Working on a Building

New Coop

Things have settled down (somewhat) on the farm after a hectic week of chick hatching.  We ended up with 25 chicks but two didn't make it past the stress of cracking through the shell.  :(  A sad fact of life on the farm.  Another chick is showing signs of curled toe syndrome, probably because he was the very last to hatch and the incubator conditions weren't ideal at that point (constantly opening/closing the incubator top, which messed up the humidity and temp).  All in all, we had a 52% hatch rate on our first DIY project.

On Friday the breeding stock arrived - 28 more chicks for a total of 51 healthy peepers in the basement!

Although they're tiny & fuzzy right now, they're already sprouting itty bitty wing feathers.  In a few weeks they'll be ready for a coop.  Fortunately (for February in Ohio) we were blessed with a perfect weekend to continue work on the new coop.  The floor is finished, Brady finished the ceiling yesterday, and the kennel pens arrived today.  Within the next few days we'll finish the back wall, install nesting boxes and roosts, finish the floor covering, and have the fence assembled.

Buddy and the chicks

Hard to believe it's just the start of February.

Oh, and Brady's already sizing up the 4th coop area.  

Coming Up

Finish coop, finish sock pattern, band practice