Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Hillbilly Hen]

HH take care, hope you are feeling better soon, lots of honey and lemon and chicken soup I think it is the steam they create that is so good for you, nice that they taste good too!!
how is your canner working?

Thanks Mary

I made soup yesterday...three kinds...ham and veggie for dinner and 15 bean and split pea for the canner.[I had lots of leftover ham!] The canner is working great! Want to come over and use it??

Taking it easy and canning don't usually go together. Get better!

You are right. Just going to get the last bit of venison in today and then I am done till I get better.
I have so many things I want to do, especially some sewing projects.

I want to make another set of these...




Those chairs are funny!

 

[RaZ]

Did you make the chicken pattern, HH? That is very cool. I should dig out my sewing machines.


After I finish the wood...


I thought the butts were bigger but it was only 29" in diameter.



Most of the limbs made for nice cut rounds, but I think I do some splitting today since it has been cold enough for the moisture to freeze. Maple splits well anyway.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Raz, I found the pattern in a book so I made those for my Aunt for Christmas.

It's too cold out there.. try to stay warm!

 

[RaZ]

Raz, I found the pattern in a book so I made those for my Aunt for Christmas.

It's too cold out there.. try to stay warm!

I'll be warmed up in no time.

 

[ladyrsanti]

Contemplating building a new coop. What kind of floor do you all have and do you like it? The coop I'm using now has concrete and I'm fine with it until I have to pour a new one. Any easier/better ideas?

 

[fuzzybutt love]

coat it to make cleanup easier, or use a rubber mat for time being?

 

[ladyrsanti]

Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear.

I'm building a new coop because my current coop, though adequate, is not what I would like to have. I would still use it as a grow-out coop or a bachelor pad or whatever else I might need. It's on the NE side of the barn, with no Southerly facing wall (the south wall opens into the barn. It's great for letting them out in the winter where they just spread out into the barn for the day but they don't get any sun. The barn is a veritable cave. The options for the run are limited as 1. the chickens have to climb a ramp up and over the 3ft cinder block foundation and 2. the run encroaches into the sheep pasture, smaller than I'd like and 3. it's on the north side of the very large barn = no sun. It leaks badly when it rains and the ventilation is iffy. It didn't cost me anything to build it so I'm not out anything but time and sweat.

Anyway, I've got a spot out in the yard, by the garden that I've staked out. There's actually already a foundation sunken into the ground there that might have well been a coop at one time, given the size. It's not under any trees but gets shade in the summer half the day from a massive maple and oak tree nearby and sun all day in the winter. I'm not keen on pouring a concrete foundation so I'm wondering what else is available that is tried and true here in Michigan. I could ask the general forum but I don't particularly want to sort out responses from out west or the south; they don't always work up here.

Any input would be greatly appreciated and contemplated.


Here's an aerial view of a portion of our yard. The red square is the location of the current coop. You can't even see the structure it's in, a lean-to addition, for all the shade that barn makes. The yellow box is the location I'd like it to be in. I think I was working in the garden that day. No other reason for there to be a shadow there.

 

[RaZ]

Can you build on the foundation that is there? Is it just a wall foundation? Or is there a floor buried within?

 

[ladyrsanti]

Whatever it is, it's really old, stone, mostly buried. No floor. I could certainly use it to lay cinder blocks on for a sturdy foundation.

 

[1muttsfan]

My coop is elevated with a plywood floor covered with vinyl floor covering. Durable, water-resistant, and easy to clean. I do not let the birds go under, their run is off to the side.