Chicken Coop... the Beginning

It's been my wife's ambition over the last few years to have a chicken coop installed in our back yard.  After the birth of our son, the idea had started to percolate.  When she was diagnosed with Lupus, our priorities changed drastically.  After her health stabilized, our second child was born.  Things have been rolling along smoothly (well, as smoothly as possible with a 3 year old and baby), when one of my wife's co-workers brought in a carton of fertilized chicken eggs from their home.  She called me VERY excited and asked, no, correction, she stated that we are getting chickens.  There wasn't any point in arguing, her voice was unapologetically happy.

So the research was restarted.  Chicken habitats, housing, feed, water, predators and winter protection were revisited.  I contacted our Town Hall's Building and Engineering Department to inquire about any issues.  I'm glad I did.  There is a permit required for having an accessory building, which a chicken coop classifies as (I suppose it's the same as a garden shed).  Regarding a location for the coop, there are no regulations limiting owning chickens in our town, so long as the accessory structure is located behind the back plane of the house, at least 10 feet away from the property line and is less than 200 square feet in size; a permit consists of $50 with a one page application (name, address, description = Chicken Coop) and a plot plan was all that was required.  

The Town Planner was excited about the prospect of chickens, yet realizing that people like to complain; the following advice was given from her experience, not due to any current regulation requirements, but just as a courtesy.

1.  Avoid getting roosters as they tended to be the main complaint that the inspectors get.

We don't want a wild cock chasing us around our own property and didn't see the need to have fertilized eggs on a regular basis, so that aspect wasn't an issue.

2.  Place the coop in the center of the property, as far from neighbors as possible.

The location, however, is an issue.  From our research, chickens need a certain amount of sun light for egg production.  There's no sense in having chickens that don't produce eggs, so consideration for sunlight overshadows (haha) the neighbors' needs/wants.

3.  Hide the coop using landscaping (bushes, trees, etc).

If there are funds left over, I don't mind beautifying our property.

We sat down and considered the sunny and shaded areas around our property as well as distance from our neighbors.  We took to forums and have found that the three main concerns with the location (after installing the coop) were long walks during the winter, flooding and utilities (water and power).  It would seem that most owners placed the coop as far as possible from the home and did not consider the need to maintain the flock year round.  Access to the coop during the winter and heavy rain is important for feeding and collecting eggs.  Also, an area in the property with a high water table can lead to flooding of the run and potentially health problems for the chickens.  Power is highly recommended for providing minimal heat to keep water liquid for the chickens during the winter and running water would be for cleaning out the coop on a regular basis.  Which, by the way, seems to be the cause for any smells from the coop.  A periodic cleaning should keep the coop comparatively smell free, thus negating the need for the coop being as far as possible from the home.  So, we chose a location that was in partial sunlight, near our rear door and has access to a powered receptacle for an extension chord as well as a water spigot for cleaning out the coop.  The location is also not in a watery area and not at a bottom of a hill.



Plot plan somewhat as submitted to Town Hall

The plot plan was approved February 17, 2016, by the Town Planner.

With the location settled, we looked into various other coop designs to find the one that best suited our needs.  We do not have a fully fenced in back yard.  As much as we would like the flock to roam freely, for their safety, we would have to keep them secured in the run. 

If you are new to this venture, the coop is where chickens sleep, roost and lay eggs.  The run is a protective enclosure for the chickens to somewhat run around in outside of the coop.  Chickens need to be protected from predators such as hawks, eagles, raccoons, foxes, etc.  There are a number of installations that help in preventing predators from harming the birds.  These range from using concrete blocks around the perimeter of the base, a poured concrete foundation, gravel and hardware cloth.

The size of the run and coop both depend upon the number of chickens that you plan on keeping and the type of chicken species as well.  I've also found that it is recommended to plan a little bigger on the coop/run just in case.  As far as the size goes, the square footage varies from one source to another; where one source will indicate ten square feet per bird and another will say that four is a general rule.  Whether or not the chickens free range is important as they'll need more or less room in the coop/run.

