Chickens and grandmothers

One of my earliest memories of my maternal grandmother centers around her chickens. She kept chickens when they lived off the Red River in Louisiana. When we would visit during our annual summer vacation, she would let me go in the cage and collect eggs.

I wasn’t too fond of the chickens because they would come flying at me or peck at my feet, but I loved collecting those eggs. They seemed so mysterious being brown with little specks, maybe a feather on them, and sometimes a green egg!

At my fraternal grandmothers’ house you would wake up and hear the roosters (who live several doors down) crowing. While there wasn’t much at my maternal grandmothers house to like, I did like to hear those roosters.

So it’s been my plan to get chickens when we get moved up and get our little place. But I really don’t know much about them except for the following information:

~ Don’t expect to make money off your chicken eggs. Apparently, the cost of chicken feed offsets any profit of a small backyard operation. I’ve read this and was told this by one of my husband’s co-workers whose wife sold us eggs.

~ Chickens don’t make old age; disease or disaster usually wipes them out. I’ll have to be prepared to kill them too if need be. Don’t name the chickens and see them as pretty expendable creatures like goldfish.

~ Chicken manure runoff from commercial productions is a huge problem in my area of the world. It has contaminated water supplies and killed fish. I will need to make sure it gets composted and mixed with the horse manure to decrease it’s hotness.

~ About 6 chickens would need a 8×8 area. I am probably going to go with a chicken tractor that can be moved about but OTOH I prefer the look of stationary ones. At the bare minimum it needs wire that cannot be pulled apart by raccoons or dogs; a roof due to hawks; a shelter/roost with the ability to be heated; wheels (if a tractor); water source; and a way to access the eggs.

The following photos are from www.thecitychicken.com so be sure to check their website out for full resources.

I like the simplicity of this tractor.

Love the look of this one.
Being stationary it would need to be scraped out to be cleaned.

Hm this looks to be well thought out.
I wonder if the coop off the ground is better/worse for weather extremes?

My favorite design aesthetically as it seems to give a sense of space. 

Edited to Add: Check out the Garden Coop blog - lots of really nice looking coops there with better info about making changes with the coop plan.

One area that I rather disagree with the City Chicken is about the organic nature of eggs and if they are better or not. We’ve had store bought and fresh. Hands down the fresh eggs were 100 percent better. People who didn’t know the difference of the eggs also commented when eating them that the taste was better.

Whether they have less or more cholesteral I think is cutting a fine hair, but I do know that I know where they came from and that makes me feel a whole lot better about eating them.

Tack room shed (my thoughts)

While I love sheds (and really any cute small building) there are some things I’ve figured about them that is about the practicality of using them. I’ll share that here.

yum yum

Size. They can be too small and I would suggest taping off the size of what you want on your driveway or garage floor and then fitting everything in there. You’ll find out if it can store all that you are thinking of (i.e. feed barrels, storage shelves, saddle racks, bridle racks etc…). I actually have an earlier post where I realized the size I was planning was too small.

BTW if you board horses, and have more then a couple of boarders, a small shed will be too small. You’d be better off using a room in the barn.

Foundation. I would defintitely plan on putting a gravel apron under and around the building with a slope outwards to encourage rain runoff – do you really want to encourage rot on your wooden building? My favorite idea is putting it on railroad ties embedded in gravel.

BTW to find out about this you need to know your frostline and what the Extension office recommends for the amount of slope for your run off. Some of this may be determined by code and a lot of this can be found out searching the Internet for your local area.

Insulation. Crucial especially if you will be spending a lot of time using this buidling or storing tack (which is vulnerable to hot and cold weather). We insulated one wall (the north) at one place and the difference was remarkable – the equine chiropractor told us he just needed a chair and some hot chocolate and he would be comfy even though the temp was under 20 and it had an open, southern exposure.

I’ve sometimes seen the end lots of a few rolls of batting being sold on Craigslist. It doesn’t matter for your shed if they don’t all match so don’t get all OCD about it. Go for the savings.

