Goodness! It has been awhile.
Well, the coop is just about done. First we had to rip out that black and white floor. The self stick tiles did not self stick so well, and between the chickens and the geese, we did not have too many to remove (ha!). We put in some cheap sheet linoleum from the local do it yourself shop and hopefully that will last us through to next spring.
We went out of town over the 4th and came home to an egg...then another two days later. We decided it was time to get those nesting boxes in. So...in addition to the new flooring, the interior got revamped so as to accommodate the laying hens and the guineas. The Guineas-Gals are in the coop, in the former brooder residence of Samson and Delilah (my sweet African Buff geese). The geese have moved on over to their own aviary complete with lawn. Their home is a storage bin filled with hay. They seem to love it.
With respect to the geese...their first night in their own coop was one of serious stress for them. I put all their fixins in there and left their storage bin door open thinking they would go in on their own. Alas, they did not. When we went down the next morning to check them out, they were literally trying to climb the wire of the aviary to escape. It broke my heart. So last night I walked them into their bin, added a water bowl and their food and they snuggled right down. I closed them in and they were not stressed out at all this morning. I think that since they were always cooped-in with the chicken from the age of six weeks, they just need that feeling of security.
I guess for those who have not figured it out, I adore my geese.
My chickens are something else too. Watching the pecking order establish itself between the first four (two Buff Orpington and two Amerecauna), and the latter two (Barred Rock), has been a riot. It will be interesting to see how the guinea hens integrate. From what I understand the guineas will eventually rule the roost.
Our garden is in and doing well, minus the destruction wrought by our very own caddy-shack gopher nightmare. We have tried everything to git rid of this one gopher; hunting, poision, gassing, baiting to shoot, batting to club (getting desperate), garlic, and we can not get rid of this thing. I told my husband that when we finally do kill it I am going to put it on a stake in the middle of the garden so as to warn all other gophers. UGH!
The garden meanwhile, boasts organic and heirloom varieties of corn, carrots, onions, peas, pinto beans, tomatoes of various types, potatoes, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. This garden is located to the north of the coop. To the south is my culinary herb garden with varieties of mints, stevia, leeks, cilantro, chives, wild strawberry plants, dill, and others I can't recall at the moment. This garden is also my little memorial garden with crosses for our lost pets. The first two are for a pair of chicks that did not make it past two days. My son was so upset! So Lilla and Goodie will have crosses placed shortly. An empty rocking chair represents my gramma who passed away two years ago. I have a Japanese Maple in there too for some Bonzai grace and beauty. One of the Aspen trees is also in this garden, and the other is locate in the other garden/yard area. My hubby has installed sod in my herb garden and boy does it look perty!
We had intended on a small deck along the coop entry, but I just love this part of my yard, so Kev went all out and built me an awesome platform deck. We are in the process of finishing up some steps down into the yard and then we are done. Our inside project will wait until the snow flies cause we are pooped out.
Well, here are some pics of the goings on down on the farm. Enjoy!
A video tour is coming soon ;0)
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| Samson trying out his wings. Delilah having a snack. |
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| The Guinea-Girls (Balli, Ginny, Esmerelda and Silly) |
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| New floor! Hungry girls and the guineas in their brooder. |
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| My Frog and his gals. |
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| Showing off the new nesting accommodations. |
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| View down the driveway to my oasis. The lawn is going in around the windmill. This is the culinary herb and memorial garden. Two little crosses to go in for Goodie and Lilla, our two day old chicks that did not make it. Frog was devastated. The empty rocker represents my gramma. |
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| The coop and deck. To the left are the geese home and to the right the chickens. Affectionately referred to at the Chickmansion and the Goosekau |
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| Samson and Delilah in their new digs. |
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| Garden |
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| Garden view to coop |
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| Checking out her new egg-laying hotel |
