Animal Friends

Sometimes my husband amazes me. A year ago he didn't know how to build anything. Now we have a finished coop and run that he basically built (with the help of some friends).

I asked him to build me a bunny ramp... and voilà! He built it quickly and installed it. I was so impressed and grateful. Thanks, Tim. You must love me a lot :)

Here one of my Orpingtons - curious gal that she is - braves the ramp. The bunnies haven't quite figured it out, but the chickens immediately were curious.

I am not exactly sure how chickens and bunnies become friends, but I followed my friend Terry Golson's instructions/advice on her blog. She's my go-to gal for all backyard animal farming information.


Here the bunnies pose - we took our Christmas card photo this morning. Cottontail is on the left, Peter is on the right. August renamed them even though their original names are Floppy (left) and Peekaboo (right).

I also realized today what a wonderful dog I have. He drives me crazy sometimes with his needy golden retriever traits, but he's remarkable. He didn't bark at the rabbits. He wanted to play with them. He kept circling the run, but when I told him to lie down, he did.

Here the chickens eye him. I wanted to get all of my animal friends in one photo... some day!

Building The Brooder

We set out last weekend to build the chick house or the Chick Inn as my husband likes to refer to it. The humble abode that our babies will call home for the first five weeks of their lives.

We contemplated buying a traditional wire cage brooder (see photo). But opted instead to construct our own. Infinitely more fun and customizable. Plus we already had the lumber necessary on hand left over from a prior "build our own office desks" project.

Traditional Wire Cage Brooder













The Team Departs


















Our first stop was the local lumber yard --Concord Lumber, where we searched for fine gauge wire for the top and bottom of the brooder. Something large enough to allow all of the chicken droppings (apparently abundant) to fall through, but small enough that their little feet will not get stuck.

To Home Depot - for a piece of plexiglass for the front.














While Fred started in on the construction, Isabelle and I headed indoors to test out Terry Golson's Challah recipe from her publication The Farmstead Egg Cookbook.

Fred Hard at Work



















Isabelle Hard at Work

SUCCESS

The bread was AMAZING and the brooder looks great. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our chicks and ultimately our very own eggs so we can try out the Challah bread recipe with fresh Monument Street Coop eggs.