This guy again Ma.........

The Stinkerrific's are super excited about the holidays as you can see from their Blue Dog Rescue christmas pic. 

These Ladies are outta control......................

So I'm going to need to contain them. I started on the front gate today and it actually turned out pretty good. A little harder than I expected but nonetheless I have half of it done. Today, Im hoping to finish it up.

I have been busy with work all weekend and the first part of the week. But I did manage to squeeze in some coop time with the girls. They are growing like wildfire, taking over the laundry room. We are both ready for them to go out in the coop. Hopefully soon in the New Year.  I brought my computer in the coop and sat with them. They were hysterically pecking the screen and roosting on the top. Crazy girls. 

              

Chicken Hilton

The girls are doing great. Growing fast. The only one I'm a little worried about is Henry. She hasn't really grown all that much. She's eating and roosting fine, she's just little. Hopefully she will catch up soon. 


I have turned into an excellent box hunter as of late. Everywhere I go I'm looking for the biggest, best box I can find. Yesterday at work it came in the guise of an Almay makeup box. I tell you, most people would be burdened that this makeup display came in such a big box. But when I saw it, I got all tingly inside. I knew the girls would be proud as well when I brought this chicken Hilton home. And they were ...........excited, scratching, running, settling in nicely. Hopefully this box will be big enough to contain them until late December, when they will be feathered and ready to go in the coop. 

The other night we lit the chimanea and had some friends over. We brought the girls out and after foraging for a while, they got tired and wanted to snuggle. Here are a few pics from the evening. 


Photos courtesy of Rebecca McCray; photographer extraordinaire

Coop Dreams

I finished the Coop today!!!! Hoot! Thank God because these girls are growing like wildfire. I can't believe how big they have gotten in the past week. They have gone from little puff balls to big girls roosting at night.  I put the branch in a few days ago and they love it. I sneak in there and most of them are hanging out practicing their roosting skills. Our two barred rocks, Barb and Henri, turned a month old and they are seriously busting out of the box. The past day or so Barb has been tromping through the laundry room, leaving some evidence around. I had no idea chickens poop so much. Man, our whole laundry room is now canvased in day Old New York Times. You ever seen the T.V. show Dexter?  Yup thats our laundry room,  a literary kill room.  First thing tomorrow, I"m getting a bigger box............................

Sassy Barb

So, since I finished the coop today I thought I should give it a test run. I rounded up the girls and took them outside into their future abode. The weather was 80 degrees today and windy so I let them stay outside for about two hours while I finished up the henhouse. Their brooder temp in the laundry room is now at 80 degrees so the weather couldn't have been more perfect. They absolutely LOVED it. They look so tiny in the coop and they love to scratch around and dig in the dirt. If one of them finds something good like a bug or meal worm I strategically hid in the coop, the others get jealous and a chase ensues. I can't believe how much personality they have and they are all so different.


The coop is definitely predator proof.  We had a pretty good test of that when two little poodle type dogs came cruising through the yard today. I have been working out there for weeks with no sign of any dogs and as soon as I bring the girls in ...............chicken killing poodles. After wrangling the dogs and giving them back to their owners, the rest of the day was uneventful. Next task here at Uprooted Bamboo..............building a fence to keep the girls in and neighborhood dogs out!

Girls in the coop.....Excuse the graffiti on the fence. Damn kids
From the yellow puff to the back:
Sonny, Little S, Barb, Penny, and Rouge. Henri (just her face)

Rouge Kissing Little S

Rouge and Little S snoozing in the coop

Sleepy Girls

So now that they are ten days old they can go outside and scratch around in the grass. I have seen a lot of cute things in my life, but this one may top the list. They were excited to be outside, but still a little apprehensive. They stayed close to me which is a good sign. The whole "first impression" thing worked with them. They didn't venture too far.


When I brought them back in after being paroled, they were sooooo sleepy. It was the funniest thing. All of them just sort of collapsed. At first I thought maybe it was a little too early and I killed them all but they all sort of curled up with each other and fell asleep. I guess it takes a lot of energy with all the new good stuff to dig around in. Im going to try to hunt down some worms and bugs today. Too early to give them greens but worms and bugs are ok. Man they are going to be excited.


