Can she do it?

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Ok, 24 days till the new chicks arrive...I have a million things to do to the chicken coop, in anticipation. It's concrete block and wood. It's been three years since I've had a new flock. Got the last batch for Y2K.... Here is my list... 1. clean out old straw from coop and nest boxes. 2. disinfect the walls, nesting boxes and roosts. Let dry 3. Paint window frames and put hinges on each window to allow for beter circulation during hot weather and close up for cold weather. 4. Put new hinges on gate that leads to watering and feeding. Door now falls off when you open it. 5. Buy 12-15 bales of hay to shrink the sq. ft. of the floor space, until chicks are bigger. (Can reuse hay on garden as mulch) 6. Put up siding on the outside of the coop and paint. Siding is already cut to length. 7. Clean brooder light. Get new 150 Watt bulb. 8. Layer a pile of newspapers, under the brooder, the size of the floor space This way, you just peel away a layer or two of newsprint each day and it uncovers a fresh layer of paper. 9. Drive 15 miles to town to pick up the darlings and come home. 10. Sit spellbound all night in the chicken coop watching them.

Ok, so here's the question...do you think I can get all this done by the 28th of March?

-- Harmony Bullington (harmonyfarm57@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002

Answers

Harmony, I'm sure that you'll get enough done to take care of the chicks' needs, LOL. In fact, I'm sure you'll shift into overdrive the last couple of days, and when you get the chicks, you'll probably become a blur until they're settled. :-) Enjoy!

-- Judy in IN (whileaway3@cs.com), March 04, 2002.

Just to make you feel better, here's my list: 1. Order chicks, 2-3. Put siding up on 1 wall, insulate all four walls (hubby insists), cover all 4 walls with old paneling to keep insulation hidden, 4. Build nest boxes, or buy crates from Walmart and install, 5. Figure out what to do for a 'perching' place, 6. Get lighting and figure out the best way to install it, 7. Get electricty to where the coop is so I can turn on the lights, 8. Get something to feed and water the little guys with, 9. Get straw/newspapers for nests and new chick area, 10. Buy feed. 11. FREAK OUT!! Cause these are my first chicks and I have no idea what I'm getting in to!!! :) I think the chicks will come in the end of April so I at least have another month. I'll pray for you if you pray for me! :)

Stace

-- Stacey (stacey@lakesideinternet.com), March 04, 2002.


"Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish." M. Buonarroti, born March 6, 1475.

-- paul (primrose@centex.net), March 04, 2002.

HEHEHE. I was gonna say something but you won't have time to read it!

-- Novina in ND (homespun@stellarnet.com), March 04, 2002.

Try this one:

1. Get ducks out of meat bird side of coop.

2. Do all that stuff (white wash, clean equipment, get feed, etc.)

3. Convince hubby to build a chicken tractor to put my 7 layers and 1 rooster in.

4. Clean layer side of the coop to use to brood the 25 straight run Buff Orpington's I'm trying hard to find. (too expensive to ship from Murray McMurray into Canada - Add approx $75 in US dollars plus a 12 hour return driving trip to pick them up - can't do it!)

5. I'm expecting 25 dual purpose meat bird cockerels on April 17. I plan to incubate a bunch of eggs produced by my current flock (four black sex-link and three barred rock hens, barred rock rooster) and have them hatch on April 17.

Not too much to accomplish? Problem is, I can't move the durn ducks until the snow goes and the pond thaws!!! Hmmmm!

Can't we just jump straight to the "Sit spellbound" part?

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.



Stacey - You made me feel better. I'd rather be in my shoes than yours. lol...Order your chicks from a farm store you trust. I ordered 50 Barred Rock Pullets and 2 Roosters. It is more expensive to buy sexed chickens, but I'm after egg production rather that butchering. I have bartered with eggs before many times. A local farmers market it takes me moments after the market opens to sell 25 or more dozen eggs. Our chicken coop isn't insulated; As long as it is draft free and there is alot of bedding on the floor, they'll stay warm. I've looked out to the chciken coop on cold nights in the teens and have seen frost on the inside of the windows because they are so warm. If you insulate too much they can overheat and that isn't good either. Don't be fancy with the nesting boxes, you'd be surprised what a hen will nest in...just make sure they can sit in it comfortably. For a roost, we used 6 saplings, that needed thinned from the woods. Cut them to length and width and nailed it together like an extra wide ladder and just leaned it against the wall. For lighting I use one of those clipping shop lights that has a clamp on one end. I use a 75 watt bulb and hang the clamp on a bent nail. You're on your own with the electric. You could get along without it for a while, but it sure comes in handy if you are having "varmint trouble". Invest in good galvanized waterers and feeders. If they are properly maintained they will last forever. Use hay instead of straw. It is cheaper! Here you can get a good bale of hay for $1.50...straw is $3.50. They like picking seeds out of the hay anyway. The scratching they do is one form of chicken exercise...really! Number 10 was, buy feed..Don't see a problem there. Oh, and don't freak out...ya gotta start somewhere/sometime...right....hope I made YOU feel better!

-- Harmony (harmonyfarm57@hotmail.com), March 04, 2002.

Of course you can! You're a woman, aren't you? :)

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), March 04, 2002.

Let's see...To be done before the 6th Annual 40th Birthday Party for my dh in May at which we usually invite about 20 people:

Clean and organize house from top to bottom.

Clean and organize garden, sheds, coops, and yard.

Make spring dresses for 2 daughters before Resurrection Sunday which comes in March this year.

Make cross stitch things for my brother's new baby.

Continue to homeschool my 3 children.

Continue to provide meals for my family during the spring months when I get out in the yard and don't want to come in all day.

Also, clean inlaw's house and yard before they arrive back from Florida in April.

Do you ever have so much to do that you just don't do any of it?

-- LBD, Maryland (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 05, 2002.


Thanks, Harmony! You made me feel better, too. Once I actually thought about all I had to do yet I got a little panicky! And thanks for the advice on my list. I love the idea of the ladder roost! That sounds neat!! And I'll be taking your advice on the other stuff too. I never thought about hay instead of straw. Thanks!

-- Stacey (stacey@lakesideinternet.com), March 06, 2002.

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