Building New Coop/Barn...Phase 5 Great Barn Build, OCCUPIED! 3/6/16

[speckledhen]

Big bole Ida...tank of a girl!

She was standing in the nest underneath where Lizzie was sitting. She never left the coop the entire time Liz was inside messing around. I was hoping I'd get eggs from both Liz and Ida, but nada.

 

[Cetawin]

Ida does not lay until she wishes too. How is Aman nanda and BeccaBeccaBecca?

 

[speckledhen]

Ida does not lay until she wishes too. How is Aman nanda and BeccaBeccaBecca?

They seem fine. I've had maybe five eggs from Amanda over the past three weeks, not bad for an ancient lady of almost 9 years. Becca is just Becca, bossy as always. She jumped on Panda's back and made her scream the other day, same as she does to Tiny. Yup, she's fine.

 

[1muttsfan]

The threshold looks great.

I also like a mixed flock, mine is really nice with a single AB rooster, although right now I have 3 Arkansas Blue roosters in a separate pen for the winter - I am afraid to get rid of them as they are so very rare, and I would like to raise some next year.

 

[speckledhen]

The threshold looks great.

I also like a mixed flock, mine is really nice with a single AB rooster, although right now I have 3 Arkansas Blue roosters in a separate pen for the winter - I am afraid to get rid of them as they are so very rare, and I would like to raise some next year.

Thanks, has to pass the rain test, as does the concrete apron we poured around the building.

My situation is a prime example of why to have an extra rooster if you want to continue breeding. I expected to lose Isaac due to his age but I did not expect to lose either Rex or Deacon and now, I've lost all three of them. And Atlas's hens are not laying so I can't even hatch a batch.

My 7 yr old EE hen, June, just laid an egg after a couple months off from her last one. Before that last one, she'd been on hiatus for about six months. So, technically, I have ten hens laying, but they are so sporadic (other than Rowena and Wendy) that we can't count on them at all.

 

[speckledhen]

Yesterday, my almost 8 yr old EE, June, laid her jumbo green egg for the first time in a long while. Okay, Lizzie, do the Walk of Shame, AGAIN! Still no egg from that girl.

If I wanted a bird who didn't lay until a year old, I'd have peafowl.

DH picking up another roll of the insulation today on the way back from picking up the CRV from the dealer. He has to pass a Lowe's anyway.

We had an idea about doing the floor. We may do it in pen units, like building a raised bed for each one, one at a time, putting bracing/joists and laying plywood on top, voila, instant pen floor. That way, the irregularities in the pad will be easier to deal with. And we can lay the plastic and anti-dig wire (just an extra layer of protection in addition to the concrete apron we poured around the perimeter) under each pen floor frame as we go. I hope this is clear. Seems like a manageable way to do it rather than try to do a 20x24 floor. Each unit could be bolted to the next if need be and some will share walls, of course.

 

[aart]

.....

We had an idea about doing the floor. We may do it in pen units, like building a raised bed for each one, one at a time, putting bracing/joists and laying plywood on top, voila, instant pen floor. That way, the irregularities in the pad will be easier to deal with. And we can lay the plastic and anti-dig wire (just an extra layer of protection in addition to the concrete apron we poured around the perimeter) under each pen floor frame as we go. I hope this is clear. Seems like a manageable way to do it rather than try to do a 20x24 floor. Each unit could be bolted to the next if need be and some will share walls, of course.

Hmmmm...I get it......thinking....2x4 'joists', 3/8 plywood 'flooring'...
maybe movable?....nah.

moisture barrier, anti dig (how big of mesh?), then floor sections.....

Might be simpler than doing whole floor....but might be more costly/complicated too.

Will think more.

 

[speckledhen]

Hmmmm...I get it......thinking....2x4 'joists', 3/8 plywood 'flooring'...
maybe movable?....nah.

moisture barrier, anti dig (how big of mesh?), then floor sections.....

Might be simpler than doing whole floor....but might be more costly/complicated too.

Will think more.

Not movable, maybe bolted to each other at some point. It's like breaking down a big job in to smaller increments. The cost isn't the big thing, not in the end. It may take awhile to get it done but I'm not as worried about the total as I am about making it manageable for my husband. If I could hire someone to do it, I would.

 

[speckledhen]

Epic fail. Rain went under the concrete apron on the entry door side because it just pooled too much, I guess. Drain is not doing the job on that side. DH is too bad in his back to dig a foot down into clay. Have to hire someone, I guess, plus add the gutters ASAP, but rain for 4 days will make it a swamp. Even where it isn't actually coming under the walls, the paver base feels very damp. I'm very down about it. Wish we could have afforded a concrete pad in the first place. Will set us back doing the inside until this issue is solved.

 

[aart]

Oh, that stinks!
No doubt that you're super bummed...I'm soo sorry. Deep breaths.
It's a tough site with that sharp slope (can't remember which side it's on) and clay soil....
......the paver base is now a porous place for the water to go.

Will have to go back and look at pics to see slopes....site plan with slopes and elevations shown might help
There's got to be a way to trench and swale to redirect water runoff.