gourd birdhouse: a rainy day project

I love to start my day by sitting on the porch enjoying my first cup of coffee.  It's the best time of day to enjoy the sounds of nature before the hustle and bustle of work, getting the kids off to school, or daily chores.  I love watching and listening to the birds, and there's nothing quite like watching baby birds venturing out of the nest for the first time.  I have several different birdhouses all around the property and always wanted to try a gourd birdhouse.  I happened upon a couple gourds at at yard sale and thought I'd share how I made my gourd birdhouse on a rainy day.

 I (or I should say my hubby) used a hole saw drill bit to make the opening for the birds new home.  I used a spoon to clean out the inside.

I used acrylic paint for the base color, then decided to add something a little extra.

Drill several holes for drainage, just in case water happens to get inside.

Drill a hole completely through the top of the gourd.

I made a hanger out of wire, but you could also use twine.

I used 3 coats of spray enamel for protection against the elements.

I saved the seeds to replant and give some to friends and family, there's plenty to share.  

Until next time...

 

Setting up a brooder box

     A few posts ago I shared with you that I hatched my own chicks , today I thought I would take the time to show you a simple way to set up a brooder box.

     You'll need a storage tote, use one you already have or run out to Wal-mart or Dollar General and grab one.  

Fill the bottom of your storage tote with some fine wood flakes, I picked mine up at Rural King.  Use a clamp light with a 60 watt bulb.

You will need a thermostat, I picked mine up at Dollar General in their garden section.  When you first set up your brooder box the temperature needs to be between 95 and 100.  Decrease it 5 degrees per week, do this by adjusting your light up.  I've read that decreasing the temperature helps them feather out faster.

You will need some chick starter to feed your chicks.  Any feed store store should have this but I found this at Rural King.

I picked up my feeder and waterer at Rural King.  I had mason jars at home that fit perfectly, but if you don't have mason jars they also have the plastic tops you can purchase separately. As your chicks grow you'll need to cover the top with something(I used a window screen), so your more daring chicks wont escape.  I went in to feed and water one day and found one perched on the side of the tote!

 

These little ones are from my first hatch.  The one on the waterer is my little escape artist.

Today is day 21 of my second hatch, two hatched so far.  So if you're thinking of hatching your own chicks, good luck and happy hatching.
 Until next time...

just because they're too darn cute!

To the left is when my Tiny was just a baby, and on the right here he is napping with kiki cat.











                                                                      Until next time...

                 

I hatched my own chicks!

  When I was younger my mom used to hatch eggs in one the styrofoam incubators.  I thought it was just the most amazing thing to watch.  The anticipation of waiting the 21 days and finally being able to watch them break out of their shells.  It was something I've always wanted to try but was just so nervous about.  She had to manually turn the eggs daily and I knew that this wasn't the right fit for me.

  I found this little incubator with automatic egg turning on amazon. Its supposed to hold 12 eggs, but I could only fit 9.  So I began by collecting the eggs I wanted to incubate.  When you collect your eggs make sure you use clean eggs as you cannot wash them because it takes the protective layer off and they are susceptible to bacteria.  You'll need to store the eggs pointed side down until you have enough to put  in the incubator ( I used an old egg carton).  From everything I've read you can store your eggs from 4 to 6 days before you need to put them in the incubator.  Make sure you follow the directions for your incubator and do a lot of research.  The directions that came with this one were HORRIBLE!  but with all the information on the internet it was easy enough to figure it out.

   I put 9 eggs in the incubator but throughout the candling process found that only 6 were fertilized.  Out of the 6 fertilized eggs only 5 hatched.  Sadly one (seemed to be really weak) did not make it through the next day.

                                           
                                               Such adorable baby chicks!

                                                         Until next time...

 

Well, at least the flowers are loving the rain!

     Let me tell you we have been getting some serious rain for the last few weeks in Florida,  I feel like I've been mowing the grass every few days.  That being said along with the grass, my precious flowers are also loving all the rain. 

          

I'm not really sure of the name of this lily (there are so many!), a family member from Georgia gave us this one.

I believe this is a type of miniature rose.  I rescued three of these from a landscaping company, they were headed for the burn pit.

A type of sage, I rescued these from the clearance rack at lowes.

Banana trees that I transplanted from another area in our yard. Also new guinea impatiens my mom got me as a birthday gift.

I bought these marigolds for a BBQ for mosquito control, and another type of lily in the background.

Awwwww, the sweet smell of gardenia!

My mom gave me some starts of these mexican petunias. Beware these beauties will spread rapidly,   they are now on both sides of the house.

Lantana, another clearance rack rescue, growing beautifully in between the walking iris.

Walking iris, another gift from my mom. I divided these and planted between my lantanas, such gorgeous blooms.

Most the flowers that I have were either gifts or rescues.  Please forgive me if I get something wrong, I'm always learning, feel free to leave a comment.

Until next time...