Looking at BackYardChickens.com, we had hoped to find detailed plans indicating "what and how much".  Unfortunately, such plans are nearly impossible to find unless you're willing to settle for a lousy shack or pay for the several advertisements available.  If we were so inclined, we could also purchase a kit and assemble it.  As easy as that would be, I'm not too keen on paying $500+ for a kit with lower quality wood.

Continuing our search for samples, we came across a couple that built an impressive coop/run combo.  The couple manage a website called steamykitchen.com.  They called their coop design the Palace Chicken Coop and they detailed the construction of it here:  The Palace Chicken Coop.  They have a link for a Google Sketchup plan (very useful) and plenty of photos showing how they built it.  My wife and I do like the appearance and the size.  However, the issues that have me somewhat concerned are Scott's justifiable disclaimer (being not an architect nor an engineer) and their location, Florida.  Reading their posting and the numerous comments that followed, I was concerned that living in Florida would have a vastly different weather cycle than living in New England, where we are.  Their foundation was also not very deep, practically at ground level, which would lead to frost heaving issues in the north.  The lack of snow in Florida also has an impact on the structural supports were it to be in our area.  This is not a negative to Jaden and Scott, the post creators, they live in an area that is completely different than our own and likewise, our coop would have to be modified to reflect that.

SteamyKitchen.com - The Palace Coop

So, using the conceptual plan from steamykitchen.com, we know which way we'd like to go for our flock.  Due to our different locales, I've tasked myself with fully designing the coop and run based on my location, taking into account the snow and wind forces that are common in New England.  I also felt sorry for my unused, old and dusty engineering manuals from college and thought, why not?

Future postings will update the design and construction phases of our Chicken Coop.

 

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You Are Never More Than 10 Feet From a Spider.

Ever since I was a child, I've hated spiders.  This angst could have been from my mother's fear that I inherited or perhaps my own experiences over time.  Regardless, the truth still remains that I hate spiders.  They are quite horrific looking and with thousands of species on our planet, there are many different nightmares to go around.  There are big ones, small ones, hairy wolf spiders, jumping spiders, hanging spiders, spiders that have many eyes, some that have only a few and then there are colorful ones, some with patterns that if  anywhere else could be considered beautiful.

During our home inspection, we discovered that the previous home owner had our home sprayed annually for spiders.  This was the reason she cited as why there wouldn't be any bugs (in general) in the home.  Not that it mattered since obviously this home had a bug problem in the past (see here).  It really did not sink in as to why she would've sprayed for spiders only... until our first summer.

After our son was born, we kept seeing a spider here and there.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  It's bound to happen in any home, but we started to notice that we weren't killing spiders on monthly basis, it was daily.  Actually, throughout the day.  Walking down the servant staircase, we would walk though thin cobwebs.  Sometimes an eight legged arachnid would swoon in mid-air in our path.  We would find them on our ceilings constantly, around the windows, throughout the kitchen and even in our cars.  We killed these pests quickly and often.

The culmination of our experience wasn't until a couple short weeks in August.  While my wife was breastfeeding our little one, a spider descended onto her breast.  Imagine her surprise!  This happened a couple of times.  Shortly after, in the middle of the night, I felt a pin prick on my leg, waking to the itch, I rolled over and went back to sleep.  The next morning, my wife freaked out when there was a rather large dead black spider squished on my back.  That's it!  I called an exterminator.

Our baseboards were filled with various mammalian hairs, dead insects and egg sacks.

Spider sack safely secured between fins.

First came the exterminator... then came Dyson.  The exterminator showed up and sprayed a mist on all the baseboards and used an aerosol in the attic and basement.  He made a total of two trips.  Though the exterminator's misting killed many of the adult spiders, the egg sacs are protected by their silky enclosures.  Hence why cleaning out the baseboards was necessary.  For the next couple of weeks, I spent nights and weekends opening up the baseboards and vacuuming out all the dust, cobwebs, pet hair, granny hair, dead insects and their various egg sacs.  We were warned by the exterminator that by October, the sacs would hatch and to remove them as soon as we could.  So I went at the baseboards.  I rotated off the cover panels by pulling the bottom outwards revealing a disgusting tangle of hair and dust.  Our Dyson vacuum was well used.  It's powerful suction pulled out all of the debris with exception to the spider egg sacs.  I used a paper clip that I had un-bent to poke at the silken sac while the vacuum was on.  The babies had no chance.  Just of note, the mother spider is a protective beast.  It's best to ensure you've gotten rid of her prior, that's what the exterminator did.

