Coop-Coop-e-Doop!

Today Mayor Tom returned to the castle and more progress was made on the royal coop. We lack very little to have it done, mainly the front doors, and a little bit of tweaking here and there.

It's sightly manger-esque don't you think?

You can't really see it, but it has a green roof. How cute right? Matching roofs... cuz we have a green roof. Once the overhang gets added to the front you'll be able to tell... if it's green... but we didn't have any roofing left over so I may have just lied to you.

Don't hate the Queen, she tries her best.

Of course there will be roosting bars and nesting boxes, a window or two, and some dust baths. Everything a royal chicken needs. And a kiddie pool for the ducks. Yee-ah boyee!

The land has a significant slope to it, so we'll have to dig a trench where the water can mostly flow around the coop instead of through the coop. And in order to open the doors in an outward direction, the ground in front of them will have to be dug down and levelled out.

It's all in the plan.

Oh yes... and we can't forget the fencing. Can't just free range out here, too many hawks, owls, coyotes and dogs around. So we have to have vertical fencing, dig guards and a cover over the top.

There's more work yet to do...

I think the chickens and ducks have a pretty decent view. I wish we were this far back from the road...

Not bad for $91 and a couple of days.

I swear the ducks have doubled in size already. They were always a little bigger than the chicks but they seem to be outpacing the chicks. Howard is the yellow one. Bill is the black one... but we really don't know if they're girls or boys.

Red, preening. I'm a pretty girl. No red, you're beautiful.

You can barely see them but the little chicks have little feathers growing along the bottom of their little wings.

One of Red's legs turns out a little bit. The right one. That's how we ended up with her, because I had time to do chicken P/T with her and hopefully fix it. Weird thing is, when she was by herself it seemed to be fixing itself.

In the last couple of days, since we got the chicks and ducks, it has looked more turned out again. Today it's more noticeable for sure.

I can't figure it out. Why would more chicks affect her leg? But that's the only thing different, so it's the only theory I have to go on.

We're feeding her chick feed like we're supposed to. She always has water, sometimes with enzymes and vitamins, sometimes plain. It's warm in the tub but she has plenty of room to get away from the heat if it's too warm. There is a rubberized shelf liner with pine shavings on top of it, so no slippery surfaces.

It's not spraddle leg, it's not bumblefoot, it's not that tendon thing... it's an enigma.

So far she gets around fine and I figure as long as that's the case, let her be. She's a beautiful bird (I still assume she's a she). Maybe I can splint it and try to get it turned the right way, but that's the last option I can come up with and I need help to do it. Otherwise I just pick her up (which she LOVES) and work the leg a little to maybe get it stronger.

Everyone seems to get along and they all seem content. Even Daisy's big schnoz doesn't seem to bother them; she drops by several times a day and they must be used to it by now.

But they still fear the big giant hand.

Can't really tell a difference in the incubated eggs. They're still there being rocked back and forth by the egg turner. I am going to try to candle them tomorrow and see if I can tell which ones were fertilized and have started to grow.

In other news, the royal canines got new collars. Bo's is very manly and says "Farm Dog." The red and tan complement his coloring.

Miss Daisy Bear's collar has yellow flowers which show up nicely against her shiny black fur. It even has a fancy metal clasp.

That is all for tonight. The Queen is tired from hammering, lifting and loading all afternoon! Time for an adult beverage and something to eat.