Project Chicken

Quigley and Jean wanted us to build a chicken coop and run to keep the chooks from roosting in the trees, and laying eggs in bizarre places for them to turn into stinkbombs. We designed a setup that they liked and got building!

Foxes (and dogs) are a problem in the area so the fence needs to be dug in properly. As the total fence length will be 108 metres, we rented a trench digger (called Ground Hog).

Off Zappa went, unaware of the large pipe he was about to hit a couple of metres away...

Uh oh.....

Disasterously high sums of money for the total cost of this chicken home were suddenly invading our brains, remorse was wrapping its tentacles around our heads, and a nasty smell was wafting up from the hole. We didn't know what kind of a pipe it was, it was so big and in a funny direction, so Jean went to fetch the very Australian very handy neighbour. He gave us some wonderful news: the pipe was a run-off pipe from the septic tank! It already HAD holes in it to leak out lovely fertilising liquid into the ground (the solid stuff stays in the septic tank and that's the stuff that gets pumped out), so we didn't have to call out any expensive plumbers and replace it at all!

Zappa didn't think this news was all wonderful: 'So I just put my whole arm in sewage,' he said. 'Great.'

Baxter (above) thought the trench digger was amazing. 'I like wadching Zabba use the trench digger,' he said, 'becod it makes him shake aaalll overr.'

On the second side of the rectangle, Zappa and Ground Hog chomped through the phone line. Zappa then electrocuted himself on it whilst repairing it. No, no, that's not all. He electrocuted his FACE. Don't ask me how. And don't worry, it was only a small shock, like a mild electric fence, but he said he was suddenly standing up and didn't particularly remember getting there. We didn't know phone lines carried a little current, and if you didn't either, some useful trivia for you. Anyway, now the phone line sounds crackly so we're going to have to drive to Coff's Harbour to a proper electrician's shop to get a special underground connector box for it. Ughhh...

Since then, Zappa has been digging the trenches the old-fashioned way, with a spade.

The coop so far, and a mournful Dolphin who is in season and seems to have chosen me as a boyfriend. She just can't understand why her advances haven't paid off.

Stay tuned for project development. I'm dropping Zappa off in Byron for Bluesfest on Wednesday and coming back here for blissful alone time! It will give us a chance to miss each other (hopefully).We will recommence Project Chicken after I go and get him a week later.

A lovely sky at the end of a long day!