I’ve been working a lot on the coop – mostly at night. I have the two side walls done, the front about 70% done, and half the pieces of the back cut and ready to be assembled. I made a mistake that I thought was going to be major at first, but it’ll be fine. The side walls of the coop slant outward a bit. At the widest part it’s 77″ wide, and the bottom is 72″ wide, which works out to be that the walls slant out about 2.5 degrees. When I started figuring the angles (unfortunately, my plans don’t give you any of the angles, which is very annoying) I did my figuring starting with a 5 inch difference on each side, instead of 5 inches total. It was a silly mistake, but since I made it so early and did all my other figuring based on it, everything was wrong. When I cut everything for the front and back and put it together, nothing matched up at the top. All I had to do was recut a few pieces though, and now it’s all going to work and will just have a more pronounced slant, which will actually look nicer I think.

My radial arm saw has made this project WAY easier, and all my joints are nice and tight. I can just set the angle and then cut several boards in just a few seconds each.

It didn’t take much.  I guess just removing the eggs was enough.  She was back to normal today, and went into the coop by herself at night.

We figured it out.  Blackie has been sitting on 14 eggs inside my 1970 Panther 303.    She’s gone broody.  None of the eggs are hers, but I guess the other hens have been going in there to lay periodically and finally there got to be enough for a full clutch, so she’s been sitting on them.  We couldn’t find her most of the day yesterday and in the evening we looked all around for her.  I had checked the snowmobiles before, but didn’t see her.  I checked again and saw a tiny bit of red (her comb), and even then I wasn’t sure it was her.  She was all flattened out in there, so she was very hard to see.  We opened the hood and she hopped out, revealing the eggs.  We figured they’d be rotten, but we tested them and all of them sunk right to the bottom of a bowl of water!  That means they’re not very old, and I guess they’ve been cool enough, even with her sitting on them.  When she got out, she puffed her feathers up really big, which I’d never seen before.  Now we need to break her of the broodiness.  We took all the eggs out and I’m going to stuff some paper in there so they can’t lay in there anymore.  I’ll have to collect eggs several times a day to make sure there are none lying around.  I’m also going to lock her in the coop for a couple days, and if that doesn’t work, she’ll have to be kept in a wire cage for a while.

This explains why she was spending so much time in the nesting boxes and in such a hurry to get out of the coop in the morning!  She had a job to do.   Last night we got them all in the run and she flew out right away to go eat birdseed.  When birds go broody, they’ll sometimes neglect eating to the point where they starve to death!

Interesting information about broodiness

The chickens have been out almost every day because Blackie the Australorp tends to jump the fence, and if one is out, they may as well all be out.  Blackie has been separating from the other two lately, and usually when one is missing, it’s her.  One day a brown one was missing, and I looked all around for her before finding her on a shelf in the barn, crouching behind a box.  I wouldn’t have seen her, except she peeked her head up over the box, saw me, and ducked back down again.

Last night at around 7:15, I went out to close them up, since they’re usually roosting by then.  I found the two brown ones, but no Blackie.  I got on the 4 wheeler and rode around looking for her, or at least a pile of feathers, and didn’t find any.  I went out several times during the rest of the night and never found her, even in the barn where she sometimes roosts.  I went over to the spot where I’d found the brown one, and saw three Australorp eggs, so I knew she had used that hiding spot as well.  That made me feel a little better, but still, chickens are supposed to roost up high, so I was still expecting the worst.

This morning when I woke up I took Henry outside to look again, and nothing.   Then while the kids were eating breakfast, I was looking out the back window, trying to figure out some way that she might still be alive, but sort of resigning myself to the fact that she probably wasn’t, when all of a sudden she trotted out and ran over to the bird feeder, where she likes to eat the shells the birds drop.  Thanks a lot, Blackie!  I was worried!

Apparently she has a little nest in the barn.  When the barn is finally cleaned out, I’m going to do my best to limit the places where chickens can hide.

