Hi Gallo and Pastry.. The boys are doing well. Wish they would spend more time here but since we don't have high speed internet or all heir friends in close proximity they prefer their mom's house.
Gallo, as LKD said, no, I didn't know her, I was just looking at turkeys in the freezer and she said she wanted to get a heritage turkey instead of a store bought. That prompted me to tell her that I had about 11 at home, along with chickens, geese guineas etc.
re: old computers and such. I had a TI994/A that I used to play with and write code for. And, as much as I hate to say it I still have floppy disks, both 5 1/4 and 3 1/2. Figure there must be a museum somewhere that could use 'em.My older brother was the Commodore 64 and 128 geek.
Angelray, I have carried roosters upside down by their feet when rounding them up to put them in their own coop, but not for very long, but just so I could carry more at a time. We had a Polish that would attack the boys and I. After showing him he was not the boss, we would carry him around on his back like you would a baby, preventing him from moving. He settled down after that
City Farm, my daughter and my husband live down that way. They are just south of the 202 and Country Club. It's an all day event for us to go see them or vice versa. I just took pictures this a.m. to post after I get caught up here in a little bit. Oh, just to nit pic, "The LOVE of money is the root of all evil"
Kev, you appear the expert on solar water heaters, what brand of passive set up do you have? Is Solahart still in business? I haven't seen them in ages.
Bobby Basham, any relation to or know of a Tom Basham that lived in Phx?
LKD, cute pics, captions.
Hi, I dont know if I would be considered an expert, although I've only really ever seen three types. Big tank on the roof weighing hundreds of pounds, glass panels, and Fafco's worthless plastic black mat. My opinion is the glass panels are the best and actually work but companies want over a thousand dollars to install them. That takes a long time to recoup any savings. Plus the tanks only last 6 to 10 years with the warranty expiring after 6. I don't have a solar water heater, was tempted when the gov. was giving rebates and I could get it for cost but if I did anything now it would be a long black garden hose on the roof with a bypass valve system for those cold nights. Even a stripped down big box store water heater has a yearly average cost of $525; lets say that is conservative and double it to $1050 a year. That is less then $90 a month to heat water and we know the water in the valley is not that cold to start with.
Yes it is a prefab coop. It has 2 doors.
I have tried a few different styles coop. I enjoyed designing my own and learned to adapt. But the most easy and practical one was the 8 x 10 second hand shed with added ventilation and screened windows. Plus the shed was a gift.Yes it is a prefab coop. It has 2 doors.
It has not held up for the dollar spent. The bottom is falling out, now hard to clean because I no longer can slide out the bottom. I fiberglass end the wood, hoping it would work better then varnish. It has and has not at the same time. It is not that strong or well made, but it dose work. My know coop would be great but I changed the design as I was building it. The nesting boxes were to be exterior, I changed it ti interior and lost space for 4 chickens. I wish I had picked up a used 8'x6' shed and converted it. Easy access, I install a chicken door (giving 2 doors to be a proper coup), maybe a skylight or window. I think it would have been creeper. As it is the prefab cast as much as some new sheds + the money spent on the new one, I could have customized the inside for my girls. Hind sight is wonderful.
I still have heritage turkeys for Christmas. Of course, I am in Tucson, so probably too far for you unless you are coming down this way for something anyway. They will be processed and are all organically fed from hatch.
I will probably grow a few out next year, but I don't want to do as many as this year. I want to raise a few more hens of some of the breeds I have, and of course there will be extra toms along the way. Not being able to grow them in big fields of forage, like other parts of the country has, makes growing turkeys here very expensive.
