Some projects finished!

Well, today has been a day of finishing many projects that have been hanging over our head for the last few weeks. We have 7 little chickens that were ready to fly out of their brooding box and a cubby needing painting.

It all started last week. We had a big trip to Bunnings to buy all the necessary materials. We bought polypipe (found in the plumbing aisle), connectors, and some chicken wire, and of course, paint for the cubby, 4 litres of Pink Tiara! The sheltered bit we planned to build with corflute (imagine corrugated cardboard, only plastic), which we already had leftover from building our bathroom (that is a story for another day!) Only when we arrived home of course, it was pouring!

It lessened off in the afternoon though, and we put together the polypipe frame for the chicken tractor. I chose polypipe over wood for two reasons. One, if won't rot when it gets wet (there was no way I was using treated timber, hate the stuff), and two, it will be light so it will be easily movable. That is the object of a chicken tractor. It isn't designed as a stationary pen, but rather to be moved from place to place to give the chickens fresh grass to live on.

Initially I was planning on making a rectangular design, like this one of at The Frugal World of Doc's, but in the end I decided on a triangular model, as it gave us a larger space for less pipe. Ours is now 3 metres by 1.5 metres, which initially seemed huge, but now I think is just the right size.

This is about how far we got last weekend. We ended up having to put an extra support in the middle, as 3 metres is just too long a stretch, and the polypipe was bowing in the middle. This meant going up to get more connectors (still didn't get enough, as you can see from the tape), only my car broke down on the way! Luckily I was close enough to walk home, and DH went back and sat with the car till RACQ came. It wasn't a cheap repair, but at least it's going again now!

While we were waiting for my dear sister who came and took me back to Bunnings to buy the connectors we needed, we got to painting. We had a very enthusiastic painter in DD, who was COVERED from head to toe (including hair) in paint by the end of it. She had a ball though, and most of it washed out. If you ever visit our place, don't forget to check under the cubby, to see her artistry.

And here it is finished! It is VERY pink, but that is what DD wanted. We are going to get some darker pink to do around the door and windows, and possibly some stencils on the veranda palings just to leaven the pinkness.

We also put down some weedmat in the sandpit area, ready for the sand that will arrive on Monday! So looking forward to having a sandpit again. I'll have to pull out all our sandpit toys. And yes, it was getting dark by the time we finished. I could have brightened the photos, but figured I'd leave them natural(ish).

And back to the chicken tractor, here it is finished! The whole side (on the other side) lifts up to get them in and out. I will add a roost in the covered end for them too, but haven't gotten to that yet. We did have a few dramas when it wasn't really square, and the door didn't line up properly, but we got it all lined up in the end. It's not very secure yet, as we don't have wire all around it (putting wire about 30cm out from the edges on the ground will prevent dogs/foxes getting in. They will try to dig under the edges, but don't know enough to go out past the wire), then we will peg it down with tent pegs to make it secure.

Initially they all huddled up in one spot, looking around as if to say "What are you doing, leaving us here all alone?" But after a while, they started to wander around and enjoy themselves. Well, more like jump and fly! They pecked around all afternoon, and we only bought them in again when it was getting dark. If it were summer, I would leave them out overnight (once we had a secure pen), but it's just getting too cold here now.

And here is a closeup of our little babies enjoying their space! They are getting quite big now, and have pretty much fully feathered wings, and are getting feathers sprouting everywhere. It's amazing how quickly they grow! I think they look so pretty, with their dark red feathers, such a beautiful colour. I'm so glad I went for Rhode Island Reds, they are just the prettiest chooks.

Stuff

Nope, no pics today. It has been one of those days that just passed somehow, with little of note actually happening. We went to the markets this morning, and trialled the fold up trolley I found for $2 at the second hand shop, but it was rather unsuccessful, so I'll need to come up with something else there. We buy so much fruit and veg each week that I can't carry it in one trip, meaning either numerous trips to and from the car (not good with a 3yo), or finding some sort of trolley. I might yet be able to come up with something using the frame I have, but the box we had on the bottom of it today isn't it.

On top of the normal fruit today, I bought a new garden fork. The neighbours dogs got into my compost bin yesterday (my fault, it had started to come apart, and I didn't fix it), and trying to turn it over into the bin again with a shovel wasn't a good job. We found a great stall at the markets that had lots of old tools, including a couple of scythes, kerosene lamps, a mangle, and lots more. Their tools were all old, solid ones, and I got a great pitchfork for $20. Bet it will hold up much better than a $20 one from the hardware!