This morning we all went to Babbitt for a few garage sales and then for a bike ride on the paved trail. There wasn’t much good stuff at the garage sales, but afterward we ate lunch and then went to the bike trail. Delia rode her bike, and Emily and I walked and pushed Henry in the stroller, where he fell asleep after a while. Delia rode THREE AND A HALF MILES. I had my GPS with me, and it said just over 3.5 when we were done, and she probably even rode half a mile more than that since she doubled back quite a bit. She did amazingly well, with only one minor fall. When we got back to the car, she wanted to keep riding, so she and Emily rode on the sidewalk and I drove alongside. It started sprinkling a bit, so they got in the car and we went home. They played outside for quite a while, and I cleaned up the garage. It had been pretty windy all day long, but it was pleasant enough with only a few drops here and there. It started sprinkling again and we were about to go in, when all of a sudden the wind started howling and we got pelted with hail! It came out of nowhere, and stuff started blowing all over the place. A little potty even flew across the yard. We all ran in and I put a coat over my head and ran back out to close up the garage, grab what had blown away, and make sure the chickens were okay (they were hiding in the barn). My hands were actually sore when I got back to the house from getting hit with the hail.

My speedometer now works.  The little rod in the front wheel that turns the square cable wasn’t turning, so I took the front wheel off to see what the problem was.  I was expecting to find a stripped gear, but what I found was that somebody had installed the wheel improperly at some point.  There’s a little washer in there with 2 tabs which is what turns a gear which turns a worm gear which turns the rod which turns the cable.  Somebody didn’t have the tabs lined up right when they put the wheel back on, so the washer with the tabs had bent so that the tabs didn’t ever push that first gear.  I took it out, straightened it with my vice, put it back together, and now it works.  I also took off the back wheel to try to get the tire off.  I couldn’t get it off, but I tried airing it up anyway, and it took air and held it.  I knew it wouldn’t last though, and I was right.  I took a quick ride down the road and a while after I got back I saw that it was flat again.  So, the revised list of things to do is: replace rear tube, get new front brake lever and cable, straighten handlebars, get pod lights working, fix trans drain plug leak, clean carb, replace needle valve, fix/replace intake boot, fix exhaust mount bolt.

They’re huge. Almost all their fuzz is gone, and they’re really feathered out and starting to look like how they’ll look as adults. They’re very active and fly around their cage. I want to move them out into the garage but I’m going to wait another week so they’re a little more tolerant of cold and it warms up a bit out there. Today one was taking a little dirt bath in the pine shavings. The ameraucanas seem to be a little agressive. One of the barred rocks seems to be the most friendly. She always runs to the front when I go in to feed them, and she perches on the door. The white leghorn tends to stay in back. Delia doesn’t have a whole lot of interest in them, but today she asked to go down and see them. We brought Foley in to see them so hopefully he understands that they’re pets and not food.
We were going to take them outside, but it was a little too windy, so we’ll have to do that another day. They like to stand on their food tray so tonight I made them a little roost.  I just checked on them and only one was on it, so I hope the rest get used to it soon so there’s less cleaning for me to do on their food tray.

There are some old tractor tires out in our field.  Two of them are really big and somebody made them into flower beds a long time ago.  Every time we ride by on the 4 wheeler, I tell Delia that we should drag one out with the tractor and make a sandbox.   Today we finally did it.  I figured it would be easy, but it was not.  They were really buried and wouldn’t budge.  I finally dug a hole under one side so I could fit a chain under it, and then I used my loader to lift them up and then push the dirt out and break the roots with a shovel.  It took a long time, but I finally got it loose, and carried it back to the sand pile with the tractor.  Delia and I shoveled sand into it, and now she and Henry have a sandbox!  They both played in it for a long time.  Henry even learned, after a while, that sand isn’t good to eat.

