chateau le chookie: part une

Since our little chookies have come back to live with us they have been residing in *ahem* somewhat confined and substandard conditions. A simple stock crate construction with random tin sheeting sides to keep the weather out and an old rabbit hutch as their nesting box. Please don't report me to the RSPCA - I promise they have clean water, fresh food, warm nesting boxes, a roof and walls to keep the rain off and I let them free range around my garden destroying everything in their paths because I feel bad enough about their temporary housing. Bad chookie mama. Like we said, it was only a temporary solution, a chook pen was coming, we promised. Well this weekend seemed as good a time as any to get started.

With visions like this beauty in my mind I was quickly brought back to earth by my friendly farmer who basically snorted loudly at any notions of gables or archways or white painted eaves and pretty grey shingles on a mere chook pen. No, we would use only materials we had already or could scavenge from around the farm. Fair enough. But only the best for my chookies, so this little chook pen would be known as 'Chateau le Chookie'. Why yes I have been watching too much Tour de France and yes I seem to have developed a French accent whilst passing screws and tape measures to Mr M as he builds Chateau le Chookie.

First things first, we marked out where we wanted to put Chateau le Chookie - in the general area next to the shed on the eastern side of the backyard. The area next to the shed used to have a gate into the yard, but with the construction of the new fence we decided this is actually where we would like to put the dog pens (which we had at Ythanbrae but are yet to construct here at Brindabella, yes we have lived here for nine months and our dogs are still homeless!) So dog pens at the back against the fence, right next to the shed and chook pen in front of that with a little walkway up to the dog pen. We knocked together some rough old plans (yes the measurements are in feet, pine posts are measured this way so we worked this way) and got a few trusty friends on the case: can of pink spray paint and the fence post rammer on the tractor. Thankfully we are old friends after the great new fence construction earlier this year.

The pen will have a yard area for them to run about in as well as a raised nesting box house and an egg collection flap. We rammed in ten ex-vineyard posts we actually brought with us all the way from Ythanbrae (the other farm in Yea had a vineyard). Lots of me jumping about again telling Mr M the post was 'as crooked as an Indian spin bowler!' Eventually we got them in though. Lily and Pippa were site managers today as Tessa was off exploring in the paddock making friends with the lambs. Too busy and important for mundane Chateau building.

Next came the strainers along the top. The front section of Chateau le Chookie will just have wire on the roof (i.e. no need to be sloped). The rear section however will have a tin roof so we needed to put a slight angle on that to allow rain to run off. Pine posts acted as the top stays on the front section, with wooden boards on the rear section. String lines helped.

I will admit a bit of cursing and head scratching with a few crooked angles and bent posts. Then to top it all off Mr M went and put a strainer wire on his assembly too tight and threw the whole project a kilter. Let's just say trying to fix the issues with a hand winch for a good few hours was a waste of time and we should've just cut the wire and started again. Sigh.

What I think is most exciting me about Chateau le Chookie is the door. Yup, the door. This door used to be the doorway through to the new western wing of the garden we made (it used to be paddock), we were going to remove it anyway to open up to the new part of the garden and I suggested using it as the chook pen's door. 'You can't buy a door like that!' I believe was my plea. Here it is in its former home, and ready to be installed in Chateau le Chookie.

At this point Mr M's Dad arrived as reinforcements and I was stood down as right hand man woman. The rest of the afternoon they managed to get the tin roof on the rear section as well as dig a trench for the wire to go into (to keep those pesky digging foxes away from my chookies!) Most of this however was done in the half light then absolute pitch black, no time for great photography, so I will have more photos of the Chateau le Chookie soon. Promise.

Have you got chooks? Where do they live? Please don't tell me they live in a Taj Mahal of the poultry world, I just might cry.

Images by Emma Durkin for Cinderella at Brindabella

Pssst....check in over at Lou's to see some other lovely people's weekends