Chicken Run

     As promised, I am going to write about our new chicken venture today.  As you may or may not know, I left on Friday afternoon to go over to Mulberry, AR (a 2 hour drive) to pick up some chickens.  We have been wanting to become more self-sustaining and decided chickens would be a good way to begin.  We already live on a secluded large area of land, have a few wells, a creek close by, a lake within walking distance, many fruit and nut trees on our property, etc.   We just want to be able to provide for ourselves better since the economy is so bad and money is so tight. 
     Anyway, Friday, Ron and I went to the lumber yard and bought the necessary supplies so he and Bubba (our 13 year old son) could begin building the Chicken run and coop while I headed out to get the chickens.  We only have an older, small car but we put 2 small dog pens in the back seat and I left.  I kept in contact with Ron and the boys via a cellphone and found out progress was going mighty slow.  It was 108 with an even higher heat index and the 2 x 4's we had were so dry and hard that it took a great deal of effort to drill the screws into each board.  They would work for 30 minutes and then go and cool off. 
    Here is the area that the coop and run will sit.

  
And here is their progress on the run.  The finished size of the run is 8 foot by 8 foot and it is 4 feet tall.  We will build more of these and separate them by breeds in a few months, when we get our roosters.

 The bottom frame.

 The side frames are up.

 Bub holding the frame together so Ron can secure it.

 Bub nailing up some of the chicken wire.  We put welded wire on it too to keep out predators.

    By the time I got home, it was already dark and the guys were sopping wet from sweat and exhausted.  The run was done but they had not begun on the coop.   We put a tarp over the top, cut some milk crates (for temporary nesting boxes) and called it a day.  The chickens seem satisfied and we will build the coop beginning of the week. 

Tune in tomorrow and I will introduce you to our chickens!  :-)

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In Christ,
Melody

Loving wife of Ronald and incredibly blessed home educating mother with fantastic children.

‎"Tough times never last, tough people do." -Robert Schuller

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. ~Stacia Tauscher