Roofing. I would plan on putting in some skylights if you don’t have any windows. I’ve commented to Oregon Sunshine about this but if doing a small roofing project, I would contact roofers and buy the ends of lots they have used for houses. Mix them up and apply for a gingerbread, cottage look. Another product to consider is Ondura which comes in sheets and may be easier to apply.

Electricity. You need some sort of power as there is always a need to use something that plugs in. At the very least use solar panels. A floor heater can make a world of difference when it’s time to do chores and light during the winter evening hours is a Godsend.

Windows. Most plans have way too many windows. It ups the cute factor and people go awwww! but it also means you lose that wall space. If you need more windows, get smaller ones and mount them high on the wall so you can put a shelf or bench underneath and still use the wall.

Door. What side the door swing open and how you are going to keep it open with your arms full is a question you need to plan for. A door on the end gives more wall space then a door in the middle of the long wall; a door on the long wall can be wider and allow a larger porch and lofts in the end walls.

Unless you are storing lawn equipment such as a riding lawn mower, a standard exterior door should be enough, though you do need a 4′ to get a wheelbarrow easily through. Be careful of plans with lots of doors as they also cut into your wall space.

Another comment about the door, I would build some sort of awning or portico over the door in order to provide a bit of shelter from the rain when you are opening the door. It makes life a LOT nicer when you are doing chore time and frozen to the bone.

Loft. If you need even more space, such as storage for hay or Christmas ornament boxes (*cough*) you might want to look into lofts. My problem with lofts though is too many times the builders put them too low and when you have a 6’2″ tall partner it means he has to bow his head to move around. I like this one because the loft is at one end and not dominating the entire space:

For a tack/feed room here are some things you have to consider storing:

Location. As a feed room you must be able to back your vehicle to the door so you can unload feed. This must be done without destroying your lawn and when the weather won’t be ideal (mud and snow).

Feed tubs. I prefer large rubber garbage cans with lids. These are the type that mount on a dolley/wheels. This makes it easy to move them in and out when filling.

Shelf units. I prefer the heavy duty metals ones with wood inserts that they sell at Lowes and Home Depot. These come apart to half size (half-tall) or can be completely dismantled. They are also strong enough to handle real weight on the shelves. Shelves store bins for wormer, first aid, hardware, and all the other crap we horse owners accumulate.

Large bins and tack trunks. Storing of blankets, fly sheets, fly masks and stuff you might travel with for showing.

Bridle hooks and saddle racks. Please don’t stack them 3 high so only a giant can get the top most saddle off.

Tools such as mucking forks, shovels, wheelbarrow, rolling wagon etc… I would store in a lean too off the side of your shed. These are tools you access everyday and who wants to keep opening a door and dragging this stuff out to use it?

Here’s the real scoop, while pre-built buildings save a lot of time they are way overpriced. I have priced out lumber for the same plan and it was 1/3 to 1/4 the price. If you have ANY DIY skills consider building your own before buying pre-made.

Little buildings to love

Looks like, despite all evidence to the contrary, that we will pay off a big bill at the end of the year, putting us on track for the move to the Missouri to happen within the next 18 months. To keep the dream alive, here is one of my favorite little outbuilding plans:

It was featured in Popular Mechanics magazine and I guess it’s the red barn color with the gray roof, and the New England style barn features that makes my heart go pittypat. Hm but I think I would put sliding barn doors on the exterior of the open area maybe with an arbor, delete one of the door areas and put a row of windows (which can be propped open) with windowboxes where the door once was.
 

The cement floor would become stone or reclaimed brick. Face it south and stick some solar panels on the roof for electricity. Remember, to plan for it to vent during summer. It could function as a stand alone tack room, but I’m thinking of reserving it for husband’s pottery studio and/or tool shop. Better plan for a hammock I’m thinking so I can hang out and read while he putters about…

Here’s the little kitchen garden that would go with it (fence lowered to prevent rabbit entrance though):

If I decided to do a greenhouse – not sure on that, I would go with a Salt Box design. Facing south for the plants. Would this need some sort of radiant heat in the depths of winter to keep plants going or would passive solar be enough? (note to self – ask Chico):

For some reason, defying all logic, I LOVE saltbox buildings. Maybe I lived in New England in another life. Probably will be the place to keep all the garden tools, rakes, wheelbarrows, compost heap, but could make a neat feed/tack room too. Thinking of it being built from reclaimed wood such as this staircase was:

And it needs a Dutch Door don’t you think?

