A Canine Addition....

We have a fairly new family member in the midst.  It was time for Spud Man to get a dog, the boy NEEDED a dog.  We knew it was time.  We scoured the area for a nice cow dog mix.  He wanted a playful energetic dog with a little attitude.  He certainly got it.

Meet Dolly.  We got her when she was 7 weeks old.  She is a Miniature Australian Shepherd and Border Collie Cross.  Right from the start, she chose Spud Man....we thought we were there so he could pick out a puppy but it appeared more like this little puppy picked him.  He paid for her himself even.  From that point on he is and always has been her person.  She likes the rest of us, she listens to the rest of us and obeys, BUT his voice trumps us all.

 She quickly became an integral part of our household.

She is happy, perky, and quick!

Then she sleeps.

She is also very helpful with his school work....well maybe not, but she sure is cute.

And she sleeps some more.

She REALLY loves her sleep!

She also loves our other dog Maggie.

   

They are good buds....

...but no one, and I mean no one comes before her master, Spud Man.  She is so bonded to him it is amazing! Wherever Spud Man is she is too!

She worries about him when he is sick, and she won't leave his side.

Welcome to the family, Dolly!  We enjoy you.

The Chicken Tractor for the Meat Chickens...

I have been racing a time deadline these past few weeks.  We have had Cornish X chicks in the brooder house for 3 weeks and I only had 1 week left until they really needed to be out on pasture for the whole pastured poultry aspect of raising naturally raised chicken.  We had them out during the day in the old laying hens pen where there was just a little forage but we really wanted them out and getting more fresh air, sunshine, and getting to feast on bugs and fresh greens like a healthy chicken should.  Problem was I was so busy!  I was having trouble finding the time to get it built.  Note to self: Make sure to have whole set-up ready before chicks arrive!  Because who knew they'd grow THAT fast?!

Here they are at 3 1/2 weeks old!

I was finally able to set aside enough time to build it several afternoons this past week.  The kids and I got started on the schooling earlier than normal and we abbreviated some topics so we could get to the project sooner each afternoon.  Surprisingly it only took 2 afternoons!

It is modeled after the design suggested in Pastured Poultry Profits a book by Joel Salatin.  Salatin is a well respected farmer who is forging the way for small scale farmers world wide.  I have enjoyed reading his literature and gleaning ideas from his thought processes.  My favorite book so far from him is You Can Farm The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start and Succeed In A Farming Enterprise.  He recommends a chicken tractor that is 10x12 feet but we opted for an 8x8 size because that was the standard wood length for the materials we wanted to use.  Anything longer than an 8 foot 2x2 board starts to look more like a corkscrew than a straight board.

It was made with mainly 2x2s for the uprights, 1x4 boards, and some various bracing, L brackets and many many screws in all different lengths.  We used salvaged metal roofing on the tops for the sheltered area, we used thin plywood materials on the sheltered sides for wind/rain protection.

So here is the finished product.

The front view.  You can see sections of yellow hose on the ropes we use to move it.  The hose is a hand-saver, it is so much easier to hold those ropes with a nice thick hose over it than it is to have ropes digging into your fingers.  The front one we put a hook to keep the handle off the ground and out of the chicken poo as it is moved around.  The top doors are held down with bungee type ropes that are hooked to the same eye-bolt that the handle to move it is tied to.  We have the tractor positioned in our orchard to keep the grass and bugs down around the trees.  It is an area that is about 210' long by 45' wide.  We have the laying hens' tractor positioned along the outside edge of the orchard fence so we will have a nice buffer area around the hay field so the swather operator won't need to try to get too close to fences and irrigation risers.;)

Here is a back view, I was using what I had available that had been salvaged so the back is 3 sections of thin plywood.  The middle one can be removed with about 6 screws to use as a door at some point if we wanted to.  The side is about 2/3 covered with plywood to give the birds somewhere to get out of the wind or the wind driven rain.;)  We also hung a 75watt flood light in that area so we could turn it on for the particularly cool or windy nights as a place for them to huddle and stay warm.

Getting it all set up and ready for the birds.  

We wanted the water bucket secure because we get high winds around here.  The original design showed the bucket sitting on top of the structure but I was afraid as the bucket emptied it would blow off or get jostled when we moved it.  So we dubbed off one corner of the structured opening for the access doors with supports and nested the bucket into the structure a little.  The red dots you see in the bottom of the bucket are what are called nipple waterers.  The chickens have taken to it quickly and it keeps their water more sanitary and prevents them from kicking stuff into the water supply, pooping in it, or knocking it over.  I also like that it doesn't sit on the ground and take up square footage that the birds can forage.  We had to design the door on that side to fit around it.  It turned out to be the perfect placement to fill it easily, and lifting it to that height is easy too!  We purchased a lid for the bucket so that nothing can fall in as well.

Here are a couple more pictures of the bucket water assembly.  You can see on the bottom of the bucket the little nipple fittings they just peck at them a little and the water dribbles out and they quickly figure out that is where water comes from.  I am pleased with this design so far.

