Raised Dog Feeder and Kibble Storage

Last April (2016), we set out to adopt a dog. We wanted one that could hike with us, would protect us at our house and while camping, would love us, snuggle with us on the couch, and become the best family dog ever. We were not disappointed!! We found this handsome fellow through AARF here in Seattle. He was pulled out of a shelter in Louisiana by Louisiana Lifeline for K-9s, fostered by a family there, then transported to Seattle to live with us.

Just look at that face! I took that picture earlier today. He's 1 1/2 years old now but we got him when he was about 9 months old. He was already a big guy but has finally stopped growing by leaps and bounds at around 100lbs. He thinks he's a lap dog. He barks at strangers but knows that delivery trucks and pizza are welcome arrivals. He tried to chew up lots of stuffed animals when he first came to us but seems to have learned that's not a behavior we appreciate.

He's the best darn dog in the whole world.

Being the best darn dog, he deserves the best possible feed station of course. I wanted something that would look good because there's nowhere to feed him except right between the kitchen and dining areas. I also wanted something that would hold his kibble (a 35lb bag) and that wouldn't require any complicated instructions for opening so the kids could easily fill his bowl.

Because I love a good challenge, I also tried to only use scrap wood from the garage. I had several partial pieces of 1/2 inch plywood out there so I drew out my plans based on those scrap pieces.

It features latches on either side to keep it locked tight.

I created a cantilever hinge out of scrap wood, bolts, nuts, and washers. The other side of the box has the same two pieces.

It slides open without having to remove the bowls. They always stay completely level.

The top part can rest open for easy kibble refills. I built the box to house a plastic storage bin.

Moe is confused why he got a midday snack. The life of a blogger's dog can be pretty sweet.

If you have questions about this build, please feel free to leave a comment here or email me directly. I didn't stop to take a lot of pictures along the way but am hoping that by providing lots of pictures here, you might be able to create your own storage box. If you do, I'd love to see pictures!


Thank you for reading,
Julie

Tardis Cat Condo

The couple that fostered our kittens before we adopted them loves Dr. Who. In fact, one of our kittens is named Amelia because we decided to keep what they had named her. I've known Dani, kitten foster mom and Dr. Who fan, for a few years and we are friends on Facebook so when she posted a picture of a TARDIS cat condo, I couldn't help but comment that I could make one for her.

Fast forward a few weeks and I got the call, well, text. She wanted a cat condo that looked like a TARDIS. I agreed.

*I also made their cat a bow tie.

I didn't take a lot of pictures as I went along. I used ripped 2x4s for the structure then 2 full sheets of 1/2 inch MDF for the outside as well as trim. My guess is if you're desperate enough for this same piece, you can probably work out how to make one for yourself but feel free to contact me directly on email or Facebook with questions.

Here are some other fun shots though. A special thanks to Caleb Richmond for his awesome photography.

And one final picture from a total ham of a cat:

Thank you for reading,
Julie

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All Things Fee: Calling All Crafters

The Catio

As you may know by now, we have new kittens. We adopted them from MEOW Cat Rescue and they're absolutely fabulous. I'm having fun spoiling them rotten (see my post on the Bookshelf Cat Climber for an example). Once I knew they were happy inside the house, I decided to build them a cat patio or catio so they could get some fresh air without actually being able to wander off and get in trouble. As an added bonus, the catio is placed not too far from the chicken yard. It is far enough that the chickens won't feel threatened but close enough for the cats to spend hours staring in wonder at what they'd like to think is their next meal (fat chance kitties).

Wanna know about this?

Please allow me to take you on a little tour....

This is our dining room. (That's the pantry I built.)

Down just above the baseboards, below that arrow, there's a cat door.

Through that cat door is the outside but it is a safe outside. Safe for my kitties and safe for the local wildlife.

But wait, it isn't just a little box. It's a full on CATIO!!

The catio features pass-through shelves, just like the bookcase cat climber.

It also has a loft with a hammock (special request by the 6 year old) and cat head shaped windows.

At first I thought I had made a mistake by putting the loft on this side (I underestimated how tall it would be) but at night, that light attracts bugs and the cats LOVE bugs so it's fun for them.

I added not one but two locks on our outdoor access door. The top lock is out of the children's reach and is a tighter lock just to ensure the door stays closed.

This is the top lock:

Teddy figured out he can watch the chickens from his new perch.

