A Coop, Chicken & Raised Bed Update...

Our chicken coop is now complete!  Well, there are a few odds and ends to accomplish, but for the most part she's done as the bulk of the major construction has ended.

The metal roof looks fantastic and will supply us years of durability in spite of the elements.  The one rake cap, additional installation screws and some more tape needs to be reordered because of width and ridge spacing issue that I hadn't properly accounted for, but you wouldn't know it by looking at it now:

The chickens have been permanently relocated and are enjoying their new home outside our house!  Although, what was once an upgrade in square footage is slowly shrinking because these little guys are growing at an alarming rate.  As soon as the cockerels reveal themselves from the pullets...a culling we shall go. Reducing the flock down to the optimal 4-6 egg layers will free roosting space within the enclosed portion of the coop.  

They are currently navigating the steep ramp with ease and love sprinting around the sand run of the lower level.  We haven't had any fly up to perch on the branch roost I put in there, but they are capable of actually flying there now.  I'm amazed at how brazen they have become in such a short time.  

Onto other projects that are coming along well.  The raised bed sub irrigated planter beds are working out perfectly and we've actually got a low maintenance easy weed free garden for once!  There's some unfinished business in that area as I need to install a gate so that Jennifer can access the veggies.  I made them waist high for me, but vertically challenge individuals have a little trouble reaching over the 2' high chicken wire perimeter.  Hmmm...maybe that is a good thing?  More veggies for me!  LOL!

I plan on gating in the open end of the raised beds so that the chickens can frolic in the additional space within the next couple weeks.  They sure do like zipping around the backyard under our close supervision.  It'll be nice to have a spot to give them free range capability without having to fear they'll be eaten by a visiting predator.

My wife recently sent me a few links of a lady in Alaska's blog that had plans for 1X4 furniture that is heavily dependent on the use of the Kreg jig that I used to build the coop.  I really like the simplicity of the building method she detailed and  I knew that I would end up building most of the same items for our backyard and maybe even for camp as well.  So here is the first few things that I constructed using her blog as reference:

I believe Jennifer will be staining the table and benches in the same "new redwood" stain that we used on the coop.  I decided to use 2" X 4" 's instead of the 1X4" because of the cost and because of the sturdiness as they age.  Each bench used just (7) 2X4"X8' boards.  I believe the table used (24) of them.  So we've got a little over $100 in boards and say another $20 in Kreg exterior grade fasteners.  In my opinion, the investment / return was well worth it!

We've got plans for a raised platform lettuce planter, lounge seating setup, Adirondack chairs and we may even amp it up a little bit and build some custom front room furniture that fits our humble home better.  G_d knows our couches needed to have been thrown out a year ago!  We'll see how much time and $$$ will allow me to build.

I wish to extend my condolences to my Father for the loss of his garden in the recent storm that pummeled the Willoughby/Mentor area this past week.  The first few photos posted that I saw were of a spectacular garden and the "after the storm" photos were just heartbreaking.  Mother Nature always wins...Sorry about the loss Dad!

We did get up to TCamp a few times over the past month, but I was lazy and didn't take any photos or video.  I did deliver a great garbage picker find.  The neighbor up the street was throwing away a picnic table that must have been part of a kit.  The frame was metal, but the seats and table top were made from 5/4 deck boards.  They were old and rotten so they chose to pitch it.  THANK YOU VERY MUCH!  So, $26 in new treated deck boards and Trout Camp has an almost perfectly new and certainly perfectly good picnic table on its deck.  Pictures coming on my return of the next trip up.

Subterranean Irrigation Raised Bed Planters, Chickens & The Chicken Coop Mahal!

This past Wednesday, I spent the day building and finishing raised bed planters for my lovely wife Jennifer. They are conveniently tall, waist high on me, and have a fairly ingenious method of keeping the garden plants watered efficiently and for a prolonged period of time.  Never heard of subterranean irrigation planters?  No problem...here's how I built them:

First we started with the framing built from 2X10's triple stacked and nailed together.  That gives us 27" of height to the top edge.  I mounded the underlying dirt to offer some additional height.  No more bending over to pull weeds which is the chore we dread the most with gardening!

Once the horse shoe shape of the boxes was completed, I had 5 yards of super blend garden soil dropped off by Mazzola's.  This mix was worth every penny and has the nutrients our plants need to thrive. Something our old used and abused garden couldn't supply.

I then added metal fencing stakes to the corners.  We've dealt with the aggravation of an endless supply of hungry groundhogs for years.  Their presence infects the entire street so fencing is a must, even at this height off the ground.