One last bit regarding spider removal.  We've found out that spiders hate lemon scents.  Apparently, in the movie "Arachnophobia," lemon scented Pledge as well as a heat gun were used to move the spider actors.  This method was used by a "bug wrangler" called Steven Kutcher who was hired for most Hollywood films involving insects until most recently when the digital age took that need away.  I used lemon scented pledge on all the baseboards and their coverings as a deterrent for spiders.

All fins are now clean and shiny!

When questioned as to how we're to cease the large population of spiders living in our home, the exterminator suggested we get rid of all our mature tress surrounding our home.  Spiders live in the trees and vegetation during summer, then descend to the roof and eventually inside the home as the seasons change.  Removing these beautiful trees is not going to happen!  Of all the retarded things to suggest... we joke that this exterminator has been sniffing to many of his chemicals.

Yellow Sac Spider

My wife did photo comparisons and identified the eight legged monster invading our home.  The yellow sac spider is a hunter.  It scurries around the home searching for prey.  It doesn't create a web to catch an insect, instead, it prowls like a lion, except being the size of a dime.  It's bite is said to be poisons yet spider experts claim otherwise.  Its two front legs are longer than the rest, for what I assume enable it to scurry faster than I can jump onto a chair.  Spider lovers (yes, they do exist) claim that a spider will capture more insect pests than birds and bats combined.  That sounds really fascinating, if your an arachnophile, but I'm more of an anti-Christ when it comes to bugs.  So, if you're a virgining arachnophile, then get your kicks out of this:  Wikipedia and Discover Magazine, I'm done.

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Groundhogs Breed Like Rabbits

Baby Groundhog Posing

Have you ever seen the cute furry overgrown hamsters in people's backyard and thought, "Aw, their so cute!"? Sure, a groundhog (also called a woodchuck) can be cute (and funny, as in the GEICO commercial from a couple years ago:  Woodchuck Chucking) until these furry critters begin treating your backyard, garden, deck, and foundation as if they were a wedge of Swiss cheese. And they breed like rabbits too! We saw one in the beginning of Spring, then by June, we had SEVEN cute furry babies and mama eating the grass and various other plantings that my wife and I were caring for.  They managed to dig at least two dens which may possibly be linked together.  The entrances of these dens are huge compared to the size of the fur balls.  One entrance was in a large patch of poison ivy. Good, I thought, though I think these things are immune to the effects of the poison as a scare tactic. The other entrance was under a loose stone retaining wall in the back yard.

Mama groundhog being watchful of the weird human taking photos of her babies

I first tried moth balls. A wives tail surely, but people did swear by it. Our groundhogs did not like them though they did not get rid of our uninvited guests. Instead, our ingenious earth dwellers simply pushed the balls out of their dens or buried them. Now our backyard smells like an older person's closet. Our next option was to get a quote for a "professional" to remove them. Speaking with the pro, it was learned that there are two ways to rid our yard, death or relocation. He described what he did for relocation, setting out 7+ traps for a day and coming back. For a fee that was per a trap set, and per an animal captured. With seven groundhogs, the price would've escalated dramatically.

There had to be a better alternative. We did not want to go around placing poison on our property nor shoot each one. Searching online found that there are "groundhog sanctuaries" in our state. Who would've thought? In fact, one is run by the Audubon Society. We got excited and my wife called up the Audubon Society in the neighboring town who quickly quenched our plans to relocate the hoard. After calling several others, we came to the conclusion that nobody wanted to truly "save" the groundhog, just birds, despite sites advertising it. My wife called Town Hall who suggested a relocation in a local park. Done, we'll take that deal. We really didn't have the heart to kill off the family and getting a quote of around $600 to remove the lot was too excessive for our budget.

