Working on the Coop

Gary and Carole led the building crew, pulling together all of the supplies needed to create the perfect coop!

These are some of our hardworking builders. They put in many hours building our Poultry Palace. THANK YOU TO: Sally, Samantha, Tracey, Grace, Sheelagh, Lisa S., Bill, Tyler, Mitch, David and whomever I may have missed. You are all awesome!

Everyone who participated had a great time!

Helpers of all ages stopped by to offer their experience or to learn a new skill.

Finished Chicken Coop2

Well, Here it is. At long last, we've got a working coop. Carole was out yesterday to add a bit of trim and decoration, and we plan to add a few pieces of wood across the sides of the rooster's play yard -- Bam Bam, Pebbles, Rambo, Rocky, Annie, and Arnold like to rub up against the chicken wire, so to add some strength and stability, we'll add the cross bars. Thanks to everyone who participated in this fun endeavor.

Cheryl and I went into Russell Crow's pen yesterday and Cheryl managed to pick him up and settle him into his roosting box. He squawked and scratched at the box until he found his way out into the wired play area. He seemed quite content, crowing and eating in his new space.

We've also received a new chicken, who is absolutely adorable! She's quite friendly and acts more as if she was someone's pet. She's a little shy around the other chickens, but we're hoping that she feels at home soon. So, all that's left is for the chickens to start using their new digs! We expect it will take a week or so for them to get used to the coop and feel comfortable walking up and down the attached ramp.

Stop by and take a look at this great new addition to keep our chickens safe and healthy!

Finished chicken coop

It's been a month since my last post -- sorry about that. We've had several soggy weekends, so our chicken coop has taken a bit longer than we first planned. But, it is a FABULOUS coop! We had lots of help and with Gary and Carole leading the pack and putting in many hours of labor, our chickens now have a home of their own. We had great fun and lots of help stopped by to put in some time cutting wood, hammering nails, and providing some loving encouragement. Bam Bam and Arnold were our building inspectors, although they spent more time inspecting the helpers!

chicken coop pics March 7

Here we go!! The start of the Poultry Palace! We have a great weekend to get a good start on our new coop.

On March 7, Carole, Gary, Bill, and I began work on building a new chicken coop. After losing a couple of chickens to an unknown predator a couple of months ago, we decided the chickens could use a home of their own where they could be a little safer. Materials were donated, Carole, Gary, and Bill provided the muscle power, and the work began. We had several volunteers stop by during the day to provide some extra hands. Thanks to everyone who gave an assist on this project. We got through the heavy work and will continue on Sunday afternoon. More photos will be posted as the work is completed.

On February 28, 2009, we lost our beloved dwarf mini horse Doc, who had achieved the ripe old age of 14 years. While we are saddened by our loss, we celebrate the life he had here at the farm. He will be greatly missed by volunteers and visitors and by his best friend, Dickie, another dwarf mini. We will remember Doc's gentle nature and sweet disposition. He is with the angels now, but he will remain with us in our hearts.

This past weekend at the petting zoo was another fun day. Arnold (our handsome white pig) decided I was pretty interesting. He came right up to me and rubbed against my leg, just begging to be petted. How could I resist that? I sat right down and gave him lots of rubbing and stroking. He really seemed to enjoy it. When he had enough, he poked at my leg and headed off in search of munchies. I turned my attention to Annie (our beautiful black pig) and gave her a full body rub. She, too, seemed pretty content out and about in the yard.

We'd had an awful lot of rain the past few weeks and the yard was tougher to clean because of the mud. Even the interior of the two shelters in the yard were pretty wet. I pulled out much of the old wheat straw and raked out the animal droppings. Then I added a whole bale of straw to the floor, hoping to keep everyone warm while we are entering a winter cold spell. The shelters really help keep the pigs and chickens warm. The sheep, goats and mini horses do better in the cold, but they, too, enjoy the warmth of the shelters.

Bam Bam and Pebbles, two of our adorable goats, were in their usual happy moods. They both enjoy attention, especially Bam Bam. Pebbles is a little shy, but she is definitely coming around. Rambo and Rocky are also becoming more social. I get such a kick out of it when one of them comes over to me to say a tentative hello. I can send Rocky scampering if I reach to pet him, but if I stand still, he will often come over to see what I'm doing. Rambo is more willing to get his nose stroked. Dicky and Doc, our precious mini horses, have absolutely no interest in me, but they do allow me to stroke them and brush their manes. They certainly show no fear of me.

I haven't been able to handle any of our nine chickens yet, well, actually 7 chickens and 2 roosters. They only show interest in me if I have a handful of feed. But, I'm hopeful that one day I'll actually get to hold one of them. I'm told that chickens are extremely soft.

All in all, we had another good morning at the zoo. If you get a chance to visit the farm, don't forget to stop by and greet all of the zoo animals.