Here are a few pics of the escapades(btw chicks are super tough to photograph)

Notice the wheelbarrow. Going to come in handy today. I have 5 Cubic yards of topsoil coming to help predator proof the coop

So sweet. We named her Rouge. Claire was holding her and petting her head and she fell asleep

My other Love.....................

I don't know what I would do without my Subaru Baja

My dad bought this for me when I graduated from Grad School. She got us from NYC to Austin in one piece and takes me to the hardware store and back everyday (yes, I am there almost everyday). I mean seriously, can your car do this. 

INTRODUCING......................

6 Pretty girls......................

              

Black Australorp

Production Red

Barred Rock(2)

Straight Run Americauna(might end up a Roo)

Straight Run Americauna (already Kind of a Bully)

So far they are doing great in their brooder in the laundry room. The above little one (who may end up a rooster) was a little bully at first. Pecking like crazy. It was so bad, I jumped on the internet to make sure chickens didn't have rabies (kidding) and found out it's all about establishing pecking order. I was seriously thinking about returning the little one but decided to keep him after they all settled down. We have now dubbed him Little Shit.  The others have yet to be named.  I guess we need to see their personalities before we find suitable names, however if anyone has any ideas, I am all ears.

They will live in the laundry room for about a month and a half until they get all their feathers and can protect themselves from the cold, usually about 6 weeks.  Right now I have them under a 100 W bulb in their brooder ( a warm box) and some pine shavings that they love to scratch around in. It's important to keep the brooder a balmy 90-95 degrees for the first couple of weeks decreasing 5 degrees per week. They are eating their chick starter like crazy and love to bathe in their water.  In the coming weeks I will add roosts, let them scratch for treats outside, and help them get ready for the coop. The coop that will hopefully be finished this week............fingers crossed. 

Claire, I think was a little apprehensive at first about them taking up residence in the laundry room. But the minute she saw them and heard their sweet little chirps she smiled and thought they were really cute. The two canine farm boys on the other hand are very interested in what is behind door #1.  So we are being very careful to make sure they in no way can get the girls. Tate isn't all that interested in them but Viejo sits by the door and whines and wonders what in the hell is in there. Hopefully he will give up soon.  

Excuse his bad hair cut. We were saving money and did it ourselves. Ouch 

I'm heading to farm camp tomorrow at Green Gate Farms to expand my knowledge about organic veggie producing, drip irrigation, and more. Hopefully the rain holds out and I get some good info for Uprooted Bamboo. Then after the coop is done, I start working on the planting beds. I can't believe it's November. Crazy how fast this year is going......................

Ok friends........


Just pulled 6 in a row in the box. The dreaded box (my job). I go to work when it's dark and leave when it's dark. I didn't think I was going to make it at day 4. But alas, I made it. Got me thinking. I hope the ladies won't feel like I did all cooped up in the coop.........Know what I mean.   I think a little free-range is in order for them during the day.


I am headed to NYC tomorrow until wednesday to watch, cheer, and support my most important lady Claire while she runs the NYC marathon. I'm hoping to check out some community gardens and urban farms while in the city to draw some inspiration.


When I come back I have 4 days off. Hopefully the coop will be finished and I will be taking care of some new chicks. Have a good weekend. The work continues soon........................

Eggstatic

So I'm pushing along, making good headway. Not going as fast as I had hoped, but making good progress. Today I was able to get the door up, some henhouse siding, and the front egg collecting door.  All of this was a little harder than anticipated. But I think it's looking pretty good. I think the ladies will like it.

T-shirt drying and Coop door building...............

Aaaahhhhhh. The good life.

I'm evolved.....I'm using power tools.

Kelly  +  3/4 Poultry hen staples +  Hammer x 2 = Serious Frustration.

So, I decided to take my brother's advice after attempt number two (insert swear words here) to nail the hardware cloth to the frame and bought an air compressor and a heavy duty staple gun.


