Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[vehve]

Wisher, I agree, the drainage isn't necessary, but the perforated pipes would allow more oxygen into the bottom of the pile.

I don't have issues with clay or sand in our yard, the soil itself is pretty nice. But we've got loads of rocks in there. Not anything big, mostly between a golf ball and tennis ball in size, but you can't drive a shovel in more than 2-3 inches before you hit a rock.



The hole you see there is about 6 inches deep, took me 2 hours to dig that deep.

 

[scottcaddy]

Wisher, I agree, the drainage isn't necessary, but the perforated pipes would allow more oxygen into the bottom of the pile.

I don't have issues with clay or sand in our yard, the soil itself is pretty nice. But we've got loads of rocks in there. Not anything big, mostly between a golf ball and tennis ball in size, but you can't drive a shovel in more than 2-3 inches before you hit a rock.



The hole you see there is about 6 inches deep, took me 2 hours to dig that deep.

That seems a lot like manual labor, where are the power tools?
Scott

 

[ozexpat]

when we added a baffled chamber to our septic system, two guys made a hole 2m x 1.5m x 2m in a little over 2 hours

some roots slowed them down

 

[vehve]

Yup, sand is a lot nicer to dig in. In the military we had a foxhole done in two hours, even with a foot of ice on top of the sand. And that was digging with entrenching tools.

Scott, a couple of shovels is all I've got. And the spot isn't really that accessible. Plus I want to keep the cost down, a couple of hours of digging is only good for me.

 

[ozexpat]

when digging post holes in z, we would dig 6 inches and thenad 2 gallons of water to the hole and move onto the next. after 2 hours you could dig anothe 8" to 1'

 

[vehve]

I was thinking of watering the area I'm digging, but I want it to be as solid as possible when I lay the cement blocks. But it's crazy how much easier you can make digging by adding some water. It does make the soil a bit heavier though.

 

[DaveOmak]

The hole you see there is about 6 inches deep, took me 2 hours to dig that deep.

Are those "concrete" building blocks ??? Are they specialty blocks ??? Dave

 

[vehve]

Dave, yeah, they're concrete. Each block weighs about 8 kg (18 lbs) and the dimensions of these are 60 * 20* 15 cm or about 24" * 8" * 6". They're meant to be used so that you build your structure with them, and then pour concrete into them, removing the need for any molds. You can stack them about a yard high between pouring, or with specialty concrete and in the right temperature, I think you can go as high as 2 yards between pours.

The blocks also come in wider versions, and then there are also blocks with built in insulation. Those are usually made from a mix of Leca gravel and concrete though, making them lighter and more insulating in themselves.

I thought I'd leave the base visible, so I went with these, Leca blocks would have been a bit cheaper. I started with a plan in my head to build a cheap rabbit pen, but I think it's escalating a bit again. When I made the foundation for the gate to our yard, I buried slightly wider blocks like these over a meter deep. That gate is going to stand there for a thousand years. I have a slight tendency to go a bit overboard with these things...

 

[FridayYet]

......I have a slight tendency to go a bit overboard with these things...

Really? LOL

 

[RobJones]

Hi Oz, I have been reading up on preventive sickness medication for poultry and it dont sink in must be old age, can you give me a simple schedule and meds I need to get and every when and how I must treat them, please!