I think he likes it.

Do you have a special outdoor place for your pet? Please link to your post or a photo if you'd like to share. I'd love to see what you've done.

Thank you for reading,
Julie



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Bookcase Cat Climber

Did I tell you we got kittens this summer. O-M-G they're so adorable and sweet. A friend was fostering their litter when I first fell in love. Having lost our 19 year old cat back in the spring, I was really missing having a fur baby (or two) around the house. We were able to adopt our babies through Meow Cat Rescue and I got to pick out the babies I liked best from the litter while they were still staying with my friend. I picked good ones too.

I knew before they came home that they'd need a cat climber. I wanted something they could climb quickly to get away from the kiddos but also something with some scratching space on it. I wanted it to be in a location where they could watch us moving about the house.

Well, the location was easy but it would mean displacing a bookcase. This bookcase:

I'm going to be honest here, I don't miss that AT ALL!!! The thing was though, that bookcase matches one across the room and I like it. Our house is small so matching furniture does wonders for keeping it from looking too crowded. I also didn't want some carpeted monstrosity right there so I hit Pinterest looking for attractive cat climbers I could build.

I found nothing I loved. Nothing I wanted as a focal point in our living space. This is easily viewable from the dining room, kitchen, living room and hallway.

Then it hit me! Get rid of the clutter and make THIS the climber.

I cleared off the clutter and cut a hole in each shelf.

I used the hole guide on my Dremel Trio tool.

Then I stepped back to assess what I'd done.

I loaded it back up with just a few books and games as well as a scrap of carpet I got from a friend.

Oh, I was very happy with where this was going. I found a photo of book spines, printed them out on photo paper, mounted them to cardboard then taped on an "L" bracket and put them (as well as a real book) on the top shelf to give the kitties a pass-through to the top of the shelf. I also put a cool basket up top. Don't worry, it's on some no slip padding so it doesn't slide off.

Teddy investigated and approved it. (Nom nom nom)

Amelia tested it out too.

I also added a carpet-covered strip of wood to one side so they can sharpen their claws on it.

I see one or the other (or both) up there every single day. The carpeted layer is just high enough that they can escape the 2.5 year old's reach and they can scale the climber really fast when they need to. They also like to play on it.

And now, a few final pictures:

Thank you for reading,
Julie


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Boy Dog Diapers

A friend of mine came to me asking for me to make her dog some diapers. Some WHAT?!?!? Yep, her dog has a little dribbly problem and she bought him some diapers but the fit wasn't great so she asked me to make him some custom diapers. Seeing as I've made wedding gowns in the past, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to round out my sewing experience. I used to say I've made everything from wedding gowns to home furnishings to kids clothes but now I can throw in "dog diapers" as well. Anyway, this is what boy dog diapers look like:

Please note the dark shadowy edges on the picture. 

That gives these a more classic feel.

And here's what they look like unfolded:

I used some scrap pieces of PUL I had left over from making diapers for human babies then the inside layer is a poly blend that I felt a maxi pad would stick to. I now know that the way these work is the owner sticks a pad on the inside then wraps the diaper up around the dog's torso, making sure to catch his bits as she wraps. If he dribbles a bit, the pad catches it.

Now, this looks like it is a rectangle but it actually bows out a bit which adds some extra room for the pad so that it doesn't smash the dog's bits. The edges are sewn with fold over elastic then I used super strength diaper hook-and-loop tape along the edges.

Naturally, I recruited my raccoon to model it for you:

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions about making boy dog diapers. I can provide measurements if requested.

Thank you for reading,
Julie

The Coop is Complete

I pushed really hard last week to get the coop finished so we could move the girls in on Sunday. I succeeded and we brought them home early Sunday evening. We were all so excited to add them to our family that despite my exhausted and sore body, I'm glad I got it all done.

I'll take you on a tour of their space (coop and yard photos taken just before we left to pick them up). Most of this project, inside and out, was created using scrap materials we had on hand. I did have to purchase the roofing for the yard, chicken wire, some brackets to secure the yard area and the hardware for the doors to both the coop (inside the shed) and the yard. All the lumber was from our stash, mostly from the crapport with one additional piece of wood from the neighbor. He also contributed the piano hinge we used for the nesting box door. I think we owe them a dozen eggs.

