BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
Love the pics!
Bee~ Journal of then...
- Thread starter Beekissed
- Start date
TTs Chicks
Almost Self-Reliant
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Love the pics Bee! I really like your Dad's milking stance - do what ya gotta to get it done.
hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
awesome, Bee! So cool to see the beginning!
Can't wait to see more!
Yes, highspeed rocks. I've gotten so used to it I don't know that I could deal with dialup. That and so many websites are not built for slow speeds anymore it would almost be impossible to manage with a slow connection. That is frustrating!
Can't wait to see more!
Can't wait to see more!
Yes, highspeed rocks. I've gotten so used to it I don't know that I could deal with dialup. That and so many websites are not built for slow speeds anymore it would almost be impossible to manage with a slow connection. That is frustrating!
Can't wait to see more!
- Thread starter
- #4,024
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
I haven't posted on here in some time and it's probably because I am not at my home and had no projects in the hopper, so little to report. Now I have a project coming up that I'm excited about, so I can write it all down and post pics as I go along.
Writing down what I've done, will do, how it went...that all gives me clarity and helps me work out the bugs of a proposed project more than working on the actual thing all day. I don't know if it is like that for you all.
This project will be included in my book, so I'm going to take pics of every step, of the materials used and the cost of the materials with an eye towards using cheap, existing or easily procured materials to build a small(8X8, or possibly 12X8) chicken coop. The same design could be incorporated into a larger coop but the smaller is all I need right now.
I'm going to build initially for brooding 40-50 broiler chicks and using the coop as a movable shelter so as to free range them to processing size. They will not be confined to the coop but it will keep their feed dry and provide shade
Then the coop will be changed into a layer coop by the addition of hay bales and roosts. If a person didn't want to convert it to a layer coop, the whole thing could be converted to a greenhouse or deconstructed quite easily and stored flat against a storage building or shed.
I feel it is important to show folks how they can have chickens and provide a sturdy, working shelter for them without a big outlay of money or effort. This will be easily constructed by one person but goes faster if you have two. It is just as easily deconstructed as the only thing holding the cattle panel hoops, the wire endcaps and the tarping on the frame will be some zip ties, steeples and an old worn out cargo net.
I used a similar shelter for my sheep last year and it was incredibly sturdy, didn't do more than shiver in the high wind, shed rain and snow easily and looked as good when I took it down as it did when I put it up. It took about an hour to put up and less than that to take it down.
Cattle panels are my favorite building material now and I place them right up there with duck tape in their versatility and durability on a homestead.
I plan to advertise a workshop when it comes time to process the chickens and I'm going to show them how to do it on the cheap, without all the fancy killing stations that folks are investing in. Killing cones of bleach jugs, kitchen knives and pruners, turkey fryer for a scalding pot or maybe even rig up a dry plucker out of a hand drill(haven't made up my mind about all that).
Anyone else doing meaties this year?
Writing down what I've done, will do, how it went...that all gives me clarity and helps me work out the bugs of a proposed project more than working on the actual thing all day. I don't know if it is like that for you all.
This project will be included in my book, so I'm going to take pics of every step, of the materials used and the cost of the materials with an eye towards using cheap, existing or easily procured materials to build a small(8X8, or possibly 12X8) chicken coop. The same design could be incorporated into a larger coop but the smaller is all I need right now.
I'm going to build initially for brooding 40-50 broiler chicks and using the coop as a movable shelter so as to free range them to processing size. They will not be confined to the coop but it will keep their feed dry and provide shade
Then the coop will be changed into a layer coop by the addition of hay bales and roosts. If a person didn't want to convert it to a layer coop, the whole thing could be converted to a greenhouse or deconstructed quite easily and stored flat against a storage building or shed.
I feel it is important to show folks how they can have chickens and provide a sturdy, working shelter for them without a big outlay of money or effort. This will be easily constructed by one person but goes faster if you have two. It is just as easily deconstructed as the only thing holding the cattle panel hoops, the wire endcaps and the tarping on the frame will be some zip ties, steeples and an old worn out cargo net.
