Chicken Fun

A few things I have learned about chicks:

1. They are fun to watch.  The kids and I can watch them for hours, as they run around the chicken box and interact with each other.  (My husband has more fun watching/ laughing at us being entranced by a bunch of chicks.)

2. They grow and change at an amazing rate.  Within a day of getting them, they were getting feathers at the bottom of their wings.  Within a week they had full wing feathers and were growing tails.  They had also doubled in size.

3. Duplo blocks make amazing chicken toys.  The kids have made them a bridge to climb on and under.  We are also using Duplos to raise the food and water dishes as they grow.  Keeping these at chest height is essential for keeping poop out of them and Duplos have made that as easy as adding a layer of blocks.

A Place to Call Home part 1

      As with most couples, my husband and I are opposites in just about every aspect of our personalities.  In a lot of ways this makes us stronger as a couple.  The one area where we are similar though, is also our biggest weakness.  We are both incredibly stubborn.
     Our first run in with the downside of this trait occurred before our wedding.  We were in the mall shopping for bedding for our first bed and it was a disaster.  I wanted something pretty and he wanted something without any flowers or lace.  After hours of going through the bedding section of every department store there, I was in tears.  In one month, we were going to commit to spend the rest of our lives together and we couldn't even agree on a bedspread.
      We have been married 16 years and have lived in 3 different houses.  But by the grace of God, we have never been house shopping together, until now.  In the past one of us would travel to the city we were moving to and choose a house.  The other never even saw it until we moved in. We would discuss the features that were important and trust the judgment of the one picking the house out. (Lubbock, Texas: he picked, The Colony, Texas: I picked, Beaverton, Oregon: he picked)
      When we moved to Oregon, 2 1/2 years ago, we decided to rent a house.  Mainly because we knew nothing about the area but also because we had no idea how long we would be here.  At this point it looks like we will be here for a long time and so it makes sense to buy a house.  As we have been looking into living more sustainably, what we would like in a house has changed drastically.  However, what hasn't changed is the completely different ways that Paul and I approach the process and how stubborn we both are.  As our real-estate agent told me this week, "Watching the two of you go through this process is going to be very interesting."

We Have Chicks

The first little yellow puff ball is Omelet.  The one with the cool markings is Popcorn.  My son's dark chick is Ninja.  The other yellow puff ball is Mrs. Cluckers.

     I have been amazed at how docile the chicks are and how much entertainment they provide.  We all enjoy watching them run around the chicken box and climb all over each other.  The two yellow ones look identical so, I drew a line down the back of Mrs. Cluckers with a washable marker.  I am not sure why it is important that we can tell them apart, other than we don't want to offend one by calling it the wrong name. lol
     The yellow ones are actually buff orpingtons.  These are considered to be good all around farm birds that are medium egg producers (4-5 a week) and that bulk up some so when the time comes there is some meat on their bones.  The main reason I selected this breed is because they are known as docile and friendly birds.  So far this is very true for the ones we have.  They also seem a little more intelligent than the darker birds.
     The darker birds are amerucaunas.  These are considered to be laying hens and will produce 5-6 eggs a week, however, they don't bulk up much.  Their temperament varies widely from bird to bird.  We are convinced that Popcorn has ADHD.  Ninja likes to snuggle with another chick, when she sleeps.  I selected this breed because one of my friends recommended them and they lay blue eggs.

Getting Ready for Chicks

        Today we purchased the first of our chicken supplies; lamp, heat bulb, food dish and water dish.  All of these have to specific criteria for chicks or THEY WILL DIE, at least that is what the internet indicates.  To be on the safe side and so I don't have to deal with my kids if the chicks don't make it, the plan is to set everything up and ensure we can keep the temperature right for several days before actually getting chicks.
       We have decided house our chicks in three stages.  First they will be in a brooder made from a plastic storage tote in the house.  Having them in the house is the only way to keep the temperature high enough for them at this time of year.  However, they are messy and can smell so having them in the house while all the relatives visit over Christmas is really not an option.  So the second phase of their housing, will be a larger brooder in the garage.  Once they reach about 6 weeks of age, they can tolerate much lower temperatures and should do well in the garage.  This will also allow us to give each of them the 2 sq. feet of space they will need by this point.  By Christmas, the permanent coop will be completed in the backyard.  Although, we won't move the chickens outside until they have all their feathers (about 12-16 weeks old).
      Currently the kids are setting everything we bought up, which is making this much more real for me.  Here's to living the adventure.

Update:
We have discovered the chicks can't be near a window or a floor vent for the heater / ac because the temperature won't stay constant in these locations.  The heat lamp cannot be plugged into any outlet on a circuit with the kitchen or it blows a fuse any time the microwave is turned on.  Due to these limitations, they are going to be between the main living and dining room.  Even though this is the last place I would have chosen for them.
Hopefully they will be so cute I won't mind having the dust everywhere.

One Thousand Gifts

     I can trace back small changes in my thought patterns and lifestyle to a book I started reading nearly a year ago.  The book is One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  It is not book I would have chosen to read myself but it was the book of the month for a book club I am in .  It is not a book I enjoy reading.  At one point she spends an entire page describing soap bubbles.  I had to read the page 3 times to figure out what she was talking about and realize it really was just soap bubbles.
     I have never had to wrestle with a book like I do this one.  I have read intellectual books that were a struggle to get through.  I have read interesting books that I applied to my life. But this book is different, because I can only read a small section at a time and then I spend weeks wrestling with it in my soul.  I have tried to give up a few times and just walk away from it, but it comes back in the form of a craving.  There are major mindset and lifestyle changes that I need to learn from this book but they are hard and uncomfortable.
    The first sentence on the back of the book is, "One thousand Gifts beckons you to leave the parched ground of pride, fear, and white-knuckle control and abandon yourself to the God who overflows your cup."  As I have begun this process, I am beginning to learn to slow down and find joy in the everyday moments of life.  This appreciation of the everyday is the seed from which my desire to live more connected to God's creation has sprouted.

Planning the Coop and Loosing my Sanity

       I have a very strong type A personality and like every possible detail planned out before doing anything.  However, even I must admit that I might have gotten a little carried away with the chicken coop plans.  The completed plans can be found on 8 sheets of notebook paper which reference the 15 to scale and color coded illustrations on separate grid paper.  It took me over a week to plan it all out and now I feel like framing the plans instead of giving them to my husband, who will flip to the final drawing and say, "Okay, I have the general idea."  It is going to take an extreme amount of patience grace alcohol for me to restrain myself from micromanage every step of the construction, but I can't wait to see how it all comes together and if all my amazing design ideas actually work.
   

Dinner with Friends

     Last night we had dinner with some friends from Texas who are visiting the area.  It was refreshing to see them and hear about all the people and things that are going on in our old stomping ground.  Most of all it reminded me of the importance of friends.  I am not one who makes friends easily nor do I put much effort into staying connected when we are separated.  After all that is what Facebook is for.  However, last night helped remind me that staying connected is important because we were not made to go through this journey alone.  Now I just have to figure out how best to do it.