For $24.57 (taxes included), we were able to rent a Havaheart trap from Ace Hardware's rental section. At $119 retail ($45 on Amazon.com), it's roughly half the online price for one week rental.  In the first couple of hours we caught THIS MAMMA:

Mama groundhog CAPTURED

A half hour later, this little guy was captured:

First of many baby groundhogs CAPTURED

So what do they like to eat?  Aside from all our plantings, romaine lettuce, sliced apples, old fruit, etc.  We used left over foods from our cooking like the previously mentioned ingredients.  In the first two days, we caught at least two a day, eventually catching six cute furry monsters (with one being the mother).  One last monster was elusive and eventually got the hint when his/her siblings kept disappearing.  The aforementioned sibling woodchucks were released two miles away at the nature preserve/walking trail park WITH permission from the town's park commissioner.

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Surprise in the Insulation

A couple of days ago, I tasked myself to prepare the basement for the arrival of some special guests.  From the negotiations with the seller, we were able to procure funds to make some structural repairs in the basement.  But, before the contractor arrives, I had to take down the insulation in the areas where they'll be working.  With an old home, you never know what you'll find.  My cousin mentioned to me that he still finds little surprises in his older home.  Well, funny ha ha, so did I.  

Taking down the insulation, I discovered mice... not one... or two, or even a few.  There was a mouse graveyard in the basement insulation with their fecal matter being stored in one area, a habitat in another, a food silo in yet another.  The little guys were organized to say the least.  Around the perimeter of the house, I found holes in the landscape... one can only guess where they led.  

After our special guests have completed their work, I plan on taking down all the insulation, cleaning up the mess and installing fresh new batting.  Is it expensive?  I have no idea, but I have to correct this problem.

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What is that smell?

My wife loves to take the hottest showers.  Sometimes, the water is so hot, her skin turns red making her look like a freshly cooked lobster.  Our lovely home did not come with a bathroom vent, aside from the window.  And since the weather in New England is starting to drop, that window "vent" is shut.  So it was likely, I suppose, that I assumed that when a rancid smell in the bathroom became noticeable, that it was due to mold.

The bathroom vanity counter is made out of a particle board laminated with, well, I don't know what it is really, but some sort of decorative laminate.  The sink is not sealed to the counter, in fact, if it weren't for gravity, it would float away.  Likewise, I also thought that with the excessive humidity, combined with water splashed from brushing our teeth and washing our hands, that the lousy particle board counter was beginning to rot.  Looking under the counter, I could see dark areas of prior water staining around the faucet (which does leak).

I started making plans to install a vent, as well as planing to post it's installation in here.  I began talking to the guys at work, getting ideas and taking measurements.  I began to also stress about poking a hole through my 250 year old roof....

Yet, each passing day, the smell grew.  It wasn't so obvious at first, but was growing exponentially.  The bathroom is next to our bedroom and after the second week the smell began to seep into our living quarters.  I began to worry that I had a major problem.

Much to my wife's chagrin, last Saturday evening, while we had guests due to arrive, I decided to source the root cause of the smell, hoping to find a patch of mold that I can easily eradicate with my top secret bleach/water formula.  I went to the bathroom, and became a blood hound.  I followed the smell... not the shower.... not the baseboard... not the toilet.  Vanity.  I opened the doors... a breeze of rancid air filled the bathroom.  This is one hell of a mold spore.  I took everything out of the vanity but couldn't find the mold.  The bottom of the vanity has tongue and groove boards, like they were recycled from an old flooring project.  Took them out.  Whoa... now it's stronger. 

In the back of the vanity, where the drain pipe leads into the false floor was a paper bag, with red writing on it.  The corner of the bag was torn off and a white powder was around it.  I saw it before, but since it looks like a coco bag, thought, well, the previous owner may of been a bit eccentric... drinking coco in the bathroom... geez.  Anyway, I took out the bag, read the bold red lettering.  POISON!  DO NOT EAT!  Maybe it's not coco.

Just below the entry into the false floor, where the poison pouch was, was a screwed hatch.  Curiosity held me captivated.  I unscrewed it... and... well I found the source of the rancid, putrid smell.  A fuzzy, brown mouse.  Well, to be more precise, a dead mouse.  For the next half hour, I wore a mask, grabbed my needle nose pliers, removed the carcass, vacuumed the mouse's former home, sprayed as much ammonia based cleaner as I could, dumped the carcass and vacuumed derbies as well as the paper towels used to clean the cavity into a doubled plastic bag. 

