Coopzilla
Please take heed: the above pictures are of a scary and venomous black widow. If you have a phobia about these, as I do, you might not want to look at them.
As much as I hate to admit it, they’re strangely beautiful, so shiny and black. The ones around here have the red spots round their abdomen, and the one above — which I found hiding under the very bottom piece of siding — had the tiniest dash of yellow around one. Beautiful…and hideous at the same time.
I expected to find one under the siding; it’s a logical place. Each time I lifted a sheet, I inspected the bottom carefully before raising it up to balance it on my head for carrying —
(yes, I’m aware I must cut quite the image)
— so finding that one wasn’t really a surprise. I’ve learned to look under most things before I pick them up, especially things that have been on the ground.
We’ve had a couple of cold days this month, and I thought most of the spiders were gone (the garden spiders sure are), but this weekend was spectacular. Both days were cloudless and sunny, and in the mid-70s. Perfect for wearing shorts, a t-shirt, and no socks to work outside.
I found a second black widow under a small piece of 2×4 I picked up to write some numbers on. That one I didn’t expect, because the piece was so small, but I was able to contain myself and not squeal like a girl and fling the wood across the field. Instead, I decided to drop it, spider-side down, and therefore smush the widow. I failed magnificently, because I managed to drop the wood at an angle. Instead of flattening the spider, the wood bounced and hit my leg just above the ankle. At the same time, a bit of acorn cap it kicked up dropped down into my shoe, feeling against my bare foot exactly like I imagine a black widow would.
The pigs appreciated their floor show, I think.
Two more weekends for working have brought Coopzilla pretty far long. The roof is done, the siding is on, and the big doors are finished:
I built a temporary fence to keep the chickens away from the church,
and have been letting them out while I work. They enjoy scratching through the
compost heap and offering construction tips.
So big it echoes when you talk.
The double doors are for nest box access, because I’m tired of having to raise four flaps, one at a time, holding each up with one hand (or, to be more honest, my head) while I gather eggs with the other. On the new coop, I’ll twist a latch and voila, full access.
Robyn’s going to paint the coop today, then it’s time to start trimming it out so it looks half-decent. The gaps you see above around the corners are intentional, and will be covered in the final version.
To do: trim the outside, build the nest boxes, cabinets above the nest boxes (storage), roosts, chicken ramp / door, windows.
Once all that’s done, it’s time to fence.
Remember that off-hand quip last entry, how chickens were turning into our obsession?
About that.
I ordered twenty-five more chicks from McMurray, to be delivered in a couple of weeks. They are:
Our Heavy Assorted Straight Run combination is for the customer that wants some birds to eat and some to keep for layers of large brown eggs. Each of these assortments will give you at least 5 different heavy breeds. Our choice of varieties, but we guarantee at least 5 different ones from this list: Black Australorps; Lt. Brahmas; Dark Cornish; Black and White Giants; Buff and White Orpingtons; New Hampshire, Rhode Island Reds, Barred, White, Columbian, Partridge, Buff Rocks; Sussex, Turkens; White, Silver Laced, & Columbian Wyandottes, Red Star and Black Star. This dual purpose assortment is sure to satisfy your need.
Is there a twelve-step program for chicken hoarders?
