Building the Chicken Palace - Last round

 Here is the coop finish work coming together.  The darker blue is the chicken door hatch.  Still not in completion but making progress.  Below is the front of the coop all trimmed out but still needing paint.  Below is the human door side with the big door in and the window open for ventilation.  Still need to build a couple of steps up and add handles to the windows in these photos.

Left are the girls and handsome Amelio in the upper left of the grassy photo.  This was the chickens first introduction to their feeding container.  Below are the girls checking out their new roosts, feeder and waterer.  I had the waterer suspended but decided to put in up on cinder blocks still attached to the ceiling to keep them from shaking all the water out or tipping it over.  I still need to work up a process for keeping the water warm in the winter but I have a couple of ideas to try.

 
Here is the storage area loaded up with supplies for the coop.  I still haven't trimmed out this side but might get it done one of these days.

The last two pictures are the 

chicken yard.  I have buried the fencing 12" under ground to try to keep the raccoons and coyotes out of the coop.  I still have a little more painting to do on the chicken yard but it's getting there.  Need a little warm dry weekend and we may be out of those for the season.  The yard has a bunch of roosts for them to check out and a dirt floor for digging.


I also installed a floor mat split in half over the coop door so they can get in and out to cut down the wind from blowing in.  I'd like to eventually get a solar door opener and closer to shut the hatch instead but this will have to work for now.  

Now if I can only get the darn tiny brained birds to push through the flap to get in and out.  Well still a work in progress.  The tire on the ground will soon be a chicken bath with sand and dirt mixed together in their yard.  Always more to be done but never enough time or help to get it finished.  In the meantime we are enjoying the eggs and often have some extra so just let me know if you are in need of any.  Thanks for reading our adventures.

Building the Chicken Coop - Part one

The story of our coop creation in photos.  Abby was my build sidekick for the first week so she did several of the Lowe's runs with me to procure materials for what ended up being quite a process of getting an idea out of my head, onto paper, and built into a solid 3D structure.

Below is the base the coop lives on.  It is 5 feet by 8 feet and trenched into the ground and set on concrete blocks.  The pad is insulated between the top and bottom panels to help keep the chickens warm in the colder months.

Below are the walls for the coop all framed up and ready for someone to help me get them set on the base.  Abby is shown below just after three of us set and screwed together the walls.

The next photo below is of the roof joists
set on the walls and the plywood roof 
sheeting in place.  The end closet to the camera is a built in storage space for feed and bedding.  The bump out with the plywood to the left was our attempt at nesting boxes.

The photo below has the wall plywood installed as well as one of the two windows that open.  It also shows the metal roofing installed.

Below shows the coop from the human and chicken door sides.  There is a full sized old wooden door next to the window, and the coop door for the chickens is to the right of that (this is before it was fully installed).

The photo below shows paint starting to go on before the trim was installed.  The nesting box top is hinged so it can be opened from the outside.  I still need to switch the hinges to the top of the box so it opens better and get some insulation installed in the lid as well.

The storage space also has the doors installed in the photo below.

On the inside, below, this was after several coats of paint were installed to brighten the space as well as to seal it.

Below are the girls and Amelio exploring their yard space for one of the first times.  Getting too big to live in the laundry room by now.

One more post of the mostly finished product and chicken yard coming next.  As always thanks for reading.

Chicken Babies in the Laundry Room - Oh My

So I am a bit behind in my story of the chickens and how they came to be with us.  For several years Abby and I have been talking chickens and while several of our neighbors had them Joe didn't want to be that family so we opted to wait until we found another location to live that was more appropriate for farm animals.

The family of one of Abby's friends are expert chicken people so we went in with them to get some day old chicks and some base knowledge on how to keep them alive and what to look for.  We got a big clear tub, and I built a chicken wire and wood lid for it.  We have a chick warmer and food and water containers and were as ready as we could be for them to arrive.

They were about the size of a tennis ball with legs when we got them.  They are seven different kinds of chickens.  Abby could rattle them all off for us but I don't have all of them filed in my memory bank.  As a result they all look different from one another and that makes it easier to remember all their names (yes they all have names).  They lived in their little chicken bin until May when we had to upgrade them to a dog kennel (see the last photo).  It took a while for me to get the chicken coop built and ready, and we couldn't even let them outside for several weeks because the black flies (little gnats) were killing chickens in Boone and Story county.

We did let them out of the kennel under supervision without the kitties present.  The cats would sit on top of their first chicken house and watch them when we were in doing laundry and they could be in the same space.  Chicken TV really is quite fun to watch even for the humans in the house.  Eventually I finished the coop and got the girls and rooster out to their outdoor living quarters.  Below is a photo of each one with their names.

Bob Mother Clucker

Rainey one of Abby's show chickens

Lacey Abby's other show chicken

Ginger the Americana

Summer

Journey the escape artist

Eley

Amelio formerly known as Amelia

All but one chicken on the roosting bar in the dog kennel shortly
before they were freed to the back yard.

