is not a guilty pleasure. After years, okay, decades of pregnancy, I have deserved and enjoyed every tub-soaking of tired, haggard muscles I have ever had.

2. Rocking a Baby. Also, not a guilty pleasure. In looking back over my life and the times I have found true pleasure, rocking a baby has been a true delight.

3. Baking in the kitchen. The only guilt here might be the spontaneous spatula licking. I love a day in the kitchen. I start with a jello salad, then a sweet bread, then an entree and then end with a dessert.

4. Afternoons of Sewing. I sequester myself in my sewing room and can therefore ignore the dust that is settling on the furniture all over the house. Therefore, no guilting... just quilting.

5. Driving in the Car. This may seem like an odd one, but I just love a drive in the car, either alone or with Victor. I love the peace & quiet and the beauty of the countryside. It provides me with time to think. I don't feel a bit guilty about the use of gasoline as I feel it is cheaper than a Psychiatrist.

6. Watching Old Movies. I really love seeing a Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper movie for the first time. The 13th time is just as nice because I already know the dialogue line by line so I can quilt while listening.

7. Attending Parties & Dinners. I love to socialize. It's fun to get to know people and chat. I don't care much about the food served because I usually can't eat any of it, so I concentrate on the people around me. I do find it exasperating that I can't remember names of people I've met before, however, but my lack of memory is for another blog post.

8. Watching My Children Perform in Games/Concerts. Matthew played offensive tackle in 7th grade football this year. When he recovered a fumble I became hysterically embarassing and yelled as if he had just single-handedly won the Super Bowl.

9. Vacation!!! I love spending vacation time in every kind of way. Either traveling and visiting family or just staying at home quilting, gardening, baking and watching old movies.

10. DUH!! That's all I'm going to say about this one.