10.09.08

Another very chilly morning :) I woke at around 5am but stayed in bed til almost 8:00 because it was so cold and I felt lazy. Lazy can be such a very good thing, of course you must be mindful of the line. All things in balance.

Today my complete focus is the henhouse. I worried that we would fine chickensicles frozen to their roosts this morning so we went straight out for chores to check on everyone. I think it actually only got down in the 40's last night but still *o*

We have the roost over halfway done. It's about 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide and should hold a far amount of fat hens. I'm thinking it should hold at least 16 hens, more if they crowd in. I'm not sure about the others yet. Thank you so much Peggy for telling me they need more roosts then nestboxes! I always thought it was the opposite but then we've never had this many hens before and always had plenty of both for everyone.

I was thinking about taking the nest boxes from the old henhouse and reusing them in the new one but I think I'll just build some new ones and leave the old ones there for the cats or whatever it becomes. The dividers come right out and basically leave two L shaped shelves. We'll see.

If the back of the new henhouse is Frakenstien-like then there will be no word for what the front is going to look like. I actually think it looks pretty good, tho it didn't come out exactly as planned. Grapevines are growing over the chicken pen and when the house is complete I'll get them to grow on it as well.

Oddly, I was once a perfectionist but when I became a single homeschooling, homesteading Mom I tried to get rid of everything that would hold me back and that was one of the first to go.

I do have regular chores to get done too and some teas to make up but the Henhouse is the thing for the rest of the week until it's completely done and the chickens have a warm safe place that they all fit in.

Today's menu is ... Apple Bake and coffee for breakfast (and it was goooood). Baked corndogs with BBQ beans and iced tea for lunch. Chocolate cake and hot tea for snack. Waffles with bananas and milk for supper.

I hope everyone has a most excellent day !