Lots of Eggs

This blog seems to have turned into a chicken blog but maybe that's what happens when you have something new and interesting. Some day this will turn into the baby blog, but not soon enough for my mother. Speaking of babies...well, actually, the chicken equivalent: eggs. First the update: Shortly after the last post Richard came up to help me build a fence for the chickens to give them another layer of protection and keep them from destroying the rest of the yard. While we were doing that, Vero searched for chickens on Craigslist and found plenty. You can find anything on Craigslist...really, anything. The first people to get back to her had a couple laying hens in Petaluma only ten months old, so she and my cousin, Gennie, went to get them while Rich and I finished the fence.

A couple hours later we had skipped the whole chick raising process and went straight to egg producing hens. Buyer beware, though...the other people were getting rid of theirs because they were too noisy. Okay, I mean how noisy could they be? Well let me tell you,  some days they make me want to go back to the rooster. At least he crowed and then waited ten minutes before doing it again. These ladies just cry and cry; I can't even describe the noise they make but it's enough to drive me crazy some mornings. But hey, we were getting eggs on a regular basis.

And then a few weeks ago Shakira, the remaining Arucauna, started laying. Check out the tiny blue egg:

Now we're up to three laying hens producing at last count over a dozen eggs in one week. Our remaining chicken, Clementina, looked like she might never lay but today she laid her first so we're about to have more eggs than two people can handle.

And Then There Were Two

If you've been keeping up with our adventures in raising chickens, I have some bad news. Starting out with five chicks, we're now down to two. Of the five, one turned out to be a rooster. Vero had predicted Pasty's gender very early on and on Memorial Day he confirmed it with a prepubescent crow, which then got louder and more frequent as he gained confidence. The neighbors we spoke with directly didn't mind it but we had heard that some others were a bit unhappy about him. So executing the plan we had in case of a rooster, I killed him and we ate him. The killing went okay but the butchering was the hard part. We had to make various cuts and pull out innards and be careful of the bile, all from a basic description in a book. In the middle I decided to look up a video on YouTube, which of course should have been the plan from the start. Just like that, a guy in the woods was on the iPhone screen showing us the whole process. The most important lesson: make sure you have a very sharp knife.

So that makes four. The remaining hens were all expected to start laying soon but Vero and I had a vacation planned. We had a friend look in on them and let them out occasionally but this past Friday we got a call from him. There had been an attack. At first it seemed that it had been raccoons because he had accidentally left the run open overnight. But as it turned out it was the neighbor's dog, which means it happened the day before during the day. Only one chicken appeared unscathed; another was missing tail feathers and had blood in the tail area but seemed okay; another was found in the carriage house with wounds and a possible broken leg; and the last was found deep in the far corner of the carriage house, dead from a head wound.

All of this was relayed to us by our friends. We had them lock up the first two and then put the third in a separate cage with food and water in case the wounds were recoverable. We arrived yesterday morning and I inspected the one in the cage. It wasn't good; she couldn't walk and the wound on her back was deep and there were worms in it. She had to be put down. While Vero went to another room, I apologized to the chicken and dislocated her neck. She was the most beautiful of the four and I think the first layer. Our friend found three blue eggs in the nesting boxes and those only come from the Araucanas. The other Araucana survived and we haven't seen any more eggs.

So goes life on the urban farm. The chicken experience seems to be a strange dichotomy; they're not quite pets but close enough that their death is a little harder to take. For now we'll let the two survivors be but will probably start the process again with new chicks soon.

Protecting the Farm

I had to share this because it was a proud moment for a father...of a cat. My cat, Ash, a Siamese, turns fifteen this year and has become very chill in his old age. He's enjoying his life as the only cat in the household and although he used to be a lot more territorial he just hasn't really cared much lately about other cats coming around the yard. Lately a white cat has been hanging around and pestering the chickens, but fortunately the rooster has stepped up and is playing his protective role.

Friday  morning as I was about to go to work I heard a little ruckus in the backyard. I assumed that the chickens were bothering Ash, which they have been doing occasionally now that they're as big as he is. But what I saw was the white cat being chased by Ash and then the most amazing thing happened: Ash full on tackled the other cat with both of them tumbling for a moment before the white cat escaped and took off across the yard. And then it got even better as not only Ash took off after it but so did Tasty, the rooster. The image of both Ash and Tasty running across the yard after that white cat is one to be remembered. I only wish I had gotten it all on tape.

I did start filming as soon as I could in hopes that something just as exciting would happen but Ash just ended up cornering the other cat, who was desperately afraid by this time. It was trying to jump straight up the fence but to no avail. I eventually grabbed Ash to get him out of the way so that I could rescue the other. It took off towards the other side of the yard, though, still trying to scale the fence but I eventually was able to grab it and toss him out through gate. I'll be surprised if it ever comes back after that experience.