I couldn’t find the chickens today, so I was going to ride a 4 wheeler around to look for them.  As soon as Henry saw me get on, he started squirming out of Emily’s arms and pointing at me.  He loves riding them.  He’s also very interested in Delia’s bikes, skateboard, and tractor.  She generally gets all of them out at once when she goes outside, and then Henry makes the rounds, climbing on each one.  On the ones with three or more wheels, he can usually stand on the back and push off, or at least put his hands on them and push them around.

We had a bit of a storm tonight.  It didn’t rain much but there was a lot of lightning.  Delia and I stood outside and watched for quite a while.  She was fascinated, and I explained to her why she could see it before hearing it.

I was just going through some old pictures and found two interesting ones.

Look at how much Henry looks like me at around his age!

And then I found this:

Delia and I went to an auction yesterday in Tower. It was one of the biggest I’ve ever been to. I can’t even describe how much stuff this guy had. There were two rings going at once and it still took 7 hours. Delia was soooo good. She and Eli sat and watched Yellow Submarine on her DVD player, and then they met another little boy. The three of them played really well together – climbing on rocks, making bird nests in the woods, etc.

There were 150 boat motors at this auction. Hundreds of traps (the guy made them). Hundreds and hundreds of tools, and often 5-10 duplicates of each. Trailers full of collectables. Boats. Heavy equipment. And lots, lots more.

I ended up spending just under $200, and man did I come home with some stuff. I got about 8 power drills, a circular saw (which I gave to Bryan), and a jigsaw, all for $6. I got several staple guns and a hammer stapler, a bunch of squares, chalk lines, hack saws, a lot of pulleys, a soldering iron, a ring compressor, some air guns and tire fillers, filter wrenches, telescoping magnet, a wood burning kit, and some other stuff, all for about $25. I wanted the pulleys specifically to teach Delia about mechanical advantage. I got a nice grill for my tractor for only $5! However, I also had to take a big bucket of chimney dampers. There are probably 20, and I have no idea what to do with them. I really lucked out on that one. I was up with one ring and happened to walk down the hill to the other ring right when they held it up. I was amazed nobody bid, so I waited until they got down to $5, and I got it. I also picked up a trap shooting thrower and a spinning target.

I missed out on a collection of small vices and a great little bow and arrow for Delia because I was too slow. I also passed up a few things that I’m regretting now, such as front tires for my tractor, and a garden cart.

I also got two big things: an old Wards Powr Kraft 230 amp stick welder (60s vintage), and a 1979 Suzuki 185cc dirt bike! I haven’t fired up the welder yet, but it appears to be in good shape. The bike was my choice of about 5 for $100. I could have had more, and probably should have bought them and resold them. I opted for the dirt bike over the other road bikes, because none had titles and weren’t running, so I figured a dirt bike that I could ride on our property would be a better deal if I couldn’t get it licensed or if it proved unreliable. It was quite an impulse buy, and I regretted it at first, but I quickly got over it, and now I’m thrilled because it started right up when I put some gas in it! It runs great, especially considering that it probably hasn’t been used in years. It has lots of power and runs great once you get going, though I need to keep the choke half closed and it hesitates a bit low down. Nothing a little carb cleaner can’t solve. Other problems: It floods while it’s sitting, so the inlet valve is bad. The electrical system (except for ignition) isn’t working. The front brake cable is broken, and the speedometer doesn’t work (the cable is fine, but the gear on the wheel isn’t turning). It sounds like a lot of issues, but it’s actually not bad at all.

On the plus side, most machines I buy don’t run right off the bat like that! The tires are good, and the shocks are great. The gas tank isn’t rusty. Everything feels good and solid. The transmission works great and the shifting is right on. The seat and plastics are in great shape. The tank is supposed to be blue, but somebody stripped it at one point. Given a day to work on it, I could probably fix all the problems.

After the auction, I took Delia to Fortune Bay for dinner, swimming, and the arcade. She had a great time, and so did I. She was such a good girl, and I’m so excited to have such a great auction buddy.