On my way down the stairs, wearing my mask, carrying my fresh carcass, I ran into our guests, made the very quick greeting and continued on to the trash bin.

Thanks to the former owner for this wonderful surprise.

PS, what cat owner leaves rat poison within their cats reach and also within the same reach as your buyer's cat.  I am quite offended by her carelessness.

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Welcome!

My wife and I just purchased this beautiful center chimney colonial.  Our move-in date was October 1st and I've only now had the chance to start this blog.  My intention is to document our struggles, sweat, tears, blood and joy with this home while not only being a novice in antique homes but also first time home buyers.

We started our search after taking a tour through a local historic museum.  We just fell in love with the amount of character present in the home and the amount of history.  There is something vastly unique about an antique home that you just cannot find in the money making developments of today's homes (aka "cookie cutter").  These antique homes were built to last for the family, not necessarily to make money.  And since they are still around after 200+ years, you know that it was built quite well.

Like most couples, we were glued to HGTV watching shows like Holmes on Homes, House Hunters and First Time Home Buyers.  We learned a bit from these shows, especially from Holmes on Homes.  We kept seeing the horror stories of freezing pipes, leaking windows with numerous water problems, ripped off home owners, etc etc.  And all this from brand new homes with no character.  That's when we started to think, what is the point?  You invest money in a home that should be perfect, only to find that not only is it not perfect, it's going to cost you more to fix.  Sure, you can have the developer fix their mistakes, but hey, they're in it for the money, right?  Besides, why would I trust them to do it right a second or even a third time when it should have been done right the first time.  Unfortunately, cutting corners is the game plan and finding a reliable contractor is hard to do.  If we're going to be spending money eventually, why not spend it on a building that is apart of history?

So our search began.  We looked at several homes throughout the New England area.  Though the market is ripe for buyers, sellers are unwilling to sell or settle due to being "underwater" and the selection of historic homes are few.  We saw immaculate homes, homes needing restoration, and ones that should have been torn down years ago.  One particular was the "Rose Red" of antique homes.  This home was an 18th century colonial with the interior stripped and 60's pine paneling put up with floor boards that were obviously from the same period as the "new" walls.  Room after room after room was added.  It actually sickened me.

We first saw our home online back in February of 2011 and it was listed at $289,000.  We put in an offer in March which was rejected.  Then the home owner took it off the market in June and re-listed it in July with another agent for less than what our offer was.  Go figure?  I saved the real estate listing photos from both realtors, the photos can be seen here.

We later found out that this home was on the market, on and off, going on three years with a starting price in the $360,000 range.  Each re-listing was less than the previous.  The home owner was in her late seventies and wanted to downsize but was unable to find a buyer, until we came along.  After seeing the professional photos taken by her new agent, we jumped on the chance to make an offer again.  Our offer was finally accepted at 5:54 PM on July 8th and here we are!

We knew that an antique home required special eyes and we used a home inspection company with expertise in antique homes.  According to them, our home was in good condition (for its age) with a few issues standing out. 

1)  There is radon in the basement that had a reading of 5.0, 4.0 is the federal EPA limit.

2)  There is evidence of current Powder Post Beetle damage in the basement.

3)  There are several beams that require replacement due to the Powder Post Beetle activity.

We asked the seller to bring in a licensed contractor who specializes in these homes to create an estimate for repair.  We gave her a list of contractors supplied by a state funded historical society, which she ignored.  Three weeks later, an estimate was given in the amount of $2,800 that was made by a contractor that does not have true experience with post and beam construction.  We were quite shocked at the estimate and  requested a contractor of our own choosing to come in (from the same list we sent her).  Our chosen contractor charged a $345 fee to view and estimate the property, which was split with the seller.  This final estimate was $13,320.  Sometimes it pays to spend a little to get the right person.  After much negotiation, the final was:

$275,000 selling price with the seller paying for:

1) Repair of damaged beams in basement.

2) Installation of a radon mitigation system in the basement.

3) The spraying for powder post beetles.

History:

The home was built in circa 1760.  I do not know more than that at this point since the local historical society is lacking in specific documentation for this home.  We plan on making a trip to view the original records in town hall when time presents itself.

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