Micah's chickens (Adam's really) spent the week following Memorial Day in their new home "The Chicken Palace" before this past weekend being let out to roam in their run. Two reasons for this. One, I did not have to finish fixing up the existing fence as quickly and two, just like dogs and cats when you move houses, chickens also transition better when kept "inside" for a few days to get used to where they need to sleep/eat before being let out.
Quick over: Our coop is ?? years old. It first was a school bus stop shelter and was moved by tractor back and forth 1/4 mile each winter. It then got "fixed" up by the last owner and turned into the chicken palace. Next had atleast a half decade to fall into disrepair before getting a new roof, door and chicken wire wall. *see fencing needed to the right.
Ammenities: Two roosting bars set apart to avoid pooping on each other. Water and food feeders. Next up this summer will be fixing or making new nesting boxes for eggs starting this fall. It is also good to have a closable pop door to close at night and keep out things that like to eat chickens. Since Jill's two silkies are so small and do not like to fly/jump a ramp-door was needed. Here is one of the Buff Orpingtons demonstrating. Yes they do wait in the morning for it to be opened and then try to squeeeze through all at once.
The little black fuzzball to the lower right in the photo below is one of Jill's silkies. The other chicken were this size at about 3 weeks old and now all are over two months old. Micah loves to bring them out a snack after dinner (so far avocado and rice are winners while cooked carrots and baked beans were not recieved with much enthusiasm).
Only one chicken is "slow" enough to easily be caught for Micah to pet (the golden one below). The other chickens are pretty quick to move out of arms reach and we do not run near them so that they won't become afraid of us or get stepped on.
Preview of next month's chicken update: "Am I a rooster?" and "Names"
Here are some of us braving the sunken log in the lake to see some of the huge tadpoles that they have at Hume from what I am guessing are some really big bullfrogs. This was on our Sunday morning walk along part of the lake.
Boating on Saturday before lunch. Who doesn't have fun in a row boat (aka "slow boat'").
Playing in the mud at the lake. Most of the kids are lined up in the background and are busy playing. Everyone also loved the ducks that liked to roam around on the grass. The little kids would all go after the ducks to pet them while the rest of us watched.
Jill got to make her Smore's on Sunday before heading home. This was a must do item and when camp staff was too busy to start the firepit for us, a quick walk over to the general store for some lighter sticks and scrounging up some kindling solved the problem. Micah loved his first smore's and made Jill proud with how well he kept clean of melted marshmellow (the rest of the weekend we were not as lucky with lots of sand and dirt to deal with).
The Monday was a quick day trip up to Modesto to hang out at Nana and Pappa's house along with a bunch of his cousin's. Jill said that he was nonstop playing in the water and loved the whole time he got to play with everyone else.
