They grow up so fast

Our chicks finally graduated today! Using a can of paint we found in the garage, left over from whenever the deck was last painted, we gave the coop a quick coat of paint before storms moved in yesterday. I'm sure paint is supposed to dry for more than 3 hours before it gets drenched, but the weather hasn't given us very many options. Today we furnished the inside with bedding and moved the chickens out of their very cramped quarters in the red bin. They were reluctant to jump out (for once), so Mike had to give them a lift, but then they seemed happy to have 24 whole square feet to explore.

They can all finally get a bite to eat without standing on each other or tipping over the feeder. And we won't have to stand it up and refill it twice a day anymore!

Since they're defenseless still and we don't want them to wander off and get lost, we'll keep them enclosed in the coop for about the next week so they can grow up more and learn that the coop is a safe home. Then we'll start letting them outside for short periods of time when we can watch over them and make sure they don't go too far. Chickens want to roost in a safe place when it gets dark, so they'll willingly go back to the coop and settle in around dusk. Eventually all we'll have to do is open the coop door in the morning to let them out to free range, top off their food and water every couple days, collect eggs, and go back out in the evening to close the door behind them. Overall, they should be pretty low-maintenance contributors to the farm. 

And of course we'll have to clean out the coop occasionally and maintain it so that the hard work we've done on it can last as long as possible. Just in the past couple days, some gaps had widened between boards that let in rain. So after we got the chickens situated, I sealed everything up. I think after one more coat of paint, we'll finally be able to call it finished.

This is what happens when Mike tells me to look cheerful while I work.