I used a similar shelter for my sheep last year and it was incredibly sturdy, didn't do more than shiver in the high wind, shed rain and snow easily and looked as good when I took it down as it did when I put it up. It took about an hour to put up and less than that to take it down.
Cattle panels are my favorite building material now and I place them right up there with duck tape in their versatility and durability on a homestead.
I plan to advertise a workshop when it comes time to process the chickens and I'm going to show them how to do it on the cheap, without all the fancy killing stations that folks are investing in. Killing cones of bleach jugs, kitchen knives and pruners, turkey fryer for a scalding pot or maybe even rig up a dry plucker out of a hand drill(haven't made up my mind about all that).
Anyone else doing meaties this year?
snapshot
Farmwife
I'm not doing meaties but chickens and a garden will be our first outdoor projects once the house is liveable. Chickens for laying. I really look forward to seeing how you do your coop!!!
hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
Oh, Bee! I can't wait to see it!! And you should make sure you hurry up with that book, I'll want to purchase it 
If you need a "layman" to proofread any of it, I'm not always good with perfect grammar but I have a knack for putting words together well.
If you need a "layman" to proofread any of it, I'm not always good with perfect grammar but I have a knack for putting words together well.
- Thread starter
- #4,027
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
Thanks! I may have to copy some of the passages to this journal to see if you guys approve of the wording and the message. See if you all glean any info from it or if I'm just rambling on in my head, ya know?
I'm getting more excited about the writing and the whole book. A lady my mom dances with had her second book published, one in the inspirational/spiritual genre, and I can honestly say that just about anyone could have written that book. And they are selling it for $25.99!!!!
Things like that give me hope of maybe getting published. I read quite a bit and I get to see just what kind and quality of books get published, so I'm not too discouraged at the thought of not finding a publisher.
I'll be calling TSC today or tomorrow and see if they are ordering meaty chicks, who they order from, if I can order through them, etc. It would definitely save me money if I can use TSC as a go between and not have to pay shipping on my own batch. I got my last batch through TSC and every single one survived, thrived and produced the appropriate size.
The only difference this year is that I won't have a broody hen to supervise or keep them warm....although I may just see if I can borrow a few of my older hens back from the lady I gave them to, along with my good roo, Toby.
I'm getting more excited about the writing and the whole book. A lady my mom dances with had her second book published, one in the inspirational/spiritual genre, and I can honestly say that just about anyone could have written that book. And they are selling it for $25.99!!!!
Things like that give me hope of maybe getting published. I read quite a bit and I get to see just what kind and quality of books get published, so I'm not too discouraged at the thought of not finding a publisher.
I'll be calling TSC today or tomorrow and see if they are ordering meaty chicks, who they order from, if I can order through them, etc. It would definitely save me money if I can use TSC as a go between and not have to pay shipping on my own batch. I got my last batch through TSC and every single one survived, thrived and produced the appropriate size.
The only difference this year is that I won't have a broody hen to supervise or keep them warm....although I may just see if I can borrow a few of my older hens back from the lady I gave them to, along with my good roo, Toby.
hqueen13
<Insert Snazzy Title Here
The high price of the book likely comes from the printing stuff.
I can't wait to read more!!
I can't wait to read more!!
TTs Chicks
Almost Self-Reliant
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Hey Bee ! I'm getting ready to order our next batch of meaties - hopefully I won't run out in the freezer before I get them ordered and grown 
- Thread starter
- #4,030
Beekissed
Mountain Sage
Hey, TTC! Do you think we should start a spring meaty thread? Post pics of growth, brooders, feeders, discuss health, feeding, growth, processing and such? I'll do it!
Do you think we should start a spring meaty thread? Post pics of growth, brooders, feeders, discuss health, feeding, growth, processing and such? I'll do it!