I went to the Hardware store and said, " I need a heavy duty staple gun for hardware cloth and a chicken coop enclosure." The guy said,  "Oh yeah sure no problem. Right over here," pointing to the small manual household staple guns.  "No No I replied, "My brother said I need an air compressor with it."The guy looked at me wide eyed and said "oh ok. Follow me." And in the next thirty minutes I was hooked up with a new air compressor, a 100 foot extension cord, a new staple gun, and a box of 1 inch heavy duty staples. After reading about it and learning how to use it I gave it a little test drive today and I must say if it were human, I would marry it. It's amazingly fast and super easy to use.  I was able to finish all of the top and wrap the whole lower half with ease in about an hour. The whole time I was stapling I kept thinking about that hammer and those annoying poultry staples and I realized that this was the best idea my brother could've had. Seriously, if anyone out there is thinking of building a coop, consider buying a setup like this. You won't regret it.

 I have three days off this week and I know it sounds gutsy, but I am going to try to finish the chicken coop as long as the weather remains cooperative. Hopefully friday it will be complete!

Who's Excited?

I know I am. I knew Austin was awesome. They had a great article in the paper the other day that left me really inspired. I even joined the meet up group Austin Backyard Poultry. Austin's is the second largest in the country second to Atlanta.  As soon as we get back from NYC in a couple weeks............ Im getting the chicks.

T-shirts for a Cause

Well, Today i had the day off and while it was another gorgeous day, the kind to make all the worries of life fade away, I was busy in the studio. What? No chicken coop? That's right. I didn't have time today because I have another little project going that's near and dear to Claire and myself's heart (excuse the grammar, I was never one for english class in high school). This project is different. It  involves a little boy with a lung disease named Noah, Claire, our friend Maggie, lots of miles paced, worn out kicks, and lots of different sized T-shirts. Huh?


Claire and Maggie, God bless their feet, are running the NYC marathon. I remember when these two ran their first one together. I believe it was at mile 22 when both of them, hot, tired, and breathing rather deeply said, "I am never doing this ever again!" Fast forward a year and these crazy girls are going to run through all 5 boroughs in less than 5 hours, all while raising money and awareness for a pretty good cause.  You see our friend Noah is a toddler with cystic fibrosis. It is an inheritable lung disease that usually leads to death at an early age. Research is being done to hopefully find a cure so people who live and breathe everyday with CF can have a chance at a normal life. Claire and Maggie have teamed up with Team Boomer to help raise money so that research can continue.


So, what is this little project I have going on? T-shirts. Lots of them. I designed a T-shirt that encompasses a dragonfly, NYC, and some runners to signify the girl's marathon. Today I printed it and honestly I wasn't all that impressed with the results. I think I want to rework the design a bit and see if I can get some of the finer lines to show up. In the mean time here's a pic of the first design and first attempt.

I have watched Claire and Maggie train for this marathon for months and am excited to see them run in three weeks. They have worked so hard to get there and I couldn't be more amazed with the determination of both of them. Here's to you girls. Glasses in the air,  clinks all around (yes I clinked). Have a Good run. I will be cheering loud and proud!




http://www.firstgiving.com/clairewhitehead
http://firstgiving.com/maggiekeen

I thought I hated painting and trenching.......then came the chicken wire

I'm grumpy. Yup, that's right. Super Grumpy.
I had the day off today and figured since the weather is even more gorgeous than last week I would get a good day of work done on the coop. This morning was awesome. Nice Breeze. In keeping with the modern design of the coop I decided to paint it a dark grayish blue. The thing is, I hate painting. I will be the first to admit that I am an awful painter. I know I could be good at it if I didn't have the mentality of a slug when it came to spreading the color hue. By the time I'm done, it's everywhere. In my hair, on my legs, all over my clothes, Tate's nose. I don't know what it is but I have always found the dip dip, back and forth super challenging. Painting has always been my least favorite part of a project until I finally finished this morning and moved on to my new hated passion..................trenching.


