I’ve been busy licking my wounds this week. It’s me against the elements to see if my chickens will be wet or dry this winter.
So far I’m 0 to 3. The rain is winning.
The problem with my coop is, well, me. I’m long on fanciful ideas and short on knowledge and know-how. As a result, I decided to build a coop (I could see it in my mind’s eye, after all), with limited tools and supplies and even more limited skills. On a slope. Oh, and did I mention, I had no drawn plans?
But it looks cute, right? I mean, it’s even going to be in the 2014 City Chickens and Their Coops calendar. It looks just like I envisioned, complete with a flower box (that I can’t keep living flowers in thanks to the chickens, but that’s another story).
The problem is, after the first year of my adorable coop housing my cute, spoiled chickens, the roof in the back half of the coop started leaking. The fact that it’s in this half of the coop only adds insult to injury. I built that second half as a ‘remodel’ project, to expand the cute coop and make it more spacious for said spoiled chickens.
The day I unveiled the new digs to the girls (removing the wall between the two sections), I waited with baited breath to see their response. They hated it from the beginning. Chickens (not unlike myself) are creatures of habit and I was messing with their domain. They wasted no time in telling me as much.
And now it’s got a leak I can’t seem to fix. I’ve tried patching and caulking and tarping. Nothing has worked. (Have I mentioned this is the third winter I’ve been dealing with this…only it’s getting worse not better!) Last night, in the dark (with my headlamp on), I rigged up yet another tarp design, heeding the forecast of pouring rain for the next 7,654 days. This time a bigger, heftier tarp. And more bungie cords. Some clamps. Some cord. And concrete blocks. My cute little coop, to be featured in a calendar, now looks like something Honey Boo Boo might have in her backyard.
I was desperate. (So much for cute twinklie Christmas lights this year!)
Today the rain is pouring down. We’re supposed to get a half an inch or more before the day is done. And the forecast for as long as we can see is more of the same. Hopefully this new eyesore will help keep my ungrateful chickens dry and warm while I figure out my plan of attack number four.
PS
I thought I’d show you some postcards I painted and got printed recently. I pre-sold most of them, but I have a few left if any of 
you are interested. They’re 4×8 cards with a blank back and white 4×8 envelopes. Not chickens, but owls are a distant cousin, right? If you’re interested in buying some, they’re $15 for 10, $25 for 20, or $1 each over 25. I’ve sold lots of them and they’ve gone quick, but I thought I’d offer them to you as well, in case any of you out there would like some. Message me if you do and we can talk about the details.
Happy (hopefully dry) Thanksgiving week to you all!
