Recently pricing out lumber for the chicken palace, we experienced sticker shock, so decided we would be looking for ways to reduce start-up costs for the operation. We placed an ad looking for metal roofing in Uncle Henry's classified ad magazine (a reading must here in Maine).
Well, we got a call that someone in Newcastle had some stainless steel roofing.... hmmm, I thought, stainless steel? Still, it was the only call we got, so off we went. Our salesman was quite the entrepeneur. It seems he's been working on an expansion of the local grocery store, and had been expertly salvaging materials. I love this -- why let perfectly good materials head off to the biomass energy recovery plant (i.e. incinerator) when you can use them at home? This is old-time Maine at its best, thriftily re-using readily available materials in clever ways. Why buy new when free is available?
It seems the stainless steel sheet metal was from the produce coolers, which had been dismantled. Thick pieces of styrofoam insulation were also available for sale. Our salesman was busily constructing himself a splendid new boat shed with lumber remnants. For $10, we came home with 2 large pieces of stainless steel. Our chickens will be living in style, they may not need stainless steel kitchen appliances, but they'll have the stainless look anyway with their roof gleaming in the sun.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Here..... Marigold?
After some consideration, we think we will be naming the girls after garden flowers: Marigold, Poppy, Zinnia, Iris, Daisy, and, with a nod to the BBC's Keeping Up Appearances, Hyacinth.
Of course, we reserve the right to change our minds when the chicks arrive and we get to know them.
Of course, we reserve the right to change our minds when the chicks arrive and we get to know them.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Welcome to Henbogle
Welcome to Henbogle. I'll share spouse Dan's and my experiences as rural Maine homeowners, dedicated DIYer's and gardeners (add cooking for me). We love small-town living, and have been fixing up our 1881 Cape since we bought it in December, 2000. Our latest complication -- we are experimenting with chicken raising... we've ordered 6 Hubbard's Golden Comet 
chicks, which will be arriving in a few weeks!
Why chickens you ask? I'm not sure, but in looking around my home, it seems predestined. First, there's Goldeneye the Rooster, a ceramic chicken planter my friend Nancy gave me in hmmm... 1990? 1991? Somewhere in there... and he is still with me. The only 2 Beanie Babies I own -- a chick and a rooster. The nickname Chicken Lips (
don't ask), the clucking contests, the toy clucking chicken, the chicken clock, the awesome ceramic rooster obtained for a song at auction which graces the dining room....
Then there are the eggs, the chickens, the cats, the slugs, the squash bugs, and our grand plan for chickens as rototillers -- with the girls' help, our garden will grow by 150 square feet this summer, and be pre-fertilized. And the cats should find the chickens vastly entertaining, we MUST keep our catly responsibilities in mind!
Still, there was the deciding factor.... end of life care. I am pretty sure I could not actually bring myself to kill the chickens -- or help Dan do it for that matter. I'm hoping the girls will be almost pets with more benefits than the dog (not hard). The local farm supply store cinched the deal when they told us about a nearby business -- you bring them the chicken, you come back later to collect the chicken, neatly packaged in butcher's paper. We do intend to keep our girls for as long as we can -- how long remains to be seen.
Of course, the girls will need a hen house. When planning our chicken coop, I soon realized we needed to hold ourselves in check after Dan and I debated for 20 minutes on the merits of finding some remnant vinyl flooring to put in the coop! Then there's the antique dayight window we will use, providing ambience, lighting, and ventilation. It eventually dawned on us that we were planning a chicken castle, thus our decision to name the coop Henbogle after the Scottish estate "Glenbogle" featured on the BBC series Monarch of the Glen, which we're currently watching thanks to NetFlix.
chicks, which will be arriving in a few weeks!Why chickens you ask? I'm not sure, but in looking around my home, it seems predestined. First, there's Goldeneye the Rooster, a ceramic chicken planter my friend Nancy gave me in hmmm... 1990? 1991? Somewhere in there... and he is still with me. The only 2 Beanie Babies I own -- a chick and a rooster. The nickname Chicken Lips (
don't ask), the clucking contests, the toy clucking chicken, the chicken clock, the awesome ceramic rooster obtained for a song at auction which graces the dining room....Then there are the eggs, the chickens, the cats, the slugs, the squash bugs, and our grand plan for chickens as rototillers -- with the girls' help, our garden will grow by 150 square feet this summer, and be pre-fertilized. And the cats should find the chickens vastly entertaining, we MUST keep our catly responsibilities in mind!
Still, there was the deciding factor.... end of life care. I am pretty sure I could not actually bring myself to kill the chickens -- or help Dan do it for that matter. I'm hoping the girls will be almost pets with more benefits than the dog (not hard). The local farm supply store cinched the deal when they told us about a nearby business -- you bring them the chicken, you come back later to collect the chicken, neatly packaged in butcher's paper. We do intend to keep our girls for as long as we can -- how long remains to be seen.
Of course, the girls will need a hen house. When planning our chicken coop, I soon realized we needed to hold ourselves in check after Dan and I debated for 20 minutes on the merits of finding some remnant vinyl flooring to put in the coop! Then there's the antique dayight window we will use, providing ambience, lighting, and ventilation. It eventually dawned on us that we were planning a chicken castle, thus our decision to name the coop Henbogle after the Scottish estate "Glenbogle" featured on the BBC series Monarch of the Glen, which we're currently watching thanks to NetFlix.
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