MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

Thanks for explaining. I am looking forward to seeing it come together.

Does it make sense? It does to me, but I'm not great at seeing what's wrong in my own ideas.

 

[RoyalChick]

Does it make sense? It does to me, but I'm not great at seeing what's wrong in my own ideas.

It is a rare skill to be able to shoot down one's own ideas!
The thing you said that convinced me was shielding the food/water hung underneath from poop. If it weren't for that my thinking was that the floor, even a half floor, would just become an additional cleaning chore.
I love the idea of them having a shady roost area in the fun run, and I love the idea of having the roof high up so it doesn't become a heat trap.
Whatever you decide, I am confident it will be great!

 

[MaryJanet]

It is a rare skill to be able to shoot down one's own ideas!
The thing you said that convinced me was shielding the food/water hung underneath from poop. If it weren't for that my thinking was that the floor, even a half floor, would just become an additional cleaning chore.
I love the idea of them having a shady roost area in the fun run, and I love the idea of having the roof high up so it doesn't become a heat trap.
Whatever you decide, I am confident it will be great!

The other part of the dream is to harvest the poops in a systematic way to improve the soil.

I have a vague notion of getting one of these and keeping it in the run. Then once a week I can toss the sand and poops from the raised floor into it and prepare fresh sand for the floor.

Preparing fresh sand means sifting out the various bits of gravel and organic waste and spreading the sand on the floor (years ago Dad made a huge but still wieldy sieve for this purpose), and then separating the gravel from the organic in a big bucket, scooping out the floating organic waste and adding it to the compost bin. Sieving the gravel from the water, disposing of the gravel and using the water on whatever plants I put in the fun run (probably cuttings of dad's plantings and some plumbago). I think I can get this down to a 10 minute weekly routine if I keep the compost bin, the tools, and the end of a hose in the run.

It'll provide compost for the garden as well as remove sharp bits of gravel and organic matter from the run

 

[RoyalChick]

The other part of the dream is to harvest the poops in a systematic way to improve the soil.

I have a vague notion of getting one of these and keeping it in the run. Then once a week I can toss the sand and poops from the raised floor into it and prepare fresh sand for the floor.

Preparing fresh sand means sifting out the various bits of gravel and organic waste and spreading the sand on the floor (years ago Dad made a huge but still wieldy sieve for this purpose), and then separating the gravel from the organic in a big bucket, scooping out the floating organic waste and adding it to the compost bin. Sieving the gravel from the water, disposing of the gravel and using the water on whatever plants I put in the fun run (probably cuttings of dad's plantings and some plumbago). I think I can get this down to a 10 minute weekly routine if I keep the compost bin, the tools, and the end of a hose in the run.

It'll provide compost for the garden as well as remove sharp bits of gravel and organic matter from the run

Interesting idea. You can let the poop rot down without assistance just heaping it in a corner of the yard.
From a safety point of view you really only need to worry if you are growing food. Personally I just let mine age a bit so it doesn't scorch plant roots but I don't bother with formally composting. It breaks down a lot in my run and then in the Fall I spread it over beds so it ages over the winter.
I am sure there will be lots of folk who say what I do is wrong for some reason but it works fine and is very low effort!

 

[MaryJanet]

Interesting idea. You can let the poop rot down without assistance just heaping it in a corner of the yard.
From a safety point of view you really only need to worry if you are growing food. Personally I just let mine age a bit so it doesn't scorch plant roots but I don't bother with formally composting. It breaks down a lot in my run and then in the Fall I spread it over beds so it ages over the winter.
I am sure there will be lots of folk who say what I do is wrong for some reason but it works fine and is very low effort!

Poop is very good at decomposing, but I'm more concerned about this sort of organic matter which are weeds that dried into a sort of thatch. I'd like to manage this type of organic waste more effectively so it's not a tripping hazard. It might even need shredding before going into the compost bin.

So the main goals are gravel reduction, thatchy weeds reduction, compost production, bug encouragement, and poop recycling. And gradual soil improvement around the whole garden.

 

[MaryJanet]

It only just occurred to me that the floor (and food and water) could be removed in heat waves and the ground beneath sprayed with a hose too cool it off before roosting. That might provide a little more cool air circulation and a little more heat escape.

 

[MaryJanet]

Here are today's photos.

All the kit

All set

I put cup hooks in the joists so food and water can be hung from them. It was a simple matter of measuring, marking, drilling and winding in by hand. X6

Then I attached all the brackets. Clamp and screw x6.

The boss came by to check my progress but didn't stay long. She was intent on taking a bath.

Then I fitted the first joist.

The other two followed.

And here's the water hanging from its new hook.

Again, it looks like 15 minutes work, but it was 2 hours for me because I work slowly and do a lot of double checking.

 

[MaryJanet]

Another bonus flowing from raising the floor is that it's easier for me to duck under the joists if needs be.

Next time, I'll do some painting touch ups.

After that, I'll think about the walls and the four removable floor panels.

 

[MaryJanet]

Dinner time!

Come to think of it, I like this photo because it shows the difference in their size.

 

[LozzyR]

Here are today's photos.

All the kit

View attachment 3006911

All set

View attachment 3006913

I put cup hooks in the joists so food and water can be hung from them. It was a simple matter of measuring, marking, drilling and winding in by hand. X6

View attachment 3006921

Then I attached all the brackets. Clamp and screw x6.

View attachment 3006917

The boss came by to check my progress but didn't stay long. She was intent on taking a bath.

View attachment 3006928

Then I fitted the first joist.

View attachment 3006930

The other two followed.

View attachment 3006932

And here's the water hanging from its new hook.

View attachment 3006933

Again, it looks like 15 minutes work, but it was 2 hours for me because I work slowly and do a lot of double checking.

Nice! I love watching builds happen.