Next, I cut 6 mil construction grade plastic to length.  This was folded to form a 4ply pool liner for the interior bottom of the planter.  The oversized cut was then stapled into place around the perimeter.  The extra material ensures that it won't get too taunt and leak.

Plenty of room for the extra material to flatten out and unwrinkle without stressing the plastic material too much.

My old craftsman stapler decided to die on me and I couldn't be happier.  Hated that thing!  Plus, it gave me an excuse to buy a Black & Decker Powershot nailer/stapler.  The fact that the handle drives the mechanism in the front rather than the back is reason enough to pitch the older design!

Next up is the perforated irrigation tubes.  Thankfully, because this stuff is way overpriced and expensive, I only needed one roll.  It was cut in such a way as to triple back on itself inside the liner created by the plastic.

I added some additional lengths of white pvc to fill some of the voids created by the pipe turning within the confined area of the base.  The sock that covers the pipe and acts as a silt screen were pulled and then knotted at the ends of the pipe.

I then carefully cut a hole and inserted pvc conduit.  This is the "fill tube" that will allow the water to fill the cavities and voids supported and created by the irrigation tubing coiled in the base.

Then, heavy duty, premium quality landscape fabric was stapled into place.  This creates an additional barrier (hopefully a good one) separating the soil / silt from filling the tubes.  We want the cavities to remain intact so water can fill them or there is no point in this exercise!

The PowerShot stapler made quick work of securing the fabric in place.

At that point, it was muscle time.  It took a LONG time and many, many, many shovels to transport the soil from the pile into the boxes. When it was all over, I was TIRED!  At this point, you'd think that the soiling filling is done, but not quite!  It is aquifer filling time!

Each long bed required about 10 minutes of water running at high to be filled.  Our "filled" indication was water spilling from the first seam of wood panels.  This meant it was overflowing the tub that was created.  Another indicator was the San Andreas fault that was stretching from end to end down the middle of the bed of dirt.  Or, even worse...the 4" of dirt settling! LOL!  This was a science experiment in action...

Once the dirt was refilled and packed firm with my hands, I gave the wifey the green light to start planting.  I felt bad, it was extremely hot and there was no shade, but she planted away and every one of them found a place to grow.

So, here's the benefit of this arrangement...you don't have to water but once every month or so.  You don't have to deal with evaporation either.  The aquifer you created in the bottom of the planters will keep the soil most from the bottom up.  As the plants mature, they'll grow roots to meet somewhere in the middle row of wood and feed themselves.  I tested our reservoirs last night after they had a few hours to sit and all of them shown 4-5" of water on the dip stick.

As I said before, I ordered 5 yards of soil.  I have about 3/4 of a yard remaining.  I'm guessing that over the course of the next several weeks...we'll have to top off the planters as the soil settles.

THE CHICKENS-

To save me a ton of work, I chose to link to the write up on backyardchickens rather than repost everything.   You can visit the post by clicking here:  Our Family's Coop Mahal  In this link and post you'll see the step by step process of The Chicken Coop Mahal's construction in our backyard.

Before you ask, yes...chickens are legal in our city.  Technically and thankfully, there are no zoning ordinances outlawing them or their quantity, but only ordinances governing noise and smell.  I spoke with the law director and according to our city's laws we can have cockerels or pullets and as many as we like as long as they are kept clean and orderly.  Yes, that means we can have roosters (tons of them) and as long as they crow after 7am and not after 10pm...we're good to go.  Woohoo!  I wonder how my neighbors will like the robust cooing of nature's bravado?!  LOL!  I bet that lovely lullaby could drown out any possibility of hearing slamming car doors, ya think?!

Relax guys, we're not getting roosters! Just pulling your chain!  Hehehhehehe!

We decided to have chickens for a bunch of reasons, but mostly:

• Pets for the family to enjoy (we've got allergies, so dogs and cats are out)
• Healthy Natural Eggs (we all know this one)
• Great Fertilizer (does a great job of completing the cycle)

The birds we chose, because my good friend Greg did all the research, knows a heck of a lot more than we do about this and was generous enough to provide us the fertilized eggs and incubators for hatching, were New Hampshire's.  They are a great dual purpose breed that produces big brown eggs and can provide decent meat as well.  They were bred to mature faster, produce eggs quicker and are hardy for our climate.  They also come (for the most part) with an inherent good disposition.  Some birds are down right brutal and are born with bad attitudes, these guys, however are not known for being mean. So...

