More lessons learned

Some folks would call my day today mundane. Not so mundane for me, since I haven't been raising chicks and rabbits for long yet. 

Got three more chicks today. One male white, two female reds. All from the same brood as the ones I had, or at least very close. Never knew baby chickens would sing. Though I had some agricultural exposure through my life, all the chicks and chickens I've ever been around have peeped, squawked  and just in general been noisy in a rather unpleasant way. I've been nicely surprised by the gentle cheeping and, today, even singing I've heard from these chicks. One thing is that they only do this when they're warm and well fed. Maybe another thing is the breed? Not sure. I've also learned that they will fall asleep in only a couple of minutes of you hold them and cover them up with the other hand or your shirt. They're really cute, just getting feathers on their wings and some have tried flying, though without much success.

Up to six used pallets now. Got some more from Harbor Freight and from a nearby store which tosses old pallets out in back. Got an email from someone replying to a CL post of mine, saying they sell nearly new used pallets for $0.75 each. If they're nearby, that would be cool. Though it lacks the adventure of seeing what else I find along the way.

Found some old store display racks, metal ones with hooks. Be good for hanging tools and such on. That and more plastic trays. Seem to be from produce deliveries. Good for plants or for organizing storage.

Another lesson learned- You can stucco just about anything! I finished the main exterior of the doghouse this evening and I'm thinking I'll stucco it. Then it dawned on me that you can stucco wood, brick, cement.. It can be used for houses, fences, doghouses and more. I'm also thinking of maybe doing the same with the coop and hutch. I think stucco must have been the predecessor to Bondo! The advantage for the doghouse, chicken coop and rabbit hutch are the same as for a house. Adds strength, makes it more water resistant and insulates. In this case, it would also tie together the appearance of the structures to the appearance of the house, itself while making them all look better than they will otherwise. Not very expensive, with a few dollars worth of felt roofing material, some chicken wire for lath and probably less than $10 of stucco for each. Be good practice so my first attempt at doing stucco work won't be on the house.

Gave the dog a bath. She was filthy. Got the dishes and some laundry done, badly needed. House has been a mess for a few days. Always gets that way when my schedule gets thrown around too much. Now I need to get to bed soon, so I can get some things done before the ex drops daughter off in the afternoon.