THE RANDOMNESS OF HOMESTEADING – EMERGENCY CHICKEN NURSERY
If you guys knew all that happened the day before we left Arkansas, you would be either be amazed, or terrified.
Initially, I had tried to structure my week leading up to our departure in a way that there would be nothing left to do on Wednesday, the day before we left. However, life did not even come close to cooperating, and it became one of my busiest days ever. Thankfully I decided not to try to get our shipping container in and dealt with a whole bunch of other issues instead.
A CHICKEN NURSERY?
Eventually, I plan on building some solid structures down on our land for some of our growing animal population. For now, though, I am mostly creating portable structures that serve their purpose and can be moved as needed.
When Steemie hatched, I considered building a chicken nursery. Since we have a pen that currently contains Guinea Fowl, Muscovy Ducks, Chickens, a Rooster, and sometimes Rabbits for a while, there are quite a few animals that can mix it up.
Sometimes a chicken may peck at a rabbit, or the rooster may attack the male Muscovy duck. To bring tiny little baby chicks into the mix with their first-time-mother hens may not exactly work out the best. I figured that perhaps I should build a nursery for the new mothers.
With some cedar logs, pallet boards, scrap metal, discarded screws and some chicken wire, I got started. The goal was to make a small chicken tractor where two hens could sit on their eggs, hatch their chicks, and be provided with their own food and water. We need to keep some special chick feed close for the chicks, but if the other animals have access to it, then the other hens will eat it all.
I got to work on it and even took a “proof selfie.” However, when Steemie died, I stopped the project and moved on with life. This was a few days before we left.
TIME TO START AGAIN!
At the time, I put away the project and moved on to other things. Then, two more chicks hatched!
Now I had to get back to work. This video was shot on Wednesday, after I somehow managed to find a traffic jam in the Ozarks on my drive to purchase new tires.
Monster Truck and I got right back to work on the chicken nursery when we returned from town. Little did we know that we would soon be driving back to town again, but that it another story. (Driving to town takes quite a while.)
Having my son there to help me with projects is a BIG help, even if he is still just a little pepper. There are so many useful and helpful tasks that he can join in on, which not only helps my projects go faster, it helps him think and learn too.
There in the hot Arkansas sun we worked and talked, and built more and more. This little guy even has some good ideas and isn’t afraid to ask questions or think about why we are doing what we are doing.
Before too long, very near sunset, we finished our project. We went and picked our trailer up to load it and take it to the animal pen. Eventually, sometime between 9 and 10 pm, we finally got the hens, chicks, and eggs into the nursery.
It did not take us the whole time just to build this nursery, as we were working on multiple projects at once, but perhaps I will share about them later.
SUPER-COOL “HOMESTEADERS UNITE ON STEEMIT” LOGO CRAFTED BY @ALLFORTHEGOOD
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-chicken-nursery-finally-finished-late-late-at-night
Until next time…
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Whats your thoughts on keeping hens on an offgrid boat? Is it doable lol?
Well, the first thing you need is bedding. chickens make shit. And unless you are terraforming your boat, you need to have something that absorbs that shit, and the smell, which can be removed and replaced.
Pine tree boughs seem to work well for this. (yes, old christmas trees) They absorb the shit and the odor.
Chickens are dumb... so, they will probably stay on deck right up until the time they want to jump overboard for reasons one can only assume to be an attempt at drowning.
With so little area, do not get a rooster. But two hens in a small cage will probably work ok.
Haha, yea ive kept them before but on land. I reckon my boats a tad small and the smell would be a bit much. A portable pen bankside when we're stationary would work though. Nomadic hens eh?!
That was hillarious!
I think it is. Question, is fish available?
In abundance but i do love fresh ranged eggs.
I was thinking that you could use this method as a way to get them some free food, by using the fish carcasses.
https://steemit.com/life/@papa-pepper/making-use-of-everything-turning-unfortunate-events-into-useful-opportunities-aka-what-to-do-with-a-bucket-of-maggots
I have an earthworm farm so I thought I was prepared for that post.... I was not prepared for that post...
I can deal with the earthworms but maggots and I have a very special hate relationship.
Glad your chickens liked them though! :)
I would suggest quail, they are small enough for your boat (kept in a small pen), lay an abundance of eggs and don't make a huge mess, so the clean up is pretty easy. Good luck!
I was out of STEEMIT for a Long Time... But Good to be started with the ROCKING STAR of STEEMIT Community @papa-pepper...
Thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I've been doing well, running some contests, and having a lot of fun!
Sweet. This is a lot of fun! Glad to see others having a blast in the community
Nice I was curious what do you use for power and for internet at the homestead ?
So far we are living next door. Had considered our options, and will most likely me "on grid."
I love seeing the kids so involved in everything at your place! They are learning real life hands on abilities for their future! Perhaps it is almost time for them to start collecting their own tools?
Perhaps! That is not a bad idea. I barely have tools myself!
Hmmm fella ya need tools!
What is it they say the best laid plans of mice and men
Monster truck looks and sounds like a good helper to have
Yeah, that is why most days I don't really start out with a plan!
He's a good helper for sure.
That's the best way to be when you can
I am a big one for going with the flow
Awesome. What an inspiring story and great job!
This is one of those vague 'Great job! Upvoted!' comments. It's one step above spam, a comment that shows no evidence of its writer having actually read the post they're commenting on. The thing is, comments are where community happens on Steemit. We hope you'll work on developing commenting skills that address specific aspects of the post you're commenting on. Sharing our personal, specific reactions is how we build our community!
you are right its really irrevelant and considered as spam for getting comment upvote again welldone i support your project :)
Wow. So I did read you'e entire article. And im sorry you feel this was a spam like comment. I thought you DID do a great job and the fact that your son helped was awesome. I think your community is fantastic and i love the grass roots and hard working family life aspect. I apologize if i offended you. I take the time to read every article i resteem and upvote. Sometimes just a GREAT JOB is appropriate. I will be more mindful in the future.
People like to interact with each other and a comment that is meaningful to the poster and the readers get a chance to get to know you better and helps build a online community.
And how will the new chiks be called ^.^
Steemy and Steemie Jr.
Monster truck pepper is going to be a mini papa-pepper which is a good thing. When children ask question it's how they learn. Pretty soon your going to have a papa and monster truck pepper tag team on your homestead.
Tag Team Back Again!
@papa-pepper if I volunteer to be a service animal, will you build me a pen? My services include writing poetry, meditating, eating, and scaring off whales. Oh and I can rap, I released my first rap song today.
Hmmm... scaring off whales too? Not sure that I need one of those, but sure, I'll build you a pen. I'll even teach the children to feed you at least twice a day.
lol, ya it's one of my passive benefits! (or consequences... hmmmmmm)
Ty for Share ;)