Off on a new adventure at Peaceful Bend. We've decided to bring some new members into the family in the form of some fine feathered friends. These pages are dedicated to the project, and for once, I'm ahead of the game and have taken a few "before" pictures. I will add links to our winery homepage (and vise versa) once the project has some meat to it. I've placed these pages up in hopes of obtaining tips and advice on the project. Tips and comments on the web page, content or layout, are also welcome. It's not linked to anywhere yet, so you're here because I told you directly or you saw a post on the poultry newsgroup.

March 23, 2002 Steelville, Missouri, USA

This is the WSW side of one of the old chicken sheds. The building in the background was also a chicken shed at one time, but has been housing empty wine bottles for the past few years. These buildings have not seen chickens (save maybe a stray fried piece or two) since the mid 60's. We think it's high time that a feathered flock returns to The Bend.
		From the NW side entrance: the nests have doorways which allowed egg snatching and nest cleaning without having to walk on chicken debris. This building is much larger than what we want to have for the 15 or so chickens planned, so we intend to pirate a few of the items and install them into a smaller shed.
Here's the front side view of one of the nests. Most of it seems to be in decent shape, though some of the flooring is in need of attention. They are galvanized with a little rust here and there, but appear to otherwise be in sound condition. After removing them from this spot, I plan on pressure washing them and then sanitizing. Somewhere I picked up that ammonia is best for this purpose!?
		The front face of the chicken shed to be. This door will remain a human door and an additional chicken door will be added towards the lower left. Horseshoe's already holding the luck for all those who pass through the door.
Back side of the shed. I had considered putting the chicken door back here, but have since decided that the opposite side would be better. Mainly because of the layout inside.
		The greenish doorways were originally a sow's entrance, but the far one should aid in the cleaning of the chicken debris.
This corner will be fully screened in plus the nests installed with access from the human side. The building has electricity but water will need to be "hosed" in from across the road. There exists plumbing from an old pond, but I'm not positive that reclamation will be possible.