Soggy chickens are sad chickens.

[gcvmom]

It rained a lot here Tuesday and was drizzly yesterday. The coop roof leaks and our poor girls ended up with very soggy, and (now that it's in the 80's today) very smelly bedding

husband finally broke down and went to Home Depot to get some plywood and roofing asphalt to make a sloped roof over the coop. I think the sunshine and the little project are doing him some good. difficult child 1 is out there right now helping him. Ahhhh... male bonding. I can watch it all day long!

 

[DammitJanet]

You should see soggy, icy chickens...lol. When we had the chickens in round pens on the yard they would be up on their perches when it was icy looking absolutely miserable. We had strips of rubber matting that went over the tops but it didnt do a whole lot of good.

Now though...we are chickenless.

 

[gcvmom]

Really? Chickenless? What happened to all your birds, Janet?

 

[DammitJanet]

Well...first of all...we had several run-ins with dogs over the last year and a half. Then when I got sick everyone was having a hard time tending them so the dogs got in some more. Over the summer the cats got to the babies too. We only had about 5 roosters by the time I came home from the hospital. About May when the new babies should have been starting to come off, a dog from down the road came in and wiped us out. Left us with 2 hens. Tony was just beside himself. He raged for like two days about how he was going to take out every living thing he saw. Cant say I blame him and if we didnt have my little dog and one indoor/outdoor cat, I would have gladly let him poison the yard but we simply couldnt do it. Instead he gave our two remaining hens away. Now we have nothing. Maybe when he isnt working out of town anymore and knows he wont be anymore...which will be never...he can get more. For now, he just hunts and fishes...and gets mad when he thinks about it.

 

[gcvmom]

Oh how sad! I'd be angry, too.

 

[Wiped Out]

I'm glad the chickens will be drier now!

 

[gcvmom]

husband was SO worried about getting this project done TODAY. He created so much stress for himself in setting up the expectation for getting it done by 5:00pm before easy child's soccer practice that he was snapping at everyone, barking orders, and eventually screaming at the difficult child's whose help he was trying to enlist (that went over like a lead balloon).

I finally went outside to tell him to cool it, and that there was absolutely NO reason why it had to be done today. We're expecting 80+ degree weather for the next several days, so why the big freak-out? I think he suddenly realized how the pressure was self-imposed and he seemed to relax a little bit and stopped yelling at difficult child 2, but difficult child 1 had already had a meltdown over husband's unreasonable behavior, pushed over a wheelbarrow and went inside declaring he was DONE.

He was agitated tonight when I talked to him on the phone on my way home from my NAMI class, too. I think he may be due for a medication tweak... if this continues, I'm going to suggest he call the psychiatrist and ask for advice.

But yes, the roof is done -- he did the best he could... it's not perfect, but hopefully it will keep the rain out now.

 

[Star*]

get him a fiddle......

 

[gcvmom]

So you're saying I should nickname him "Nero?" Yeah, he's crazy alright!

 

[Abbey]

Shoot...our chickens used to root around in below zero weather, then hop on a fence post to sit then get iced all over. Dummies had a coop but would only use it at night. Even then we'd have to shoo them in. They're tougher than you think. Their plummage is very well designed to keep moisture off their body...unless you have a plucker. That's a problem.

I know I mentioned once before about how to put a chicken to sleep then play ball with them. When it was time to get them into their coop, some were resistant. One of us would catch him in the field, put him to sleep then toss it to the other sibling who would toss him in the coop. It was like a production line. Strange things you do when you grow up on a ranch. We were all rather dizzy after this process, though. Chickens slept just fine.

Abbey

 

[gcvmom]

Oh, I wasn't too worried about the temp. The soggy floor with the soggy food bits that they eat and then they get sick because of the nasty bacteria/mold growing in it... that's what causes the problem. Two are moulting right now, but we don't have temp issues here. Ours put themselves to bed, too when it's dark enough.

 

[Star*]

Noooooo.......

Fiddler on the roof......(oy vay)

Okay here is my worst joke of the day but one of my favorites.....of all times.

What do you get...
When you cross
Barbara Striesand
With a Florida Black Bear? - Give up....
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yentel Ben


Hava Nagila Hava....Nagila....(I'm dancing) .....he's Fiddling...

 

[Abbey]

That was bad, Star. I'm ashamed I'm laughing.

Abbey

 

[gcvmom]

Geeeez! That was REALLY bad! But Nero suits him better. Our house would be burning and he'd be worried about something totally inappropriate...