The chickens normally go in and out of their coop from a small high door, as is traditional to give them some protection from wind and cold. I made the ramp from a long piece of scrap, of course, but it was still too slick and steep for the hens to climb. The regular way to fix this is to nail slats across the ramp but I didn’t have any. What I did have was a comically large ball of baling twine, so that’s what I used. Worked pretty well, too, except it proved difficult to securely fasten to the ramp at the top and bottom. So now, every time the chickens claw away another section, I replace it with whatever I’ve got that’s big enough to nail into place.
This was a length of rope that used to go up the hillside behind the Lair, in what I called my back door. It’s the most direct route to the reloading shack but kind of steep for safety. But the rope was old and didn’t deal well with weather so I replaced it last year with new. The old stuff was lying around looking too idle for its own good, and now it sleeps with the chickens. 🙂
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They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
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In the first picture above, it looks like the ramp is tied with a whole bunch of various colored ribbons. What a hoot I thought. I’ll bet the chickens like that I thought. Too much time on my hands and so easily entertained.
By the way, here in the mountains we’re forecast to have another 1-2 FEET of snow starting tonight through the weekend. I’ll be depending on you for lots of blog posting to keep me occupied.
😉
Man, that DOES look a bit steep. But if it works and the chickens get a work out at the same time, who is to complain ? We don’t have much spare rope, but have plenty of hay bale twine (orange poly) that lasts a long time, even exposed to the outdoor elements. Super lightweight and compact – has to be good for something !
Ah yes, rope. I used rope for a lot of things when I had all the animals, etc. But I quickly learned that natural fiber rope didn’t do well in the desert. Nylon rope is not always easy to use, and sometimes difficult to tie/untie, but it lasted a lot longer. I never had a “traditional” chicken coop myself. 🙂 Can’t even remember now how the birds got from the floor of the pen to their nesting boxes. Guess I figured that was their problem. LOL They managed it, and there was a heavy flap at the back of the coop so I could reach in and get the eggs, but that’s all I can remember. I do know I would have liked to rebuild the whole thing, since what I had was so very difficult to clean, but I never did find the time or money to do it.
Sorry about the new snow, hermit… it was supposed to get down to 26 degrees last night, so I spent time covering the sensitive stuff at sunset. Woke to an outdoor temp of 39, for which I’m grateful, but now I have to get all that stuff peeled off the tubs before I go to work this morning. Springtime in Wyoming is sooooo confusing.
“sleeps with the chickens” is the desert hermit mafia version of “sleep wit da fishes”. Ha. I crack me up. Waiting for coffee to kick in…
And that ramp does look gaily decorated in the top photo. I like it. Festive fowl.
Aw Man! And I just tossed my annoying, boot grabbing lump of bale twine. Awesome idea!