Season End Run Race Reports - Ups and Downs

Run for the roses

In late August I started batting around the idea of doing another half marathon this
year, but I wanted to get a longer timed run in as well.  It’s been a long time since
I’ve done a 10k run (6.2 miles). Run for the roses (in mid Oct.), which is a
fundraising run, was coming up and we decided to do it as a family.

Abby (just finishing cross country season) and Joshua (in the middle of soccer
season) were both in good shape for a 5k.  Joe who had major back issues
earlier this year has been rehabbing and working with a trainer while easing
back into the run. This race runs a 5k and an hour later runs a 10k.  So I
watched the family start and then went inside to get warm as it was a cool wet day.

Then I watched them finish with Joshua coming in first (3rd in his age group),
Abby came in second (6th in her age group just short of her goal) and Joe
came in third (2nd in his age group).  

I gave them my rain gear and we headed out for the 10k start.  I was happy the rain
stopped shortly after our start and we were off.  This course begins on the middle
school track where we do two laps before heading off down the trails behind the
middle school, up state street hill and around to the front of the middle school,
then we reversed our trip and went through the hilly neighborhoods and back up
state street to the trails to finish.  The 10k race was mostly dry but threw plenty of
hills at us. I felt strong the first four miles or so but then the little hills started to get
to me. I managed to push through and finished in good spirits with a solid time
and 2nd place age group finish. The family had finished their omelettes by the
time I got in and were at the finish to cheer me in.  All in all it was a solid race
for me and I’ll have to do it again next year. Hopefully with less soggy weather.

Before the 5k start

Race stats 2/6 W40 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson, 44*, Kelley, IA 57:29

Hillbilly Hike Half Marathon

As I noted above this was a bit of a last minute decision.  In mid-September I was
trying to decide if I had enough time to train for the Des Moines half, which I have
done several times, or Hillbilly Hike half which was purported to be flat and a
fundraiser.  I opted for Hillbilly which gave me a couple more weeks to train.
About the same time I signed up I rolled my bad ankle on a training run and
am still nursing that back to a point where it doesn’t ache.

I spent the weeks leading up to this race training with a group of experienced
runners several of whom were also doing this race.  I felt like I put in the miles
I needed although I had no expectations of having a PR as I hadn’t been real
consistent with my training.  

Leading up to race day, my body had other ideas so while my MS is pretty much
in check although not without limitations, I started having some other issues.  
Starting a couple months ago I’d take my evening meds and feel like they would
get hung up in my esophagus and make me uncomfortable.
Then I had several nights where I’d wake from sleep with shooting pain in my
chest and back.  After the second time in a week I went to see my Dr who put me
on a reflux med and five days later another attack. I finally got a scope done but to
no avail. Either stress or med induced acid reflux I guess. Anyway, I’ve generally felt rather crummy the last three weeks so wasn’t sure how things
were going to shake out for the race.

So race day.  This is a point to point race so we had to be down to Carlisle early to
catch a bus to our run starts.  Joe decided to do the 10k so was on a different bus.
It was chilly and I had batted attire ideas around the night before with my coach
John Mongar and opted for more layers rather than less.  We stayed on the bus
until 15 minutes before the race started in Indianola, and then with my training
buddies we started the race. The pace was pretty assertive and on a normal day
for me it wouldn't have been a problem, but by the first water stop at about 2.2 miles
I started to get a stitch in my side.  I never get stitches and it started to work itself
around into my mid back like the attacks I’d been having only milder.

I just kept running and my teammates started to pull away by mile five.  Fortunately
it seemed when I’d start to get in a funk a new temporary running buddy would
appear, chat with me and keep me going.  This went on over and over throughout
the race and for that I was grateful. I still had stretches alone where I had to dig
deep on this cold and eventually drizzly race day but just kept putting one foot in
front of the other.  By the last four miles I was really struggling and started to walk
longer at each water stop and then shuffle some more. I walked half of the last
mile and finally was walking with another lady and we decided to hustled to the
finish.  By then I kept getting dizzy and was really feeling not well. Thanks
goodness Joe was at the finish line and offered to go get the car as I was shaking
from the cold, dizzy and really uncomfortable.

By some fluke I managed to finish the race in the range I gave my coach (2:10 - 2:20)
but without my body failing on me it probably could have been a PR day.  Either way
I was grateful to be able to run even if it didn’t turn out the way I expected.
Here is to improving health. I have big plans for 2019 so will post more about that
later.  For now, thank you for reading.

AG finish 13/21 Shawn Blaesing-Thompson - Final official time 2:19:28

Race Reports 2018 Cyman Triathlon and a Mud Run

Girl Scout Mud Run

celebrating the finish

Still clean at the start

In september the kids and I did our annual Girl Scout mud run adventure up at Camp Sacajawea outside of Boone.

I didn't think we would be able to do it as we were having issues with the online signup and we got a call from council the Friday before hand and were able to get in the first heat so we could get the boy to his soccer game on time.  