I think the garden shed would need a lean-to as a place to provide cover for a riding lawn mover but would that spoil the look?? (hm I guess the riding mower could go in the tractor barn). 

Here is an easy DIY on making a rain barrel system. If it’s a blueprint that I can understand then it’s feasible folks:

Yet, I see from my files, that I have not put any serious thought into how the chicken house will look! Hm I better get on that this week…. (after I get back from trip to Missouri to see hubby and scope out possible school for daughter).

Photospam of our current horsehome (3HF)

 Some pics of where we are today –

 

T-man and Little Girl in one of their 2 acre pastures. The run-ins can be seen in the distance.

 

A driving lane is between the paddocks. There are several gates which will contain the horses before they would hit a road – good safety feature. Our paddock is on the left of this picture.

 

At the back of the property is this dead end road that runs parallel to the working areas and is owned by the BO’s. Beyond the trees on the right is about a 10 acre open area that contains a round pen and soon my dressage arena, and an enclosed arena. Much of the area will remain open and you can ride a circuit through the field, up this lane, and back to the main parking and tack room area. 

 

Portable storage shed that is our tack room along with hitching rail. Our paddock can be seen right behind.

 

Interior shot of my walls in the tack room. Bridles right, Storage shelf unit for my pretties; 4 saddle racks, understorage, saddle blanket rack on far left, yellow tub is my feed.

As you can see it’s a very well cared for and peaceful place.

Getting excited about organizing

I’m getting rather excited about the upcoming move. That’s a huge thing for me – getting excited – as the last two years have kinda pummeled excitement out of me. Okay on to the organizational, spam photos!

I’m trying to get all my horse junk in order. I know, like all of us, I’ve got way too much. Combined with teaching lessons (which meant I bought extra stirrup leathers, stirrup irons, brushes, etc…) it’s gotten way out of hand. I’ve got a pile started to sell.

However, in order to organize I must needs have organizers!! Yeah! I found these at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

They are shower totes and look a little small until I opened them up and they are roomy enough to fit anywhere from 3-6 bottles in the main compartment. What I really like is the inside is lined like insulated lunchboxes so it will wipe clean easily, and it has drain holes so stuff will sort itself out in the bottom.

The only thing I don’t like is the handles which are too thin and will probably need replacing.

One is my quickie groom bag: hoof trimmers, bot knives, currycombs, massage roller, hoof pick, StaphAttack and flyspray. The other is my bath kit: shampoo, conditioner, scubby mitts, scrubby clothes, sweat scrapers, tail brightener. For my larger brushes I’ll keep one of the four plastic totes I have (the others will go on the chopping block).

Besides it’s purty. 

I’ve grouped things and put them in clear boxes (this is a tip I learned from an organizing website that clear allows you to see what’s inside because though solid gives a cleaner look you will keep opening to check the box – aggravation). I’ve tried open bins to store stuff at a barn and they just get filthy because of the dust and dirt. On the extra leather that is stored away, I’m putting in a bag of silica gel to prevent mildew.

I used deeper boxes for storing stuff such as fly sheets, coolers, and a bunch of bottles. All the boxes have laminated labels that are taped on the front. I learned from experience not to write directly on the box – you never know when you’ll change your mind!

When I was organizing I found out that I had 8 girths! That was when I had a lot of horses and ponies for the riding school. I weeded some out but kept most as LittleGirl will definitely go through some changes in size.

I get one wall in the tack room so my plans are to get all this stuff moved within the week. That way it will be out of the house but also accounted for and ready to go once the horses are moved!!

Yippeee!