When I opened the door to the coop to spread some straw, I found that the roosting bar had shrunk so much in the heat, that it no longer fit in the brackets. Besides, it was a round pole, not a square perch. I learned a few days ago from reading an article on the blog: Let This Mind Be In You, form another chicken owner, that they have a hard time balancing on a round pole while sleeping. That figures. So I had spent time to whittle away some of the 'roundness' with a chisel. Now it was totally useless, since it had shrunk, or more like bowed. Frustrated, I had just enough 1 x 2 and a few pieces of 2 x 2 to construct a new roost, the one I should have installed in the first place, a square one. Whew! After an hour of fussing and a few choice colorful metaphors muttered under my breath, we finally hit the road.
Russel, the owner of Chickens Galore, has around 4 or 5 small barns that house many many different breeds of chickens to choose from. I would have been overwhelmed by the choices if I hadn't done a little research beforehand; on what breeds I would like to raise. I chose to purchase pullets in the age range of 4 to 5 months, so they are not as fragile as chicks, but not quite old enough to be laying eggs yet. Due to the size of the operation, they weren't handled by humans a whole lot, so I had a feeling that they most likely would not be thrilled with being held and petted, yeah, I was right. Oh well, I still have chickens and I'm so happy. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand there will be challenges, but I hope the benefits far out way the liabilities. Soon I will be posting pictures and profiles of the girls, stay tuned!