More on the Grow-out Pen

We are in the middle of an extreme heat wave that started early in the week.  Every day for the last seven days has given us temperatures in excess of 95F degrees.  The meteorologists tell us that the heat index has been hovering between 105 and 110F each day.  It feels a lot hotter.

I was scratching my head yesterday trying to figure out why on earth one of my hens had a big patch of rust on her wing feathers. Apparently it was from hanging out under the office a/c unit to take advantage of the condensation.

It isn't like the heatwave took us by surprise, so we all voted last night to wake up early this morning and get as much done as possible on the grow-out pen before it got too hot.  I had realized earlier in the week during solo attempts at putting this thing together that every step of the process - excluding pre-cutting lumber - requires at least four hands (ideally six or so) and we only have so many chances for all of us to work together.  Despite our early start, it was really hot.  My phone camera had overheated by 8:30 am so the pictures from the day are not the best.  Apologies both to you and to my camera.

Assembly is a bit like trying to keep a house of cards standing while you tape it together... But if we had it to do again (and we still may) then we would change the order of assembly to make things less at the mercy of things like gravity.

Because it is just how we roll, we were sure from the start to make the entire project more challenging by assembling the frame on un-level rocky ground.  Actually, I'm just kidding.  It isn't how we roll.  We would much prefer to forego a challenge or two every now and then.  However, all of our ground is un-level and rocky.  We could, I concede, go through the time, expense, and trouble of laying a level concrete pad every time we build something.  But... nah...  

There's also the fact that the cheap pine firring that is recommended for use with the bracket kit is not exactly the most uniform or straight wood on earth even right off the pallet.  Add to that the heat and humidity of our last week and we have quite a bit of warping to deal with.

There is not anything to do but wait when someone else is using the only cordless drill available.

Even with those difficulties and a few setbacks involving the order in which the stud wall and truss brackets were fastened ("Assemble the trusses" doesn't give a lot of detail, you know), we managed to get a lot done.

It really is not bad for about two hours worth of work - especially since that two hours included a lot of screws and only one power drill.

With Emily, Yvonne, Peter, and even William helping Dave and I this morning - we assembled both the roof and side wall frames.  With this much done, I will be able to work away at the rest of the frame during the week on my own - and should be ready for siding and wire at least by next weekend.

So far we still do not completely regret buying the bracket kit for this project.  We do regret not having planned the project for fall or dead of winter... But I look forward to getting some cladding on and shoring it up a bit - as well as hauling in some (crushed rock) to level it out from the inside.

In the meantime, the chicks in the brooder continue to grow.. and we are headed inside ​to get some work done on the floor.

I was mobbed by young geese asking for cold water when I was out taking pictures earlier.

Posted by Anita

Loves relaxing on the weekend, but then decided to build a farm.