Now, I know its important to protect the new ladies from predators here in the urban jungle. And I would by no means want to put my ladies in harm's way so I followed the tougher fork in the directions and decided to dig a foot deep trench around the coop so that the chicken wire goes down a foot deep and predators won't dig under the coop. I remembered seeing a fancy trench digger at the hardware store the other day and so this morning I ran there to get one...... $32.00.  No thank you. I will use my rusty dulled Target shovel before I spend money on something I'm only going to use once. Seriously, an hour and a half later and with a new posture resembling the Hunchback of Notre Dame I was done. After that, I felt like I would rather paint the Sistine chapel 30 times over than ever trench again. It was my new "I'm going to hire someone to do this next time" task until........................... the chicken wire.


"Seriously, why does this shit keep coiling up. UGH," I said to myself as I unraveled it for the thirteenth time.  I swore today. I swore a lot. First time really since starting this project. I had been productive today with framing the henhouse, painting the coop, and digging the trench. I don't know why I felt the need to delve into the chicken wire. I should have called it a night with the trench, poured myself a glass of wine, and been proud of my accomplishment for the day. Instead, I unraveled it for the thirteenth time, carefully measured it, bent it with precision as the directions said, and placed it up on the roof. But for some reason it didn't fit. Great. I wasn't about to cut it again. So I made it fit. At this point I was super annoyed and frustrated. Once again I should have stopped and called it quits.  But I didn't. I kept going nailing that chicken wire in its imperfect place with those annoying 3/4 galvanized poultry hen staples and BAM, I nailed my finger sooooo hard with the hammer. I haven't felt something hurt that bad in a real long time.  This is why my grumpiness came about. With my new throbbing finger, I have to say that chicken wire is my new worse enemy. Seriously, If it were human I would kick it's ass.

                          Blue Coop and the infamous chicken wire

I can't believe how awesome the weather has been. Today I was lucky to have a day off and was able to be outside, enjoy the beautiful weather, and work on the coop. I had a pretty productive 1/2 day. The coop is finally coming together with the addition of the rafters, purlin's, and roof. Unfortunately, I was only able to get half of the roof on because I lost a few of the supplies to the highway coming home from the hardware store. I looked out of my rear view mirror cruising 60 mph, jamming to some good tunes and saw a pack of my foam pads flying out of the back of my car. Ugh. Do I go back and get them? I couldn't possibly haul myself across the highway for a $4.00 pair of foam pads and risk certain death could I? Well, it was a five-pack. With good judgement, I decided against it, said sorry for littering to no one in particular, and made my way home knowing it wouldn't be complete know matter how hard I tried. I have a hard time leaving things incomplete, especially when I had my heart set on getting the whole roof on today. But I am realizing slowly that the list from my projects is never ending.


So far so good...No major snags or head rubbing WTF moments yet.
Here are some pics of the progress

                       Stinky Vi taking a Nap......I need a new assistant

Frame Frame................... I know your name.

I had the past day and a half off from work and was finally able to do some productive work on the chicken coop. The weather here in Austin has been amazing. Windy and cool. Seriously, I can't ask for anything better.
Over the past few weeks, we received a lot of rain and the weeds are starting to take over the mud pit  backyard. I spent the first half of the day trying to get these weeds under control, first pulling them with my bare hands. As I was diligently pulling, I started think about every Natgeo show I have watched and visions of "I was Bitten and I Shouldn't Be Alive" kept popping in my head. I suddenly realized I should be careful about where I put my hands and feet. I mean these weeds were waist high and wasn't it me a year ago who called 911(seriously, that was Claire's idea) to report the massive 5 foot rat snake creeping through our bamboo? I grabbed the weed eater and with my learned snake wrangler mentality from "In search of the King Cobra" I went to work, sans Land rover, cutting everything in my path but keeping an eye out for the best spots a snake may lie and wait(to kill me no doubt). Three small snakes, two long hours and 652 sore muscles later I was done clearing out the yard and had the best spot mapped out for where the coop would go. I picked the perfect spot that receives sun in the morning and enough shade in the sweltering afternoon heat. Nothing but the best for these ladies I haven't even met yet.
The rest of the afternoon I worked on the frame and as of this morning, I have the frame built and all 8 of the cinder blocks placed and leveled. I think out of this whole project leveling cinder blocks is most likely going to be the hardest thing. I don't know what it is about leveling stuff but I must not have the patience and I'm guessing right technique to do this easily. In the end it always works, but it's not an easy road I take to get there.
I'm stuck rotting in the box( my office, my job) all weekend so building will resume on Tuesday of next week where hopefully I will start on the roof and get a load of topsoil to level out the coop floor. So far I have done everything on my own but these next few steps I'm going to need some help. Perfect timing forACL next week. I think I will make a few of the friends staying with us earn their keep.............................

