Quail_Antwerp: Words from the Barnyard...

keljonma

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Quail_Antwerp said:
ETA: All of the OSB will be replaced with T1-11 to match the two sheets on the front. And we plan to frame in a couple windows.
I really liked the look of those boards in our barn. I think they will look wonderful on the coop addition!
 

Quail_Antwerp

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It's really starting to look like fall time around me! The trees are in their full autumn dress! Well, the trees that still have their leaves that is! :p I'll have to get some pics today of the trees.

Lots of leaves blowing around our yard, too. Kids were raking them up into big piles yesterday and jumping in them.

Supposed to be 70 today. Right now E is off at my parents house getting us a FREE Upright Freezer!!!!!! (He is not loading it! They told E to bring his truck, they have some guys there to load the freezer for us!) :weee We really need that freezer! Since ours took a permanent vacation earlier this year, I've not been able to stock the freezer like I normally do over the summer months.

We're inheriting a 1/4 grass fed beef with the freezer. My mom's beef, but she has no where to keep it so it comes with the freezer. I told mom she's welcome to come and get the meat whenever she needs it for her home. Mom said we could eat some of it, too. :ya

This afternoon we're going to finish the last wall on the coop and put the tin on the roof. One window is going in for now, a crank out camper window, complete with screen. This way I can open the window through the winter to allow fresh air in the coop on the nicest winter days, but I can also close it and the glass pane will help keep cold air out. The sun shining on the glass in the winter should also help keep it warm.

Feed barrels will be moved into the coop addition as well. :D

Last night when we were tucking the chickerdoodles in for the night, E was concerned that he couldn't find one of his Gold Laced Bantam Cochin roos.... :rolleyes: This man kills me. He pretends he doesn't really care for any of the chickens, but in all honesty, he really does enjoy them. He's convinced me not to downsize my flock for the winter. He complains about the coops/housing/runs I need for the expanding/separating/breeding of certain chicken breeds, yet last night we had to spend 30 minutes to find his extra GL Bantam Cochin roo. :rolleyes: He doesn't want me to downsize, keeps coming up with ideas of how we can do this and do that for the chickens....etc. etc...

We did find his little rooster....he was in the red coop buried under some other Large Fowl. E plucked him out of the chicken pile, cradled him in his arms, and had a full conversation with him as he carried him to the bantam coop. It was very sweet.

Truth be told, as much as he complains about my wanting/needing more chicken housing or the chicken related projects I come up with, I think he enjoys it, too. He can't bend to do a lot or lift a lot of the things, but he can talk me through the process, and he can still put a hammer to a nail. I think the little jobs help him feel like he still has purpose.

I know he gets frustrated when he can't do something and I run to his aid. I think it bothers him more than he's letting on. He not supposed to lift the water bucket to water the cows, and I've heard him mumbling to himself as I do it. He can't bend into the feedbarrel to get the cow chop, so I get it out and hand the scoop to him.

I think it's really hard for most men who are used to doing a lot of things for themselves to have to accept help.
 

Farmfresh

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It is really hard for ANYBODY who is used to doing it themselves to accept help ... especially a man.

When my arthritis gets me down it make me mentally crazy (er :p ) as well. When I want to get something done I want to do it WHEN I want and HOW I want and others -though they try to help me - always want to do it "later" or do a sloppy (IMO) job. :barnie

It just drives me. So I tend to resort to a woman's secret weapon... I become an intolerant NAG! THAT REALLY makes people line up to help you - not. It is a hard cycle to combat. When really all I want to do is just get up and lift or carry or dig what ever it is and get it over with.

I think Ernie is holding together really well considering.
 

lorihadams

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I know the feeling hon, I moved all the broilers the other day and when I strained my back moving the tractor up the hill instead of just waiting for hubby to get home and help I just tied a strap to it and hauled it up the hill with the truck! Fibromyalgia is a b****. You never know when you are going to have a good day or bad day. Makes me nervous having to milk goats every day but I'll die trying!

It's hard to give up your independence and ask for help, I know all about it. Drives my husband crazy!!! He's constantly saying, "will you just let me do it before you hurt yourself."

I think it's noble of you to keep adding to the flock to give Ernie something to do.... :lol:

:hugs
 

TanksHill

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Quail_Antwerp said:
We did find his little rooster....he was in the red coop buried under some other Large Fowl. E plucked him out of the chicken pile, cradled him in his arms, and had a full conversation with him as he carried him to the bantam coop. It was very sweet.
Is it normal for your roo to be buried under a bunch of other birds? Were they snuggling? :hide

I can understand how your dh is struggling. But he will heal and soon be back to his old self. Strong and manly!!!

Great job on the new coop. The window sounds perfect.

gina
 

Quail_Antwerp

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TanksHill said:
Quail_Antwerp said:
We did find his little rooster....he was in the red coop buried under some other Large Fowl. E plucked him out of the chicken pile, cradled him in his arms, and had a full conversation with him as he carried him to the bantam coop. It was very sweet.
Is it normal for your roo to be buried under a bunch of other birds? Were they snuggling? :hide

I can understand how your dh is struggling. But he will heal and soon be back to his old self. Strong and manly!!!

Great job on the new coop. The window sounds perfect.

gina
LOL well, normally they would all roost, but some of them have taken to sleeping in the nesting boxes....so there was a bunch of hens and roosters cramped into 3 nesting boxes...I moved most of the bigger ones to the roosts....if I move them after dark, they stay.
 

Farmfresh

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lorihadams said:
Drives my husband crazy!!! He's constantly saying, "will you just let me do it before you hurt yourself."
Sounds JUST like mine.

Of course then he mows the yard and takes out my Clematis in the process or puts me off for a whole day before he hauls the item I want moved to the basement. He DOES have the best of intentions. He tries REALLY hard. It is just not how I would do it and it irritates me.

What irritates me EVEN MORE is that he is usually RIGHT! :rant

I don't wait. I do whatever it is and then I can't move for three days. :sick

shhh ... don't tell him I think he is usually right. :p
 

Quail_Antwerp

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OK, once again I'm whipped. We've spent the entire afternoon finishing up the coop. We got the roof on, window in, third wall finished, and I painted the OSB to protect it from the rain. We do have to patch the corners where the new part doesn't mesh with the old coop, and we have the door to hang, but we're having a coffee break right now :p

Frances thought we needed supervision :lol:
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View from original coop to addition
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I only had two sheets of red tin for the roof, so we patched the last section with some old tin we had here already. That's only temporary and we'll replace it once have another sheet of the red.

I'm watching CraigsList for some recyclable linoleum for the coop floor. :) We're also looking for an old cabinet with doors that I can hang above where the feed barrels will go to store my extra feeders and waterers.

Tomorrow I'm probably going to work on putting in nest boxes.

edited for having misspelled Frances, although I like Frances with an "i" better........ :gig
 

Quail_Antwerp

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We worked until dark on my coop last night. Still got a couple minor things to fix on it, but the door is hung, and the chickens used it last night. :D

I can tell they really liked it, too, by the piles of chicken poop they left on their new floor :gig
 

keljonma

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Looking good, QA!

Just a thought, if you put some hardware cloth across the window opening on the inside of the coop, you will be able to leave the window open at night during warm weather without worrying about predators getting through the screen.

Frances is looking good! ;) [FrancIs is a hIm and FrancEs is a hEr] :lol:
 
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