With the help of our neighbors, because we had an early hatching, we were blessed with 14 New Hampshire chicks this past weekend.  The Gricar's played baby sitter while we visited camp with the Britt's.  I figured we'd come home from camp to a few eggs pipped or maybe even a couple birds fluffing out in the incubator, but surprisingly that began the morning of the day we were to leave for camp!  They began to hatch at 20 days instead of 21-25 as I've read.  These little guys were ready for sure!

Now they're only 4 days old, but already they have wing tip feathers forming and little bumps where their tail feathers are starting to grow...Amazing!  They have a group attitude and then individual traits that separate their behavior from the rest.  We've got two chicks that are yellow-white, bigger than the rest and demonstrating alpha-male behavior.  These two will be making good soup in only a month or so! LOL!  I'll try to make regular posts to update you on their growth and funny behavior.

The video does a great job of summarizing the events of our last visit.  Wait until you see my next project.  It'll be at my residence this time and involves (Yep!  You guessed it) more construction.  I'll give you a hint:  Bawk, cluck-cluck! LOL! 

The Shed Mahal receives a royal floor!

Duplicating the list of "things to do" from the previous post, I will continue to highlight in GREEN what has been completed:

• Camper:  Extending the dinette padding off the side and increasing the sleeping area in width and length (it is about comfort!).
• Camper:  Running 4" X 6" posts across the framing width and elevating the entire trailer higher off the ground.
• Camper:  Patching the bumps, bruises and scrapes on the underbelly of the grey/black water holding tank (the tow up to TC took its toll).
• Camper:  Solar setup

• Shed Mahal:  wood floor installation
• Shed Mahal:  bring up the riding mower and store it at camp

• Trout Camp:  More grass planting
• Trout Camp:  A chopped wood storage rack (with canopy)
• Trout Camp:  Relocating the shower house behind the back end of the camper

I'm going to go on a little about how fortunate (blessed is more like it) I feel to have the friends/neighbors that I do...The fact that one particular neighbor is almost always there for me (and camp) is especially noteworthy.  What I consider an exception is the willingness to work as hard as they do and for little or no reward.  Considering that I'm cut from the same cloth, it feels really good to  have the favors returned every now and then.  So, to those (you know who you are) that have helped me along the way (whether at camp, at home or in support of our trips to camp) I offer my sincerest gratitude!  The favor(s) will be returned, I assure you!

So, without further delay...the video recap of this past Sunday's accomplishments:

Preparing for spring...

As we begin to be teased with the hint of warming weather, my mind wonders to what I'd like to finish up at Trout Camp.  Most of the heavy construction has been completed (for now) and there are only a few minor jobs I'd like to complete before spring/summer is in full swing.  

They include:

• Camper:  Extending the dinette padding off the side and increasing the sleeping area in width and length (it is about comfort!).
• Camper:  Running 4" X 6" posts across the framing width and elevating the entire trailer higher off the ground.
• Camper:  Patching the bumps, bruises and scrapes on the underbelly of the grey/black water holding tank (the tow up to TC took its toll).
• Camper:  Solar setup

• Shed Mahal:  wood floor installation
• Shed Mahal:  bring up the riding mower and store it at camp

• Trout Camp:  More grass planting
• Trout Camp:  A chopped wood storage rack (with canopy)
• Trout Camp:  Relocating the shower house behind the back end of the camper

This weekend, a friend and I plan to head to camp and tackle the wood floor installation.  Weather will be just warm enough to be tolerable.  Removing the flooring from the loft after having it stored there for so long will be nice as well!

Look for the video update the beginning of next week.

Trout Camp's Mr. Heater Companion AquaCube

The Shed Mahal: Another Cabinet & Loft Sleeping Pads

Modern Conveniences Arriving Daily...

Through hard work and plenty of rod orders, I've been fortunate enough to have saved enough money to stomach two shared expenditures for the benefit of Trout Camp.

Both are conveniences that we could have all gotten along without, but their additions make camping life that much easier and comfortable.  No more hauling 250 feet of extension cords, charging batteries at home or borrowing items to handle odd jobs and projects when they arise.

The second little convenience gem that was a splurge (but definitely worth it), and you might not have even known that this little gadget existed, was the Aquacube from Mr. Heater.  The technology / design is Australian Outback born and licensed to Mr. Heater for US distribution. While my home built shower rig worked perfectly, it did involve preheating the water, refilling the canister and the occasional pumping to maintain pressure.  This baby does all of that (on its own) and then some!

I'll post a video review of the unpacking and such of each item when it isn't so frigid cold outside!  I'm very eager to see the Aquacube in action.

Fluffy White Flakes A'flyin'