Soon to be urban chicken farmers

It feels like we have so many things to do and just not enough time to get it all done! The weather is not helping either....

Paul and I spent some long days outside in the yard trying to get a good chunk of the outside tasks done before the rains came, and I would have to say - we did pretty damn good. Its a huge improvement from what it looked like out there before; Unfortunately, the yard had been badly neglected and had become a dumping ground over the past few years of having so many people come and go so often and leave their unwanted items behind. There were couches, chairs, lamps, tables, an old broken air compressor, 8 four foot logs, a half dozen wooden pallets and many other things stashed under the deck and around the yard. The garden had grown over almost completely, there are a few dead patches in the grass from where leaves had been piled but never picked up, the bushes have probably never been trimmed and the one tree has sent up so many saplings it is turning into a bush! The house itself is also badly in need of a paint job and the deck is sagging... Needless to say, we only managed to tackle a few of those things.. however, we started by doing a trip to the dump and got rid of most of the junk. What an improvement just doing that made!

The main garden outside of the house.
The garden has been a bit of an ongoing project but we finished digging up, put a boarder around it and even did a fair amount of planting!
In the process of reclaiming the garden from the quack grass, sod and dandelions, we extended the main garden plot to the length of the house and also made it a bit deeper. I also dug up a smaller plot against the fence to plant peas in and give us a bit more room to work with. As far as planting goes, there are several things that still need to go in- we still have some seeds sprouting in the house and we still have yet to order our other seeds from Salt Spring Island... however, I am happy with what I was able to get in and am only slightly worried that it may be a bit of time crunch to finish it off before the baby comes. At least we have lots of eager roommates that we can put to work if it does work out that way!

Our chickens are getting picked up on Friday and so Paul spent his days off working hard to get the chicken run framed in and also managed to get the majority of the coop itself done.
Paul has been putting in a lot of hours at work lately and was suppose to co-guide a a several hiking trip this week (it thankfully got cancelled) so we were really feeling pressured for time and it was really looking like we wouldn't be ready for them... but at least now that Paul has an unexpected day off we should be able to get enough done that we will actually be able to put them outside. We will still have to chip away at getting the coop insulated and figuring out windows, but at least that's something we can work on when the chickens are here!

When its all finished, the chickens will have around 50 square feet of covered in grassy area and about 60 square feet of more protected/dry area under the deck for their run. Their coop will be 6' x 4' with a nesting box coming out of one of the one 4 foot walls. This will give them more room then it is recommended that they have, but since they will be in the coop for most of the winter we thought it better to give them more space then just enough!

The nesting box being framed in.
The whole structure needs to be insulated really well so that it will (hopefully) be warm enough for them in the winter. Having the nesting box coming off the side is a bit of a concern since it may make it harder to heat with the heat lamps, however many of the designs that we have found on the internet sport nesting boxs much like this one. So, fingers crossed. A big perk to having this set up is that we will be able to hinge the roof and access the nests without having to go into or open the main roof (which will also be hinged) and collect the eggs without too much heat lost in the winter.

The run area.
I managed to get all the boards and most of the coop painted just before the rains came, but the chicken wire has yet to go up... Hopefully we will get some break in the weather otherwise we are going to have to get it done in the rain.

Paul!



36 weeks.
Fresh out of the shower and all oiled up.
It feels like Baby has been running out of room and is feeling a bit cramped. I am definitely getting pressure and kicks to the ribs now, which is odd feeling but thankfully not painful. I am happy to say that the midwives are no longer concerned about Babies' growth - after I upped the fats and sugars in my diet my measurements jumped from 29.5cm to 33cm in two weeks and then another 2 cm of growth with 3 pounds of weight gain the week after. I am exploding!
Baby is still head down, but has not dropped yet. I am getting a lot more Braxton Hicks ("practice") contractions now though, especially when I am working out. I joke that it is very likely that I could have a fitness induced labor which seems to concern Paul, however working out still feels really good and drinking lots of water seems to calm the contractions!
We bought a kiddy pool for the birth, but still have gather things like a piece to hook up the garden hose to the kitchen sink in order to actually fill the pool up (anyone know of something that might work for this and where to buy it?). Time seems to be going fast and I am now that I am full term, I feel like could pop at any time (not that I want to though, I actually love being pregnant!). We will have to put in a good effort this weekend to try to get the last of the things that we need in preparation for the big day...