It turned out that the video was a fairly entertaining glimpse into our urban farm with the cats, the rooster, BART passing by, and dogs barking. Just another morning in North Oakland.

Water, Part 1 Revisited

A few months ago I posted about having the plumbing replaced in the entire house in Water, Part 1. What they didn't replace was the section of pipe from the water meter to the house. I think they asked if I wanted that replaced and I said no to save some money. Well, last weekend it came back to haunt me. I was breaking up some concrete in the front yard and one piece wasn't coming up very easily so I yanked harder and up it came along with a copper pipe, which turned out to be the incoming line to the house.

My first inclination was to bend it back straight but I stopped myself in case it broke and I had a gusher on my hands that would have been an even worse problem. So I let it be and spent the next couple hours digging a trench from the house to the sidewalk since I figured the whole thing would need to be replaced.

I couldn't believe how close the original pipe was to the surface. I had even seen a section sticking out of the ground before but I never thought it was actually part of a pipe being used. That was a Sunday afternoon and I wasn't about to start a project that I might not finish and then be stuck without water for who knows how long. So I left the trench for a week and was able to return to it on Saturday. In the morning I got the parts at Home Depot, shut off the water, and jumped right in by cutting out the old pipe. At that point I realized I was committed and could only hope things went smoothly. But of course they didn't. The old pipe was a little soft and it was difficult to get a clean cut that I could couple to . Then when I did get a decent cut, the water was still coming out slowly and I wasn't able to heat the pipe enough to get the solder to melt. I thought I was stuck and was sure I wouldn't be able to solve it so started to track down a plumber. I called one I know to see if one of his guys could come out but nobody was available and it being a holiday weekend I had visions of being waterless until Tuesday. I thought about it for awhile and then called the same plumber back and asked if he knew what to do. He said to disconnect the pipe at the meter and the water would stop flowing. Sure enough, as soon as I disconnected it the water stopped coming out from where I was trying to attach the coupling and I was able to solder the coupling. All the other connections went smoothly and soon I had it all connected. Next came the moment of truth and I turned the water back on. No leaks! I was a little surprised and very relieved that it worked.

I filled in the trench with drain rock and then soil and now it's back to normal. I'm a little glad that nobody was available and I had to work it out on my own. It gave a nice sense of satisfaction to have a project like that turn out well.

Chile Update

I should have written this update right after the last post because it was only a few days later that I got a call informing me that MKA wasn't finding the interest they had expected in Chile. So it seemed the whole thing was being called off. But then I heard from a friend, who would also be going, that it could still happen but maybe not until June or July. So we'll see what happens.

While I was preparing for this trip, I started interviewing engineers to help keep my business here going. I didn't end up needing to find someone to fill my role but I did hire an engineer to help me with my workload. It's a big step for me and one I had been semi-resisting but now that I've made the plunge, it's a big help to have someone that can be in the office working while I'm scoping new projects or dealing with various questions and crises or just generally trying to run the business.

Coop Progress 4

I finished the chicken coop this weekend with some help from Richard. There are still a few things to be done but the girls are moved in and protected from predators. I think once it's fully complete I'll put together a little video tour.

In Other News

...that's not chicken related. It looks like I'm going to Chile. I don't think I ever wrote a blog post about it last year, but I went to Honduras for four days after an earthquake to assist with damage assessment of the levees surrounding some Chiquita banana plantations. They needed a Spanish-speaking engineer to help with interpreting but in the end I didn't do that much translating. They liked me, though, so after the earthquake in Chile the same guy called me to see if I was interested in going. It's a unique opportunity that I don't want to miss but it's a significant commitment. They don't have a good idea of how long it would last but I'm anticipating at least six months. At first I'll be going down for two weeks and then returning here for two weeks followed by possible longer stints.

At first I was thinking that I would slow my business down and maybe hire one engineer to look after things while I wasn't around. But after some good advice from an architect I work with, I decided to go in the opposite direction and hire two engineers to keep my office running at full capacity. That means that I need someone who can fill my shoes, so to speak, plus at least one more engineer. Things were slow for me for a few weeks not too long ago but now things are picking back up and there is a lot coming in. I already have the junior engineer, which is someone who was doing some work for me last year. And now I'm interviewing some more senior engineers. Fortunately my old boss at Double-D just did a round of interviews looking for an engineer and was able to send a couple qualified resumes my way.

It's a big step for me and I'm a bit nervous but I'm going to run with it and see what happens. I'll write more as it progresses.

Coop Progress 3

The coop is starting to look like a coop. I framed the walls during the week, put siding on the walls on Saturday, and framed the roof on Sunday. I also started digging the trenches for the run walls. I went to Urban Ore to get the reclaimed lumber for the siding. It looked like they were previously used as concrete forms. I picked up some 2x4s too, which I wish I had done from the beginning instead of the Home Depot ones. Now I just need to finish the other two sides, one as a big door and the other with the nesting boxes, plus the run.

