09/06/2025
!!UPDATE!!....YES, I'M STILL HERE!!! Sorry all, I know it's been a very long time since my last post, so here is an update on how things stand with the new home of Little Joe's Companion Birds and the construction of the new aviary and upcoming restart of the breeding and rescue rehoming programs. There are also some pictures, with comments in the descriptions, of the new home works and of Island life here in the ALR just south of Duncan BC. Just a small sampling for now, more pictures to come as the aviary build begins.
Things have been very busy this summer in the new house. One of the risks of not viewing a house in person until move in day, as I could not come over to the Island with all the babies that were still in last stages of handfeeding. I knew the house would need some work, but the scope turned out to be a little more...... extensive than first thought. The renovations I was prepared to do before starting the breeding program up became more of a restoration project than simple renovations.
Fortunately, I was able to do almost everything myself, except for the heavy machinery, septic and electrical mains work. The home is a log home on a stone and concrete basement, and while the logs are beautifully hand done and fitted, and the stonework excellent, everything else about the house needs a complete gutting.
The logs were stripped, etched and sanded down to the bare wood before stain and topcoat, and oh boy did that take me a while! With the repairs to some stonework and topcoat on that, over 1,000 hours of labor right there. All electrical needed to be redone, as well as all the plumbing, including the mains and septic. I have become very familiar with pex and nomex! All drywall, all appliances, paint and trim and tilework and flooring is still ongoing. The home was built in the 1970's and pretty much everything is original, a little time capsule!
Much work has been done on the property as well. Over 300 yards of fill and topsoil to level the property and get it ready for next years planting and improve usage and drainage. Five big trees taken down to let the sun in, and over 100!! new ones planted, including 80 fruit trees in this first planting. I've been having a lot of fun with my little excavator, you just can't be sad digging holes on an excavator! There will be tons of apples, cherries, pears and peaches available in the farmstand I will be building in the years to come. At least, what is left after my birds get their fill! Lots of fencing was put up, and a good sized field is now full of cover crops in prep for next spring's planting of monster spray millet, which will also be available. A huge plot of wildflowers, a 3 foot by 20 foot wild bird feeder platform that is already attracting large flocks of all kinds of birdies, and about 200 low voltage and solar powered landscape lights turns the yard into a green paradise.
Now for the important part.... the new aviary! In total the new aviary will be just over 2,000 square feet in size on two floors. The main aviary downstairs and the nursery upstairs. This construction will be my largest solo project ever, and was started just a week or two ago. All electrical and plumbing had to be completed first, of course, and the heat pumps for heat and AC are about to go in now that I managed to pull the old wood fired and fuel oil furnaces. The holes for the ventilation system are cored out of the concrete, and I have begun framing the walls and ceiling and putting up lots of insulation. Next will be drywall, more plumbing and electrical, flooring, lighting, tech and all the thousand and one things that need to be done before the birds can be settled into their permanent homes. Temperature, air quality and humidity will be strictly maintained and everything will be automated and continuously monitored. Background music, cameras, even TV monitors for birdie entertainment will be included to keep the birdies happy and healthy and safe! A full commercial level kitchen, storage and a new and bright pickup room will round out the facilities.
Unfortunately, all this could take some time, even pushing myself as hard as possible in this last big stretch. While it is possible that birdies could be settled and next boxes back up as early as October, it could also mean that things will not get going again here until the start of November. The birds are chomping at the bit to get into their nest boxes though, so there could be babies again as early as the beginning of the new year, if not a little earlier for the ever over eager budgies! To get started again as soon as possible completion will be in stages, with the main bird breeding rooms finished first, with the kitchen coming after followed by the nursery and then the pickup room. And then of course, the rest of the house, but I will have years to work on that!
Well, that is the update for today, and I will be posting updates more often now that summer is over and the outdoor work is done for the year. By all means take a look at the photos to see and read more about what has been done here and what is coming up next!
