The weekend was a busy one! The redesign of the chicken run continued in earnest with three main objectives in mind;
- Reclaim the garden bed in the run to plant a crop of chillies,
- Reclaim the path to the shed so I didn’t have to sweep it every day, and so that I can brew some more beer, and
- Allow easy access to the nesting box without having to enter the run.
After two more days of hard work, all objectives have been achieved! I built the picket gate on Saturday, and painted it, hung it, and finished the remaining fence on Sunday. I even scrubbed the path clean and planted six chilli seedlings in the garden bed.
Here are a few shots of my handy work;
Before the final clean up.
A nice clean path to the shed.
A proud tradesman.
Nice gate!
Inside, looking out. Happy hens.
Easy access to the nesting box. No more stepping in chicken poo to get the eggs.
Chilli bushes, all in a row. The old bush will finally get a chance to grow some leaves.
Kim was so proud of my work as am I with the end result. The temporary gate and fence that has been in place for about 6 months has been removed and I even put a single paving stone at the end of the nesting box to avoid muddy feet after rain. The hills hoist clothes line will stay put for now as we have no where to store it. We have been hanging our washing under the carport for the last year, so decided that it would be a permanent arrangement and give up the backyard for the chooks. All that remains to be done is to install low pressure drip irrigation to the garden bed and my work is complete. Sounds like a job for my Christmas break!
It looks and feels like a petting zoo, which is just the affect I was after. I want to show visitors how easy it is to care for backyard poultry and that it doesn’t take a lot of space to keep 8 hens happy. Kim even suggested that we get four more. Don’t tempt me honey, be careful what you joke about!
it looks good gav. your a fully paid up chippy now
hey it looks great Gav. well done. Have a great chrimbo if i dont drop in before then.K
Gav,
I like it when you blog about your chocks – it puts a smile on my face.
Love your fence and hey I even love the clothes line in the chicken pen.
Good work Gav. Christmas time for us will be doing some well needed tradesman type work around our home (look out that means Brett & I doing the work, who are not exactly gifted in that department).
Have a great Christmas Gav
Nice gate alright, but when are you going to start on the bee boxes. 🙂
@ Dad. Thanks mate. I feel like I could turn my hand to most things now. Not very good with metal though, just wood.
@ Kel. Thanks mate. Both you, Si and the beans have a great festive season.
@ Sahrn. I love the chooks too! They are so entertaining. Best of luck for the yard work. I will be doing a few things around the place as well. Might even put in another rainwater tank!
@ Jonesy. Now that is a great idea. It is a shame that I am allergic to them!
Gav
That looks really nice and neat, Gav. Well done! It is good to show people that chooks don’t have to be messy.
You could get a cover for the clothes line to give the chooks some shade in summer, and maybe also to shelter them from the rain in winter.
Thanks Darren. I agree totally. Chooks don’t need to be messy at all. They fit in well with the aesthetics of the place.
I never thought about a cover. I should be able to get one at the hardware store and would solve all their shade problems. Cheers for the idea.
Gav