Piper’s New House

Before I begin this little story, please forgive my long absence. I shan’t bore you with the messy and gritty details as to why I went off the rails, but I will say that every now and again my career at the museum tends to draw energy into itself. Like a black hole, not even light can escape.

I’m not saying that I’ve been there 24/7, but the times when I was finally home and could’ve written you many posts, something had happened to my brain as well as my will power. I sat in front of the computer and drooled. Devoid of any sense or reason, I typed the same thing over and over and over. “All work and no play makes James a dull boy”

This was then proceeded by a short stint working as the off season manager of the Overlook Hotel and then some other stuff that I can’t seem to recall. I vaguely remember some kind of hedge maze…

Regardless, I am here again. I humbly thank you for you patience. Let us continue our journey shall we?…

During my downtime at the Overlook Hotel, I also engaged in one or two projects. One of which was to design and construct a new coop for Piper to finally get her away from those chicken bullies. I had a finite amount of scrap wood and hardware in the garage and seeing as I had no extra money to spend on the project, I wanted to make said supplies work for a nice little coop design. With such tight parameters, there was only on thing to do; build it all first in a 3D program. Once again, I turned to SketchUp, the best free program in the universe. I used this program to design my larger loft style coop as well.

Firstly, I added all of the scrap pieces into the program to begin to piece them all together. With a little Tetris-like arranging, I was able to maximize my yield and crate a cut list with my meager supplies. No room for error with this carpentry project!

Measure fifteen times, cut once!
Measure fifteen times, cut once!

Full disclosure, I didn’t actually use that old-timey drill seen in the above photo. I just thought it would look nicer than my Panasonic cordless. What a deceitful carpenter I be! Yeah? Get over it.

Here’s the final 3D rendering in a futuristic video form. What wonders we shall see!

 [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxu_s_yvEpk&w=853&h=480]

Impressive yes? I can’t stress enough how much I love SketchUp. To be able to maximize my yield as well as test all the doors and hinges is priceless. Once all the details were worked out and the design was polished, I began assembling the coop. No small task as every single piece of wood was used, full of holes and painted. So I spent most of my time sanding, refinishing the wood and pulling nails and staples.

It took a lot longer to build than I anticipated but I really got into a zen state from all the sanding and shaping of the reclaimed wood. I haven’t spent this much time on a carpentry project since I was Head Carpenter at the San Diego Museum of Art. It did my soul good to work on this project. Also, it turned out pretty close to my original drawing. Check it out.

Pipers new coop 13A_Composite 1

Pipers new coop 13B_Composite 2

Pipers new coop 13C_Composite 3

Pipers new coop 13D_Composite 4

Not too shabby huh? But what good is all this work if it isn’t properly Piper approved? No good. To answer my own question. So the next stage was to get the little fuzzy fluffball inside to test it out.

All in all, I think she approves. However, I am not too happy with the size restrictions here. I want to get another silkie hen to keep her company and there’s barely enough room for Piper. Perhaps I should have bitten the bullet and purchased some extra lumber. Hind sight is 20/20.

I’ve decided to open up the back panels and add an additional room to the back which will double the width of her coop without causing me to lose any of the hard work I’ve already done. I’ll submit my permits for an add-on with the city post haste. No, no I won’t. Shhh!

I also was planning on giving her a mini run on those planter beds to the right of the coop so she can better peck and scratch for bugs an critters and such. Between those two additions, I’ll feel better about having two bantam breeds in this mini-coop. Until then, I’m keeping her in with the big girls. It shouldn’t be too long of a wait though.

Then I’ll just have to wait for her fluffy feathers to grow back so she can reclaim her past glory. Just look at this little fluffball! Can you tell that I’m in love with this little angel? Now I’ve always loved chickens…on my plate. This is different though, because she loves me back! Raise a glass to our poor tortured heroine for soon she shall have peace and retirement and sweet cooing happiness.

Pipers New Coop 024_Piper Inspection 11

A Bird in the Hand…

Well I’m just about at my wits end with the chicken bullying going on. Most likely, I’m not as fed up as poor Piper is though. I’ve tried making her armor which really helped her body from getting pecked at, but did little for her poor head and neck. She is now less fluffy and cute as a result. This is how she should look…

Piper the Silkie

Quite the difference isn’t it? Well, I’ve decided to do what I should have done months ago. I’m going to get her away from the big brutes so she can regrow her feathers and get some much needed rest. This will of course mean I need to get another silkie hen to keep her company. In the meantime, I need to design and build a second chicken coop. This one will be much smaller than the first one I built. Here’s how far I’ve gotten with the sketch today…

Pipers New House

The ladder will hinge up to close off that section and there’s a door I removed so you can see the inside. I’m still working out how best to allow her access to the bottom floor which will be in the grass so she can scratch and peck during the day. When I’m home I’ll let her have the run of the entire backyard as she doesn’t do much damage at all.

I’ll post more as I build it so you can see the final product. It’ll be small, but she’ll love the peace and quiet for sure!!

UPDATE:

Here’s as far as I got last night. Everything appears to be functioning well in my 3D program, so tonight I will begin construction!

Pipers Brand New House


In other news, my passion fruit vine is in full swing these days. I originally planted it for a privacy fence but now I just can’t get enough of the fruit it puts out! Here’s what I gathered over a few days. Just about 1/10th of this years harvest so far.

Passion Fruit Harvest

And there’s plenty more ripening on the vine as I write! Very excited to be reaping this harvest!


And also as a follow up on the willow water post from the other day I’ve decided to begin a little experiment to determine exactly how effective this home made witches brew is as a rooting hormone. I have two pathos cuttings from the same host with the same nodes as well as size and health. One has the willow water mixture and the other is just tap water.

Willow Water Experiment

I will be monitoring their progress and taking weekly photos to compare the root growth. More to come on this experiment.


Well, that’s it for now. I hope you all had a great labor day weekend! I’ll keep you posted on the Piper drama as it unfolds!

Backyard Chicken Eggonomics: How Much Does it Really Cost to Raise Chickens?

I’ve found that this is a question I’m often asked when I tell people that I raise backyard chickens. How much does it cost in dollars as well as time? So I decided to start taking notes of all my expenditure, the time that I spend on tending my flock as well as what I’m getting out of having backyard chickens. I always figured I kinda broke even, but I was surprised to discover that I actual turn a handsome profit for my labor of love. Continue reading “Backyard Chicken Eggonomics: How Much Does it Really Cost to Raise Chickens?”