Blizzard '10

The chickens are doing well despite all of the snow. We got well over a foot in midtown. They are taking refuge by sitting on the side of a wine barrel.

Now Important Things

The Keg-O-Rator is flowing! We converted a GE 7.0 cf Freezer into a keg-o-rator by adding a 6" red oak collar to the base of the freezer with liquid nails and re-locating the lid hinges up onto the collar. Temperature is controlled via a Johnson Controls analog controller - there is a temp probe inside of the freezer and the freezer plugs into an outlet attached to the controller which cycles the freezer on and off as needed. Right now it is set at 34 degrees but i might drop it down a bit colder. It can hold 3 - 5 gallon Cornelius (soda) kegs, we will be adding extra taps very soon. First beer on tap is a Dry Irish Stout that we made. Very delicious and roasty, lots of coffee/chocolate flavors with this one. I plugged it into the C02 at 12psi, shook it around a bit, and let it sit for two nights and the beer is already carbonated nicely.

Chickens in the snow

The chickens don't mind the snow at all. Even at 20 degrees they are out playing in the snow and still producing lots of eggs.

I know its been a while

Ok, I promise I will post more often. Heres some shots of our chicks. All grown up. Each laying about an egg a day. They're handling the winter in the city pretty well. They have a red light and heated waterer to get by. Oh and thats their amazing coop built by Mike. Theres also a shot of their run. They roam freely during the day, under an apple tree, fig trees and grape vines, and at around sunset they all head back into their coop.