Maine

[yankeehill]

Widget - I saw the other day that could work well! http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/SolarHorseTank/SolarHorseTank.htm

Using your plan may work as well. For insulation, if you can't go with the foam board shown in that link, would wool insulate it enough? I love wool, but I'm not sure it would be capable of preventing freezing water. If you could get your hands on a couple wool fleeces, maybe you could use them? Alternatively, wool blankets and sweaters can be found at thrift stores often. If you aren't sure if something is wool, you can test it by pulling some fibers off of it and dropping them in bleach. Wool dissolves in bleach

 

[Widget]

Widget - I saw the other day that could work well! http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/WaterHeating/SolarHorseTank/SolarHorseTank.htm

Using your plan may work as well. For insulation, if you can't go with the foam board shown in that link, would wool insulate it enough? I love wool, but I'm not sure it would be capable of preventing freezing water. If you could get your hands on a couple wool fleeces, maybe you could use them? Alternatively, wool blankets and sweaters can be found at thrift stores often. If you aren't sure if something is wool, you can test it by pulling some fibers off of it and dropping them in bleach. Wool dissolves in bleach

I have seen those plans but that is a bit too far out of my skill level and budget. I have the containers on hand so I am hoping that my idea will at least help. I doubt anything I do will prevent some ice from forming but if the tanks do not freeze solid I can deal with chopping ice.

 

[yankeehill]

Inside view (we store feed here now)

Side view (the hutch in the distance is no longer there)


Front/side view (we've since cleared around the coop/yard considerably. We have a hanging rabbit hutch out back, just to the left of it now).


Another interior view.

 

[ashandvine]

Put 1/3 of the plastic on the 'greenhouse/dog house' coop that I have been sporadically talking about all year. Its been up and functional but it took me forever to get the rest of the enclosure enclosed and now covered with plastic. The hope is that it will be milder on the birds, possibly grow some grass in there for them and at least keep their waterer from freezing but its all in theory at the moment. My garlic isn't in either. Neither are the hickory. I need SO to till the garden and he isn't available except part of Sat or part of Sun. After working all week he isn't in the mood. I damaged the nerve in my hand again so.... not sure how this is going to work. Oh well. I still need to butcher ducks to and, again, with this hand.... sigh

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Put 1/3 of the plastic on the 'greenhouse/dog house' coop that I have been sporadically talking about all year. Its been up and functional but it took me forever to get the rest of the enclosure enclosed and now covered with plastic. The hope is that it will be milder on the birds, possibly grow some grass in there for them and at least keep their waterer from freezing but its all in theory at the moment. My garlic isn't in either. Neither are the hickory. I need SO to till the garden and he isn't available except part of Sat or part of Sun. After working all week he isn't in the mood. I damaged the nerve in my hand again so.... not sure how this is going to work. Oh well. I still need to butcher ducks to and, again, with this hand.... sigh

I'm glad I'm not the only one with a list that just keeps getting longer and anxiety about it all. I'd have no problem eviscerating your ducks for you (in my spare time) but I will not pluck them. Did you look at Westin's?

 

[lazy gardener]

Today, I mustered up the courage to start the sun room addition on the chicken hoop house. Got (2) 8' cattle panels joined with wire, and did the routed board to go on the top, plan to sandwich the panels betw wood at the ridge, then make the 8 x 4 base, cover with chicken wire, and attach it to existing structure. The girls have discovered the green house. I'm toying with the idea of moving that closer to their coop. The plastic is starting to break down a bit, but I'm hoping that it'll hold together for the winter to give them some more sun space. If I move it to the north side of the garden by the hay cold frames, that'll improve the overall microclimate of the garden by deflecting the cold from the north, and capture extra heat from the south. Should have done that in the first place. Hubby has been sick for the past 2 weeks. I'm hoping that perhaps he'll be back up to speed by this weekend, I need some man power!

 

[quailtrail]

My new girl! My son named her Kyleigh Angel.

congrats!!!!

 

[buckabucka]

DH found that google earth has new photos taken just this fall. They are much clearer than previous photos.

The hoop houses have weird white reflections, while the hoop coop you can actually see the corrugated metal and the clear corrugated section. The lines with white pipe are deer fence (we weighted the bottom with PVC pipe). We could even tell the photo was taken after we had pulled up the peas!

I always thought if I had to start over that I would build a coop with an indoor corridor that ran the whole length down the center, with multiple rooms on each side. You could have breeding pens, brooder room, a place for injured birds, bachelor pen, all under one roof and accessible without tromping through the snow.

This winter, we have a hoop house just parked on the lawn with nothing growing in it. It is not very far from the hoop coop, so I'm hoping if I put leaves on the snow, I can entice the chickens to take a walk over there and enjoy a solarium addition to their housing.

 

[CoopChick719]

I also suffer from coop envy. I'm regretting the design of my coop. fiberglass inside with not enough head room. I fear that the girls will suffer moisture issues from their breath condensing on the fiberglass as they roost at night. If I had the funds, I'd start over with a stick built, about 8 x 12 or so. Funny thing is, we built the same size many years ago... put a LOT of money into it, very well insulated, gave it away.

I also suffer from coop envy. I see abandoned greenhouse frames and think, "I wonder if they'd sell that?"

Our coop is 10x12, made using rough cut lumber. It has a nice high open ceiling, and the front half is sectioned off from the back half with dog wire. We use the front half for food and hay storage.

Nice looking coop yankeehill!

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed on the abandoned green house frames... But I'm even more red neck. I see an old worn out swing set, and I think... perhaps they'd like me to haul that away... to my garden... for a trellis. Hubby doesn't like me to go any where with him in the truck, for fear that I'll embarrass him with my scavenging nature! Not to mention the junk I'd haul home to clutter the yard!