This is what it looks like as you approach the coop and their yard from the back of the house. The roof on the yard is slightly smoked shed roofing so it lets a lot of light in but shouldn't get too warm in the summer. We also did our best to wedge part of their yard up under the rhododendron tree there so they'll get some shade from that.

I'd like to make this a little more interesting eventually but for now, here's the chicken porch where they come and go from the coop. The porch floor is made out of an Ikea HOL table that we had to trash (but obviously salvaged the top). I mounted it on 4x4 posts left over from the old crapport that once stood where the garden is now.

I slapped that ladder together pretty fast but it seems to do the trick. I hope to make it better eventually though.

And now, moving on to the inside of the shed where the coop is.

If you've been following along the progress, you already know that we had an 8 by 6 foot shed in our back yard. I created a floor for the coop about 2 1/2 feet up then covered it with vinyl flooring to make it easier to clean. I framed out the front using scrap lumber, built 4 nesting boxes with access from the other side of the shed and added a roosting bar and ladder to "the loft." The three squares you see above the nesting boxes are windows with hardware cloth and screens in them but I don't anticipate using those much until summer so they're closed and locked for now.

I thought the girls might like some artwork in their all white coop so I printed out some pictures of studly roosters, framed them in some cheapy Ikea frames I had on hand (plexiglass, not glass) and nail gunned them to the walls. There are also additional vents above the pictures as well as on the opposite wall to ensure proper ventilation. Through my research, I learned that chickens have sensitive respiratory systems so it is important to keep the coop well ventilated but not drafty.

Next, I'll show you the loft. This shelf was already here but I added the vent up top as well as a 2x4 across the front of the shelf so they'd have something to roost on if they want to hang out up top there. The ladder was just a piece of scrap plywood with wooden dowels nail gunned down every 3 inches. I also painted this white with low odor / low VOC white semi-gloss paint (that I had on hand) to make cleaning easy.

I did a sort of wash on the ceiling to give the girls a blue sky to look at all the time. This was somewhat of an accident but one I liked. I grabbed a can of the sample paint I picked up at a recent sale and painted part of the ceiling and hated it so I painted back over it with white and when it dried still needing another coat or two, I actually decided I liked it so I just did a sloppy coat of the blue on the other parts of the ceiling too.

The door out to their yard is a piece of old melamine covered shelving set in a track made out of scrap wood with a cable that runs through some scrap PVC piping the length of the shed out to the outside of the shed where we can open and close the door without entering the coop. I've found this is actually super handy because I can glance out the back door of the house to see whether or not the door is open without having to go all the way out there. If the washer at the end of the cable is on the hook, I know the door is open, if not, they're still stuck inside.

A friend through the women's choir I belong to gave us the waterer and feeder (hooray!).

So, the coop and yard are move- in ready! It's time to pick up the girls.

The woman who gave us the chickens provided us with this box. As a friend of mine commented, "Unique party supplies." We brought them home and my husband took them through the garden to the back shed and loaded them into the coop.

One of the girls wasted no time christening her new space.

(thanks for that Patty)

After looking around inside a little bit, they ventured outside.

Here they are, meet Patty, LaVerne and Maxene (from back to front).

Chicken butts ...

The baby toddler wasn't sure what to think about these strange animals.

And finally, here they are roosting before going to sleep for the night.

There are some final details I'd still like to tend to but the coop and yard are safe and secure. The chicken wire walls around the yard are buried at least a foot in the ground then they curve out and are covered with rocks and chunks of concrete and back-filled with dirt. There really is no way for a predator to get in although we do lock the girls in the coop at night to ensure their safety.

We've already gotten two eggs out of them in just a few days. I'm hoping that will pick up even more but we've been excited to have any. I think both came from LaVerne, the darkest and biggest chicken in our little flock.

I'm finding it surprisingly therapeutic to go out to clean the coop each evening when the hubs gets home from work. I have a little bucket, a putty knife and a rubber glove and I collect up all their poop to add to our compost bin then I refresh their food and water. The Snickerdoodle loves taking them lots of treats so they've been feasting on our breakfast scraps as well as grains from the pantry. In just a few days, they've already learned to meet us at the door to the yard when he has his little plastic bowl of goodies.

This all happened so fast that I'm still a bit shocked we have chickens. If you had told me 10 years ago that I'd be creating a little urban farm with my family, I would have laughed. Life sure takes us in surprising directions and I couldn't be more content.

Thank you for reading,
Julie