The chicks are no longer chicks, rather they look like actual chickens. They were in a teenage stage for a while but now they're almost completely feathered out and growing fast.It'll still be a few months before they start laying but we're ready to move them out of the house as soon as possible.

Coop Progress 2

I made it a little farther on the coop today: Hardware cloth on two sides and below ground on the third. Leveled the base and filled in the trenches with dirt. Put welded wire for the floor and attached the wall bottom plates.

Starting the Coop

I started the chicken coop on Sunday but only got as far as framing
the base. It took much more time to dig the trench for extending the
wire mesh down.

Hot Chicks!

Vero, Sarah, and I took a chicken and duck class at BioFuel Oasis a couple weeks ago so as soon as the store's order of chicks arrived, Vero and I went down and picked out five. We ultimately want three chickens but because not all of them are guaranteed females, we chose five with the expectation that at least one will turn out to be a rooster. If that happens, he'll be the first on our table. The rest are for eggs.

We chose two Araucanas, one Rhode Island Red, one Black Australorp, and one Black Sex Link (the only guaranteed female). They're pretty cute and fun to watch. We took them outside the other day and let them run around. I found worms for them under rocks and they chased each other around fighting over them. They're growing pretty fast; you can see in the photo that some of the fur is already turning to feathers at the ends of the wings.

Apricot Blossoms

We had ordered four fruit trees back in September and they arrived
about a month ago. I planted them along our fence in the back yard and the first flowers just bloomed this week.

Water, Part 1: This Old Plumbing

Since we bought our house last year, water has seemed to be a recurring theme . Water coming in; water going out; water from the sky; and water from the earth. First we'll start with water coming in, i.e. supply. Our house, like many old houses, had galvanized steel pipes for the water coming in and going to sinks, tubs, toilets, etc. It probably sounded like a good idea at the time and it sure beats lead piping, but the life span of galvanized steel pipes is about forty or fifty years. The problem is that minerals and rust start to build up and near the end you'll have a 3/4" pipe with a 1/4" hole. This really affects water pressure and while our shower was tolerable, we barely got any hot water pressure in our kitchen sink. Which brings me to Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 1. This is not good. This was the pipe that went from our water heater, across the house to the chimney shaft, up to the floor framing, back to the exterior wall, and then back down to the kitchen sink on the same side as the water heater. A fifteen foot straight distance made with probably 100 feet of pipe. This piece was in the crawl space and as you can see was completely rusted through...and wet. This might have lasted another ten years or it could have burst at any moment, which could be quite inconvenient if we were out of town and the water ran for a few days at full pressure flooding our crawl space and running up an exorbitant water bill. So I replaced this section of pipe, which brings me to Exhibit 2:

Once we removed that section of pipe, I was able to break it in two just with my hands. We replaced it with a section of copper pipe and I thought that would fix the pressure problem but no. It was just the same, which meant there was another spot with a lot of corrosion or maybe it was all blocked. So we decided to have the house re-piped, and quite a difference that made. A team of guys arrive and in one day they replace all that old pipe with brand new copper pipes, which should last as long as the house does.

The finished product. You can see the old galvanized pipes (the smaller diameter ones) that were left in place.

Back in the Saddle

I replaced my stolen mountain bike a few weeks ago but didn't have a chance to really ride it until yesterday. There was a particular bike that I was interested in and a local shop just happened to have one in my size that another customer had cancelled. It was a little more than I was planning to spend so it took me almost a week to get used to the idea of buying it. Mountain bikes these days are expensive pieces of machinery and it hurts a bit to get one, especially when I have to replace one that was working fine.

Yesterday Jesse and I went up to Annadel State Park and did a very fun muddy ride. I didn't realize how much I missed riding until I was out there having a blast. The new bike is quite a bit lighter than my other one, which I didn't think would make that much difference but I felt so fast on it that I might name it Bette because when I'm on it I feel like I've got the wind beneath my wings. Haha!

Kitchen Makeover

We have a pretty good-sized kitchen in our house, but it wasn't that attractive and it felt a little dark. It was mostly the fault of the cabinets, which were a dark wood color and without hardware. The white tile floors and counters aren't ideal either but a kitchen remodel is far down the list of things to do.

We decided to at least paint the kitchen to see if that made a difference and what a difference it made. We painted the walls and all the cabinets and now it feels so much brighter. We even removed one of the upper cabinets in front of the sink, which was also a big improvement; it made being at the sink feel a lot less enclosed. Finally, we added hardware to all the cabinet doors and drawers and I even spray painted all the existing hinges to match.

It took us about three weeks but it was worth it. It's so much more enjoyable to be in the kitchen now and we had it ready just in time for Thanksgiving.


Before


After


Before


After

To see a few more photos, take a look at the Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62052031@N00/sets/72157622915434014/.