We ended up in the second heat because it took us a few minutes longer than expected to get through registration and check our clean clothes for after the race.  So at 9:10 we were off through the 3 mile course of mud pits and obstacles.

Quite muddy

This was the third time Abby and I have run it and the second time for Joshua.  The last two years with Abby running cross country (and me having a race the next day) she left us in the dust for the section with the steep downhill and up hill.  Joshua and I still had a lot of fun working our way through the course and managed to hang on to our shoes.  As you can see we were quite filthy at the end, the weather was beautiful, and we were first in line at the showers to get clean.


CyMan Triathlon (last tri of the season)

my race sherpa and I

This is a race I really enjoy not just because it usually marks the end of my season, but because it historically has great fall weather and is a fundraiser for the ISU triathlon club.

This year was no different with great weather, a lite wind, sunny sky and lots of great tri friends.  The lake in Bondurant is pretty small and sighting on the way out is always a bit of a challenge so followed the waves in front of me and aimed for some trees on the shore.

It was a wetsuit legal race but a bit warmer than in prior years so got in and got to it.  Unfortunately being the next to last wave I swam through most of the waves in front of me so navigation was occasionally an issue.

coming out of the lake

The bike is a really beautiful course through rolling country side and I always get a bit distracted by the flora and fauna.  I hadn't been on my bike much since July outside of a random spin class here and there (I'll have to work on that next year) so was just going to push it as best I could and try to have a solid ride.

The run was pretty comfortable with temps in the high sixties and sunny skies.  It is an out and back course with a loop around the lake at the end so I had a lot of fun cheering on teammates ahead of me and those behind me as I ran the course.  It was a pretty good 5k run for me.

Almost done

Triracers in mass enjoying the day

Coming into the shoot I was passed by a woman in my age group and I ended up with a 3rd place age group finish for this race.  A lot of other triracers were on the podium with me in their groups as well.

Final stats 1:33 total time, 3rd place AG finish

As always thanks for reading.

Chicken Palace Adventure - Round One

Blue is chicken door

Human door side

So when we still lived in Ames we talked about getting chickens and could probably have easily raised a small group of birds on our lot after Neah our husky (who chased anything that ran) passed over the rainbow, however Joe didn't want to be that family that had chickens.  So we waited until we moved out to the homestead.  

The nesting boxes in theory

Our first summer was making gardens and getting the goats setup. But this summer my plan was to build a chicken structure and get some baby birds so the kids could show chickens for 4H.  All the photos in this blog are the culmination of six weekends (not necessarily consecutive) of mostly me building this lovely structure.  These don't show the final product but you get the idea.  I'll post a couple more blogs from the building adventure and of the girls when they were just little hatchlings over the next couple of weeks.

Storage for feed and bedding in back

This design was pulled together good features from other chicken blogs, Pinterest, and with function in mind.

It needed a human sized door (I had a couple spare lying around), a chicken sized door, nesting boxes, storage, insulation, water and feeders.

Water and food

Testing out the new roosting bars

I did a bunch of sketches which I will include in a future post and then off Lowe's with Abby and our first truck load of lumber.  
The first weekend Abby and I framed out the walls including the nesting box,  built out the platform and got that set into the ground.  Then over the following weekends I had help setting the walls on the platform, and then started working through the rest on my own as everyone else lost interest in the project.  

More details in the build photo diary coming soon.  Eventually I got the windows installed (after two tries), the roof installed, the walls insulated and closed in, and the girls roosting and nesting spaces wrapped up.  Last was loading in the food and water (we now have the water on concrete blocks and sealed all the floor seams after the chickens spun the water out the first week).  I learned the nesting boxes aren't really the right size and they keep kicking the bedding out of them so I have Brady Bunch grass and a lip to install soon to see if we can get them using the nesting box which we can access from the outside.  It also needs a good cleaning before winter hits.

Bob, Lacey and Amelio the rooster

Bob the friendly girl

For now they are all just laying in a convenient pile by the human door and we are getting 3-5 colorful eggs a day.  There are light brown, dark brown with speckles, blue and white eggs.  Just as diverse as our seven breeds of chickens.  There seems to be more than enough space for all eight of them in there and they all hustle in at night.  we getting them trained to come when we bring people food treats for them.  Instead of putting everything in the compost bin we are putting some things in the chicken yard and they love rotten tomatoes and watermelon the most.

First egg

My next job is building a proper chicken yard because the girls can escape from the one they have now and come winter the coyotes will be a problem.  I have to bury the fencing and come up with an automated way to open and close the chicken hatch although that will be easier once we have a door for the chicken yard.

So far we are having fun, except for when the little buggers escape as it's usually a two person job to corner them and get them back inside.  Although after Journey and Ginger got loose this weekend, one found their way back in and the other was more than ready to go back to the flock the next morning.  Stay tuned for more chicken adventures and chicken living upgrades.  As always thanks for reading.