Shoshin Farm with Herb and Lisa-Marie Roberts

05/01/2025

05/01/2025

Good snowy morning Shoshin Farm Fam! After 71 days and JUST as the first flakes of Winter Storm Blair started to fall, we buttoned up the coop/run adventure. Sure, there are always little doodads to add, but Henmore Estate is operational and fully booked. The Ladies are locked into the run with two multi-gallon, heated drinkers and three feeders with about 15lbs of feed. There's polycarbonate sheeting to keep out wind and snow and thick straw on the floor. We know from the temperature sensors in the coop and run that they're keeping the coop about 10°F warmer than the outside air. On a sunny day, the clear plastic can make the run as much as 20-25°F warmer than the outside. Excuse us as we spend the rest of the day sleeping and eating!

01/01/2025

Happy New Year, Shoshin Farm Fam! We were hoping to have the run completely closed in ahead of the weather, but it's pretty cozy. We're short one roof panel, but we got the corrugated plastic panels up on the run walls and around the base of the coop. This will give The Ladies 144sqft of space that's dry and wind free.

28/12/2024

Good afternoon Shoshin Farm Fam! The prior run is gone, the new foundation is laid, and two walls are up! We are so chuffed! Shout out to our neighbor, Tim, for helping bring the walls into the fenced area with us.

27/12/2024

Good afternoon Shoshin Farm Fam! No more chicken run, version 1. Tomorrow, we start assembling the new run!

26/12/2024

Good evening Shoshin Farm Fam! We hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. We're making good progress on the chicken run and there's a good probability we'll be done by New Year's Day. Today, we got the two long walls built and covered in hardware cloth, the foundational 4x4s stained and notched, the plywood for the ceiling stained, and got half of the existing run torn down. Hopefully, the rain will hold off tomorrow and we can have another big push.

19/12/2024

Good morning Shoshin Farm Fam! Herb is working on the garden gates today and his feathered flock is following him from gate to gate. He's a real chick magnet!

14/12/2024

Senior Farm Manager Daisy loves her new hoodies. ❤️

11/12/2024

Good morning Shoshin Farm Fam. We've a sprinkle of snow today. Now that the coop is done, we're getting ready to build the run. We'll likely assemble the walls in the garage over the next few days and assemble when it's not precipitating and/or below freezing!

08/12/2024

Good evening Shoshin Farm Fam! It's been quite a workout today. We finished installing the coop windows, got the egg boxes 85% done, and -most Herculean of all- moved the former coop about 50ft to the back of the yard. This involves using PVC pipes as rollers and shoving by hand as well as pulling with the riding mower. We are pooped!

08/12/2024

Good afternoon Shoshin Farm Fam! While we toil away on their new abode, The Ladies make sure to get in some R&R in the nice weather.

29/11/2024

Good evening Shoshin Farm Fam! We've got the chicken door operational, built a step/ramp, added some trim, and put lots of bedding in and under. It was a cold, windy, and snow squalling day. Tomorrow, we'll work on the windows in the garage and hopefully get those installed.

29/11/2024

Holy potato, Shoshin Farm Fam!! Look at these sweet potatoes we grew!! We couldn't be happier. And one is sprouting again. We'll keep that one in a cozy pot. So...my strength coach has me doing farmer carries in the gym. I gotchu, boo. 💪

28/11/2024

Happy Thanksgiving, Shoshin Farm Fam! It was a dark and stormy night, but The Ladies were snug as bugs in rugs IN THEIR NEW COOP. We still need to build the windows, egg boxes, install corner trim, and automatic coop door. We caught them all up at sunset yesterday and put them in the coop. By the amount of absolute SCREAMING, I'm sure the neighbors thought we were slaughtering them. Every time we get chicks, I think I'm going to handle them a lot so they're used to being picked up, but it never seems to work out that way.

25/11/2024

Daisy got a toasty hoodie today.

24/11/2024

Good afternoon Shoshin Farm Fam! The coop doors are in-process and the 2x4s for the run are getting stained. (inside where it's not cold and wet!)

18/11/2024

Good afternoon Shoshin Farm Fam! She's almost done. Trim work, windows, doors, and egg boxes. We're getting there!

16/11/2024

Good morning Shoshin Farm Fam! We lost a lot of productivity yesterday because THIS FOOL ran outside. None of our cats are outdoor cats, but Ruthie keeps forgetting that and has slipped out once a week for the last three weeks. She might look like an angel in this photo, but she's an evil bonehead. We even got a belled collar so we could hear if she's near the door. Wish us luck that we'll be able to work the rest of the weekend without her shenanigans.