Poultry Housing

The ducks, geese and turkeys are getting too big for the pallet brooder we made a few short weeks ago. I still can't believe how fast those geese grew. With their long necks extended they're up to my knees and still haven't fully feathered out.

I looked up Toulouse sexing and apparently the males and females are identical in coloring, behaivor and honks. I am sure now that we have 2 male ducks and 2 females. A set of Peach beaks and a set of Bright Yellow. We won't be eating these but one of the males might find a new home. I'm not sure yet. I like them all so much, only time will tell when personalities really emerge near laying/mating age.

But they all are too big to brood and we need the barn stall for hay and feed and other supplies. Ducks and geese are messy. A new house was in order. Our neighbor made a semi-circular brooder out of PVC and we saw a tutorial on Instructables.com for one as well. It seems a good, easy design. Quicker to build than the week-long chicken coop I built and less expensive.

Here is the PVC frame. We scored a Livingsocial.com deal for Ace Hardware which we bought the chicken wire half price. Our supply list included PVC and fittings, 2 sheets of plywood, 2 25ft rolls of chicken wire, and hinges. We used other things we had on hand from other projects to finish it off; a tarp, scrapwood, a bolt, wire. I think total we spent about $65 and have an easily moveable, built in a day, 10x4' poultry house.

Sorry for the half photos, I had the wrong lens on my camera and couldn't get far enough away to get the whole thing.

We'll be picking up a larger tarp later this week, this is all we had on hand and didn't realize it wouldn't go all the way around. For the ducks and geese this is fine. They are very hearty animals that are waterproof (once they get all their feathers). They thrive in inclimate weather. It's the turkeys we need to watch out for.

The PVC married to the wood makes it sturdy but still easy enough for me to pick up an end and carry around the yard. Since all our birds free range we can tarp the whole thing as well if we wanted to. I am considering making a smaller house to keep a pair of ducks in the garden, moving between the rows to help with bugs and weeds but for now this is where everyone will live. Hopefully happily.

Not giving up.

We've been doing a lot of research lately. Information is a double edged sword cutting a swath through our ambitions. While earlier last week we felt our hopes of farming in Florida had been reduced to a mere pipe dream, the barriers have uncovered alternatives we might never have found otherwise.

Building a home from scratch with our own hands and plans is now purchasing a mobile home. Is it everything we wanted? No. But what is more important, a dream home or any home for our dream?

We had planned to build a single barn but may now have either multiple smaller structures closely positioned or premade buildings delivered to our site.

The Merino sheep we wanted have been replaced with Gulf Coast Sheep. A breed that is currently on the near extinction list. Breeding our own small flock of these fits in much better to our region plus adds much needed members to the less than two thousand sheep currently in the world. Conservation of a species speaks loudly to my heart. Plus they have wonderful milk, wool and meat. There is also a breeder within an hour or so of our farm.

Though we still worry "what next" whenever we have to make a phone call, the resulting challenges are being met. We will have our farm, we just have to get a little creative.

Update on the Shabin

The shabin has been ordered! Soon we'll find out when our gray shabin with gray roof shingles will be delivered. We were able to get in on the $150 security deposit discount too. Now we have to get the address and GPS coordinates over to them and find out about the container delivery. I'm excited. I feel like it's finally starting. Having a piece of property is one thing, actually having something on it is a completely different beast.

New ideas

We have had zero luck trying to find something to camp in for our stays  up on the land. With our lack of luck in that department we'd better get a surplus somewhere else. But until then we've thought up a new idea that just might work.

Our county doesn't require permits for ANY premade (meaning delivered fully assembled) structure. No plans to submit, no permit fees, no inspections. Even if later on we want to add electric, water and septic to it we just have to go through those departments. Where they have a no-permit limit on structures we build ourselves, the largest being 8'x10', these are good to go. Hmmmm... The largest prebuilt shed we can get is 12' by 32' with a loft.

It is completely discouraging to look for mobile home structures like RV's, 5th wheels, campers, small mobile homes. People just want too much for things that are almost as old as I am, and needs repairs, refinishing or some sort of work. They are averaging three to six thousand -for the ones we could afford. Even for a twenty year old bus the price is up in that range. We have limited funds so forking out that many grands and still needing to pour more money into it is frustrating to say the least.

Again, the sheds might be an option. They have free delivery, no to little deposit and low monthly payments with no bank financing. Even the largest unit's monthly payment is reasonable. Not having to shell out so much initially makes fixing up a shed to be livable easier. In three years (assuming we don't pay it off early, or pay extra monthly) it would be ours. Plus working on the shed is good practice for building a house. 12'x32' is a good size for a studio for me or a school house or converting to a small barn or even just using it for a shed. We have to have somewhere to stay after our three hour drive up, hotel stays can add up fast and we have a dog now too that we'd either have to kennel or get a pet sitter.

Speaking of pet sitters, we've been toying with the notion of finally getting chicks. I'm just about desperate for them and have to really stop myself from picking them up (and bringing them home) when I visit the feed store. I see the possibilty with them, the materialization of our dream and hope that we can do this. That we are doing it. Leaving them to go up to the land to build is something that we have to recognize and find a solution to.

But then again, we're nothing if not solution finders.

We have BARN plans!

At www.stablewise.com you can purchase a variety of barn plans for little money. You can also download them instantly for even less. (Photo above is from Stable Wise website).

This barn houses four 12x12' pens a tack area and wash area and stairs to a hay loft. It measures 36x36' square. The barn is supposed to be for horses but I think it's about perfect for our goats and milk cow. Between the stalls I'll build a U shaped channel on both sides of the wall where they're normally divided into 2 pens. Here I'll be able to slide in 1x8x12 boards to create a chest high wall that will be removable. This way I can let the goats all live together and sanction off a section as needed for kidding, illness or bucks. The tack and wash areas are also convertable to pens. Since I don't really need tack for them I might make the part with stairs to the hay loft both the tack and wash leaving the other 12x12 side available for more livestock. The beauty of the plan is it the modularity (that's a word, right?)

I've emailed a guy that has some 25 and 30 foot long telephone poles (this is a pole barn btw) for sale and he delivers. I'm waiting for a quote.

I want to submit these plans with the house so we can work on what we want as materials, time and money permit. Having the large barn available for building materials and shaded workspace might be a bonus to have in the sweltering Florida sun. Plumbing will come in the form of rain barrels which will also be used for watering the animals. Positioning them on the North facing wall will provide shelter from the sun, keeping them cool. This will also eliminate the need for plumbing permits, inspections and additional costs to build. I'm also thinking solar for the lighting as I'd only need it when I went in to see them.

This barn is where the pallets will come heavily into play. If we can figure out how to pull of the boards without cracking them (we've been having a problem with that) I'd like to use them for siding the barn. A coat of paint and no one would know the difference. Light colored or tin roofing will help deflect heat. We'll build the barn doors ourselves with scraps unless we can get a good deal on them or find them used. Up there is Ag country and a plethora more resources than we have in the city. At least I hope so.
Right now we're finalizing the house floor plan. I'll be making calls this week to find out about permit prices. We have a lead on a bus which might pan out to our benefit. Not exactly what we're looking for but in our price range. Stay tuned, much more to come!