Category: Microfarming

Two posts tonight!nnDog Edition

9/13/2015

I'm posting two VERY different posts tonight! This one is about the dog house *I* made for Minnie, our lab / German shorthair mix.

Minnie loved the chicken coop the entire time I was building it, and after it was finished, she enjoyed being in there with the chickens. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of taking an egg out of the coop. NOT COOL, MINNIE! I told her I would make one for her, and this weekend,I did!

The pallet floor, and the 2X4s I used for the frame.

Yesterday I gathered 1 pallet for the floor, and 6 leftover pieces of 2X4s. I also had 2 full pallets of wood for siding and roof. This time I did everything myself (except nail 2 nails, which my daughter's fiance did for me).

I cut two 2X4s 36" and two others were 28" The two tall ones were mounted on the front of the pallet and the two short ones were mounted on the back (I used long galvanized screws). Next I cut 2 2X4s at the brace for the roof, and attached those by galvanized screws. I also added a 2X4 to act as a door. My frame was built!

Once the structure was complete, I started cutting and nailing pallet panels. It took 4 panels on each side of the coop. I paneled half of the front, allowing for a door. I also used pallets for a roof, overlapping them 1/2" so there were no gaps in the roof.

My backyard microfarming cycle

9/4/2015

What I love most about microfarming is how everything works together to create a perfect sustainability environment. Wow, that's a lot of big words...what does it all mean?

For me, it started with trees. In 2005, we moved to our Century House, which is a home built in 1900 with certification in the historic district within our city that it is at 100 years old. In the yard were both paw paw and walnut trees. For those who don't know, paw paws are a sweet fruit that tastes like custard. I would pick the ripened paw paws from the trees and sometimes eat it raw. We also had walnuts fall all over the yard, starting in August. I would gather them when they were still green balls, and wait for them to ripen. We also had a natural blackberry patch, where we gathered delicious fruit...until the year I thought they were weeds and accidentally killed them...Of the nuts and paw paws, I only took what we needed, and I left the rest to the rabbits, squirrels and birds that were in our yard. Before long, I noticed how, in a natural emergency, we would be able to take care of ourselves if needed, through nature.

With this in mind, I started planting vegetables. I started with tomatoes because they're easy. Last year I added herbs and peppers. This year I added cucumbers and squash.

Then we got the chickens. In winter, we have to invest in more feed than during the summer, because in summer, they eat our leftover vegetables, grass, and herbs (this also helps the coop smell better because of the poop).

Speaking of poop, not only do my chickens produce eggs (which I also use my garden vegetables and herbs for), but they produce...POOP! Awesome, nutritious poop! Natural fertilizer. When we clean the pen and coop, we scoop the poop into our garden, which helps the soil, which helps grow the vegetables and herbs, which helps feed us...and our chickens...it's a circle of sustainability, and is found in my own backyard.

Pallet Palooza and The Chick Inn

9/2/2015

My poor chickens. Neighbors started complaining that they were wandering around the neighborhood instead of staying in the yard, and they were getting unhappy, understandably. Not only were my neighbors unhappy, but my chickens weren't as safe as I'd like, since we live in town. They have a coop and a pen area. It's large enough for my brood, but I always feel sorry for them.

As I've alluded to in the past, I create pallet furniture. I have loads of free pallets from my brother's business. Instead of tossing them in a landfill, I recycle them into really cool couches, table, footstools, bars...signs, chandeliers, bottle openers...you get the picture.

With these two facts, of course I decided I could build a Chicken Mansion! er...coop...

Hubby and I started out by building a frame. The coop is 7' long and 5' wide. The height slopes from 7' in the front to 5' in the back. After the frame was constructed, I started cutting down pallets. Hubby decided I was responsible enough to use the reciprocal saw...that makes pallet cutting MUCH easier! Of course, I did have some pretty good blisters, but that was a small price to pay for the ease, perfection and quickness of the pallet dismantling process.

I started siding the coop at this point. I added a "window" opening and vent holes for light and breeze. These have been covered with chicken screen to keep predators outside. We happened to find a bifold door and a screen door in our basement; those have been repurposed into the front door and yard door in the coop. Inside I have already placed the shelf for the brooding boxes. I'm also in the process of working on the roosting bars. I found a really cool piece of wood in my pile that I will use as a swing.

Once the coop is finished, I plan to add a front and side yard to the coop. This should give my girls a good area to roam.

This has been a learning process, but also a lot of fun. Minnie, our big dog, enjoys the coop, so I've decided to use our scraps to build a matching dog house for her. As I get better at this, I'm going to be making small coops for people who want to save money and the environment using self sustainability and chickens in their backyard. I hope to work with a local agency that works with formerly homeless families, to help integrate the families into self sufficiency.

So, that's what's kept me busy lately!

Two posts tonight!nnDog Edition

My backyard microfarming cycle

Pallet Palooza and The Chick Inn

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Two posts tonight!nn*Dog Edition*

My backyard microfarming cycle

Pallet Palooza and The Chick Inn

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Archives

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Two posts tonight!nnDog Edition