Here the chickens are getting used to the new set up.  You can see the light hanging for supplemental heat the first week or two they go out and during storms.  You can also see the long handled feeder they they are all over!

It never takes them long to find the feeder!  Here is the other creep feeder on the one side.

 So far the chickens seem to like the new set-up and are doing well.  We have had a few very windy days and it is staying put and the chickens are using the sheltered corner as planned.  We have 44 chickens in this pen.  We figured in the future we should probably plan to have 42 chickens per 8x8 pen but so far they seem to have plenty of room.  They are still relatively small so we will work on getting another pen built in the next couple weeks.  We have 60 chicks coming this week for 2nd batch and they will need a little more room to spread out when they are older.

This was our prototype and honestly I am not sure I will change much on the next one.  Which is a wonderful sign that this one was a success!

Circular Driveways Make Delivery People Happy...

It was time!  We needed a circular drive (or U shaped), you get the idea.  It felt like such a bottle neck once you drove into the driveway, then you'd have to back all the way out.  With so many kids and animals around we were getting nervous that at some point something somewhere was going to get run over.  Here are the before shots or our yard and driveway area.

Here is a direct shot of the driveway going in.  This is how we'd have to back out of our driveway.  It wasn't too bad but we looked forward to more options.

Another shot.... do you like that stormy sky!?

By that small apple tree by the power pole is where the new driveway will come back to the main road.

See this ugly low shed looking structure?  Ya it had to go!  This area is where we will plant the raspberries.

Another before shot.  See our suburban parked on the grass? For weeks we drove through the grass to get a feel for where we wanted the driveway to go and how tight to make the turn.  This was actually a pretty useful way to get the driveway just where we wanted it.  Very scientific and mathematical I know.

You can almost see where we've been driving in the grass in this picture. 

Ok time for AFTER pictures isn't it?  No, sorry, time for some in process pictures first!

It was c-c-cold that morning!  Mr. Wonderful started by scraping the sod off.  Then he piled extra top soil in mounds for our future landscaping plan.

Another view of him removing material off the yard.

Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better!

Here he is adding soil to the landscaping mounds.

Mr. Wonderful's perspective.

Ready for the gravel now.

It is coming together, the gravel is being spread.  One truck-load at a time.  First we did course gravel, then the finer top layer.  This should create a more stable driveway in the long run.

 Sunshine and Whippersnapper on the roller.

Tobers waits in the truck to make another trip for gravel.

Ok Ok, you are really ready for some AFTER pictures now right?  Well here you go.

Here is the view from the parking area in front of the pole building along the front of the house.

\

The view from the front steps.  So nice and smooth!

From the main road, mainly all you can see is where the old driveway was it is just wider now.   We will have to reseed grass in a few areas but it is so worth it!

From main road where you can see the new driveway connecting into the main road (by the power pole).  Ignore the landscaping mounds we have yet to get landscaped.  That will come later this spring hopefully.

Here is a shot of the new entrance driveway that connects into the old driveway in front of the pole building.

Expertly compacted by Sunshine and Whippersnapper, they operated the vibratory roller.

Another view from the corner of the house looking toward the main road.

Isn't it nice?

Oh and look, we tore down the low shelter building!  Now this area is all ready for our raspberry patch!  That bale of straw will be used for mulch for the berries.  I am anxiously waiting for the berries to come in the mail. so I can get them planted.;)  First, I have some weeds to wage war on.

You know how I said we were so worried that something or someone would get run over before the circular driveway went in?  Well once we had completed the work for the day, and the finishing touches to the new driveway had been made;  It was time to park the vehicles in their rightful spots.  Mr Wonderful was jockeying rigs around and getting them all back where they belong.  We had to play musical rigs all day so they wouldn't be in our way when we did certain sections of the driveway.  The whole day, the kids were testing out the driveway with various things of their own, bikes, wagons etc.  Well Spud Man left his bike leaned up against the front suburban bumper.  When Mr Wonderful hopped in to park it he ran the bike over.  The wheels are now off-set by about 8" lol.  While we are sad for Spud Man we also are really thankful that it was just a bike and not a child or a pet.  A tough lesson was learned by many with that ordeal.  It was a little ironic that all day this place was a buzz with activity and equipment running and people all over and it wasn't until the very last moment something got ran over!

A sad day for the bike.

I hope you enjoyed the tour of our progress.  We are sure enjoying our new driveway.  The best part is the delivery drivers are so appreciative.  They can drive right up to the door step now and don't have to back in or out of our driveway.   I love how easy it makes it to unload groceries now.....not that it stopped us from driving on the grass before, but now we won't look like such rednecks when we do it.  Every time we get to tackle a fun project like this I feel so incredibly blessed to have a husband who works in the construction field and who has access to the equipment we need to get the job done, as well as a generous boss to lend it to us.  This driveway project cost us very little compared to what it would have cost someone without the connections we have.  The main cost for us was the gravel, which was at a discounted rate thanks to a friend from church.  The discount helped us to get the project done now rather than needing to wait until fall and save up more money.  We are blessed indeed!

Gee this might be my longest post ever....if you made it here without falling asleep you deserve an award of some kind!