Chicks are hatching!

The hatch date given to us was the 28th, and I have heard that they can go a few days after.  So imagine my surprise when I found egg shells in the box.  A little nudge to the side revealed a fuzzy little chick!  And one not so fuzzy...

I didn't get a picture of the most recent hatched bird.  For one, Joanie is NOT messing around! That girl is biting hard.  For another I didn't want to disturb the new moms too much.

Little fuzzy chick!!

BACK OFF!!

There are still seven eggs that are intact.  One of the them has a hole starting, so that is the next to come.

How exciting!

Raising quail for eggs and meat - Starting the quail coop

After a visit to a neighboring farm, the inspiration came to raise quails!  They are much smaller then your backyard chicken, but are comparable in both flavor an ease.

The frame for the quail housing went up that day...

Noah started building the frame attached to the existing chicken run.  With quails you don't need a run, you pretty much keep them in a cage.  They really only need a few square feet, but we are going to give them lots of head room and different levels and platforms and things for them to hop onto.

Bracing the structure with 2X4 so it is nice and sturdy.

Here is the basic outline of the quail coop. We got an awesome lumber score and have enough to finish it over the weekend.  Not too much longer and we are going to get a few dozen quails. Our plan to start is to get them laying eggs for us to eat.  After a while I think we are going to breed them as well for food.  Get some males and an incubator and hatch them.  As some birds get older, they will be processed and eaten by our family.  Roasted quail, yum!  It's going to be a good Thanksgiving, that's for sure.

Raised garden beds

Another key goal for us here at the Procrastination R was to get our greens from our own backyard.  We got some soil from a local nursery here, that was really loaded up with a nice mix of organic materials.  Come to find out later, it had almost no nutrients.

The tomato plants are doing the best!

I purchased some heirloom seeds online and started them in a friend's greenhouse.  When we transplanted them, at first most of the plants got stunted because the nutrient balance was off, but we made some adjustments and I am hoping that they all really take off.


We added sunflowers to the beds for a treat for the chickens, as well as us humans.  Mammoth greys for us, and short stuff for the birds.

We added marigolds around the outside in the small spaces of the cinder blocks, as well as in the bed itself to help ward off bugs.  All natural pest control y'all!

The corn is just straight into the ground with some of the treated chicken fertilizer and garden bed soil.  As you can see some of the plants are taller then others.

We lost half the crop when the puppy dug under the chicken wire and had a fun time traipsing around in our precious corn.  Hence the wooden stakes now.
So we will have a staggered harvest, such is life on the ranch!

The sunflowers are really taking off!

My view everyday, veggies growing in the sun with animals roaming about.  

Weekend Project - Building my Leopold Bench

This weekend I was at the local hardware store early in the morning and was able to get some discounted lumber for Really cheap and most of it was surprisingly straight!  Once I got it all home I decided I had everything I needed to build a Leopold Bench - especially since we are in desperate need of seating in our yard.  The best part about a Leopold Bench is they are incredibly easy to build, as the wise man Michael Scott once said - keep it simple, stupid.

Untreated Lumber:

(1) - 2" x 8" x 10' - for Legs (1) - 2" x 12" x 36" - for Seat (1) - 2" x 12" x 39" - for Back

Hardware:

(6) - 3/8" Carriage Bolts 3 1/2" Long (6) - 3/8" Washers (6) - 3/8" Nuts (10) - Deck Screws 3" Long

Tools:

Electric Drill Circular Saw (or hand saw) Measuring Tape Pencil Speed Square 3/8" Spade Bit 1/8" Drill Bit (or Counter Sink Bit) Phillips Bit    Optional:       Sawhorse       Clamps       Sandpaper       Stain/Paint

 To the right is a list of the lumber, hardware and tools I used to build the bench.

Since I do not have a sawhorse (I plan on building one some day) I used a couple pallets instead, also I do not have clamps wide enough for this project so I made do without - however, I would recommend using clamps if you have them.

Here are the steps I took (photos are below):

1. First the legs - I placed the 2" x 8" board on a pallet and made pencil marks at 33, 66, 85 and 102 inches. 
   Then I used a speed square to make a 60 degree angle at each of the 4 marks and from the top corner of the board so all ends are cut at a 60 degree angle.  (A)  To make a 60 deg. angle with the speed square, use the 30 deg. mark since the square is already at a 90 deg. angle.  Cut the board with a circular or hand saw.  (B)
2. Assemble the legs - Since I used pallets as a work bench and I needed a good straight edge as a guide, I decided to screw a couple straight boards to the bottom of the pallet so I could rest the 'feet' of the bench against the flat surface. (C)
   Since I forgot to buy bigger clamps I stood on the boards while I drilled 3 holes through the legs with a 3/8" spade bit.  I made sure to set the boards in the right direction before drilling, and marked left/right for easy assembly.  The shorter boards should be on the insides of the bench to hold up the seat. (D) (E)
   After drilling the boards, I pushed the carriage bolts through both boards and tightened down with some 3/8" washers and nuts making sure the head of the bolts are on the outside of the seat.  I used zinc plated hardware because it is what I had available however, if you are going to buy new hardware and have access to it - I would purchase hot-dip galvanized steel hardware since it will hold up to the weather much better.  (F) (G)
3. Build the seat - I set the 2x12 board on a pallet, measured 36" and made a straight cut with a rotary saw.  Then, with help from the kids we set the 2x12 on the two previously assembled leg pieces.  Once we had the seat lined up, I set 6 deck screw through the top of the seat into the short leg pieces - 3 on each side. (H)
4. Build the back rest - I made a cut about 3" in to the tops of the long legs using a speed square so the back would be vertical. (I)
   Then I cut a 2x6 board at 39" and attached it with 4 deck screws - 2 on each side.  The piece I used for the back was older wood and is a bit rough but once I sand and stain, it will all look the same. (J)

Simple! Now all I need to do is sand and stain it - I will post an update once that is done...
Here are the photos:

(A)	(B)
(C)	(D)
(E)	(F)
(G)	(H)
(I)	(J)

Broody Hens

The two Ameraucana are broody!

We ended up loosing a few of the girls over the last few months (to dogs and an unknown sudden death) and so we had been talking about getting more.  However, getting chicks takes more equipment and resources so we never got around to it.  Vague plans were made for some wondrous future when time and money were abundant to be able to pour into the idea for more chickens... yeah there is no such thing, that does not exist when you are homesteading.

Then we noticed that the green eggs had stopped.  Three days went by with not a egg to be found, but every time I opened the nesting boxes, Joanie and Ethel were sitting in there.  Hmmmmm

I reached in to pet Joan and she totally snapped at me!  Ethel joined in too.  They had never made attempts at biting before.  Then they both puffed up and squawk.  Very peculiar.

A quick Google search revealed that they were broody.  Ah yes, it was about that time, they are just about 9 months old and I hear that is prime brooding time.  It all made sense, little mama hens were protecting their egg!  It wasn't even their egg!  Jessica laid one and now Joanie and Ethel were competing over who would be the one to hatch it.

It was kind of a no brainier, it was decided that we would buy some fertilized eggs and let the broody hens hatch them.  The hens would be happy, and we get more birds with out too much more work - win win!


We got a dozen Ameraucana (I think two or three are actually Easter Eggers) and put half in one box and half in the other.  Right away they both went into one box and after some arranging, settled in on them.

Fingers crossed most will hatch!
Fingers double cross that we get mostly girls!!

Happy hens with their eggs

"Stay away from my eggs!"