Lovin a whole lotta Nothin'

This am the rain finally stopped and the sun is shining. I was able to snap a few pictures of our adventures in Marfa thus far.........Lots of relaxing, book reading, and doing a lot of nothing makes for a perfect weekend. 

                          Nugget waiting for Mama on her run 

                         Home Grown Produce at Farmers Market

                                           Best food truck ever!

Rain delay

,So the skies have been crying here in the capital city of Texas since Sunday putting a serious delay on my coop building plans. I was hoping to have the framing cut and done on tuesday but when it rains, the backyard turns into a huge mud pit. I mean for some people a half acre mud pit might seem ideal, but for me it slows everything down. The only ones who really love it around here are Tate and Viejo (collectively known as the boys). We were told when we rescued them they were Mutts, mixed terrier breeds but I'm starting to think they are more like hybrids........... half dog and half porcine family. These boys are happiest when they are rolling in the mud like little pigs.
So since its raining and not much can be done this week; I'm headed out west to Marfa, a little oasis in the middle of nowhere for some fun, relaxation, and Music this weekend. Hopefully when we get home on monday mother nature will be in a good mood, the ground will be dry, and building will resume.

Jess was right......

The other day my good friend Jess said, "You know I hope you don't get any chickens like my mom's. Hers learned how to crow just like a rooster and the neighbors started to get a little mad." Now, I know we had been drinking a little bit and tall tales do occur with us after a little imbibing but as much as he swore it was true, I seriously didn't believe him. Fast forward a couple of weeks and BAM I come across this in the book I'm reading:

Dammit...........Jess was right.

I wanted to tell you about this book Im reading. It seriously is the kind of book where you laugh out loud like no one is watching. It's called Farm City, written by Novella Carpenter and is published by Penguin Press. Novella has turned an abandoned lot in oakland into an urban farm complete with bees, ducks, pigs, chickens, and veggies. The book follows her throughout her urban farm experience from the many people she has met to the many animals she keeps. Her sense of humor is hysterical in this book. Today while performing endless flu shots(seriously I could do it blindfolded with my hands behind my back using my toes), seeing two dozen sore throats, ands oh wait seeing my favorite, "I have a sinus infection," I found myself sneaking to read this book.  Good stuff. 

I think its time for some more pretty Ladies

So, I think the first order of business is to get a few more pretty ladies here at the house. I told my mom of this plan and she said, " oh no babe, don't do that they will make your place stink."
I have been wanting some egg laying hens for about two years now. My neighbor has some and he will usually entice us with a few fresh eggs every now and then and every single time we I say, "Man we need some chickens of our own.
I recently got into building things. If i can dream it, I'm going to try to build it.  So I have dedicated my first task here at uprooted bamboo to building a chicken coop and getting some girls. I was looking for a really good coop to buy and while there are plenty on the market none really made me or our dwindling bank account happy. Besides, my brother built his own with a passive cooling and heating system and many other awesome amenities and I just want mine to be as cool as his.
I came across a website where you can buy chicken coop plans and build and customize it yourself and knew instantly this is the route I wanted to go. They say you can practically build it yourself and complete it in a couple of weekends. How hard can it be right? Im sure after a few choice words, a couple thrown tools, and a sigh here and there,  I will have a pretty good looking coop. I use pretty and good here because as with every project I start I have strict rules from Claire that I can attempt anything as long as it looks good.  Don't worry, I told her on this one.
This week I have been patiently watching the sun and shade in the yard to get the proper placement(who knew hens needed full sun to lay eggs). Next week I will begin the work.
Check out the link The Garden Coop  where  I bought the plans and see what hopefully the finished coop will look like. I went for the coop over the ark. My thought, The more pretty hens the merrier.

Dont worry.....My friends who are visiting and there is nothing here. I am coming soon. Keep checking in!