Then I spent the morning making a sling out of an old sock toe for Tiger, trying to get him upright. His legs aren't out to the side as much now, but he just isn't getting up on his feet. I think he (and the others) are balancing slightly better in their squat position though. At least they all seem to be able to eat and drink mostly without assistance, which was questionable a few days ago, so we'll give them another week or so and hope they continue to improve. It is very stressful, watching them hobble around, and I wish there was something more I could do to help. We haven't even had much of a chance to enjoy all the other chicks, we've been so focused on these three, so tomorrow I plan to take the other 7 out on the lawn to play with DD.

While I was focused on chicks, DD and DH played in the cubby for hours on end. She loves her new toy, and is even happy to play on her own there for short periods of time, although at this stage, DH and I prefer to keep a close eye on her until she masters the ladder a little more fully. (Well, actually, she's very good at it, but we worry none the less.)

Around midday, we got into some cleaning that sorely needed doing, general tidying (washing up, making beds, washing clothes), then spent 15 minutes on the veranda, which was getting quite unsightly. It still needs a lot of work, but the improvement you see for just 15 minutes is amazing!

This afternoon we got stuck into some mowing. The orchard area is very overgrown, and hasn't been mowed for a few weeks. It was a case of push and shove to even get the mower through the grass on it's highest setting. I tried to do it with the catcher initially, but I was having to empty it every 20 meters or so, far too time consuming. I think I got through about 1/3 of the area. DH also attacked some of the highest weeds with the whipper snipper, which has made a difference too.

Did a bit of planting this morning. Some cauliflower, broccoli, and lettuce seeds, which are now covered with my netting cage in an attempt to keep the caterpillars off them. The tomato seeds (Roma) I planted about a week ago have come up, along with several self seeded rockmelons that were obviously in the worm casings I planted in. It's a little late for them, but I'll let them go and see what happens.

I can't remember if I've mentioned it or not, but my loofah plants have tiny loofah's on them! Very exciting! I'll have to do some more garden pics soon to upload. I also discovered a self seeded passionfruit vine down near the gate a few days ago, so today I transplanted it to the fence behind DD's cubby. I don't know if it will survive the transplant or not, but it couldn't stay where it was, as the mound of dirt it was on was going to be moved around in the next few months.

Finally, for dinner, we had a barbeque again. Rissoles this time, with steamed vegies cooked inside. Delicious! I'm really loving the barbeques now that the weather has cooled enough that the mozzies aren't too bad. I think we'll have to have one more often. Afterwards, DD played in her cubby while DH and I chatted. A perfect end to the day.

Cubby at last!

We've been promising DD a cubby since we moved, and finally, here it is!

It took a LOT of searching around before I found a company I was happy with. Nearly every cubby company out there makes their cubbies out of some sort of treated timber. Even the few that have cedar cubbies still have treated frames, and I just wasn't happy with that. CCA (copper, cadmium, arsenic) treatment is no longer allowable for use in children's play equipment, but I'm not convinced that they new treatments they're offering are safe either. For our peace of mind, untreated timber was a must. I finally stumbled upon TimberPlay, who specifically state that all of their cubbies are built from untreated timber. They have a cypress pine frame, and cedar cladding. DD has specified that she wants a pink cubby, so some time in the coming weeks, we will paint it with low emission paint for her.

They came out this morning and put it up. Cost us a little extra, but worth it to avoid the hassle. DH has a slipped disk in his back that is finally improving, and we don't want to damage it again. Not to mention neither of us being very good at building.

It is in the area directly opposite the shed and also close to the house, so it will be easy to keep an eye on her while we're doing other things. Until she is a little bigger though, we'll stay pretty close, as the ladder is quite a challenge to climb. She is picking it up quickly though, and being very careful. The barbeque is nearby, and our new outdoor table that DH's parents no longer want, so we're building up quite an outdoor entertaining table.

In the next few years, we'll probably add a swing out this side and a deck on the other side to make a real playground for her. Underneath will be a sandpit as soon as we get some sand.

While all this is going on, our house is still progressing. There was nothing for a week and a half, then just days after the new foreman told us that we probably wouldn't have the bricks on before Easter, they turned up and started. They're going on a little slower than I expected, this is after 3 days of bricklaying, although of course there is more on the sides and front that you can't see in this picture. Today (Saturday!) the next lot of contractors also turned up and began putting up the cladding on the interior walls. They've just left now, and I'm off to have a look and see what it's like inside!