Our introduction to keeping chickens, the high's, the lows and pics of our journey.

[NovaAman]

My totally recycled materials coop! Took me 2 days to build it.

 

[Wrightsx4]

I think you did an awesome job Nova! Looks great - and high off the ground which is really nice sometimes!
It was so beautiful out today - perfect for getting outside work done. I use the deep litter method in my big coop and it hasn't been 100% cleaned out since I started last summer. So today was the day to scoop it all out and move it to the garden to be tilled in. Oh my back. I took out the roosts and the kids even scrubbed those down - an excuse to play with the hose! Plus today the 3wk olds got a gift from the recycle bin behind Kmart I gave them an addition to their brooder so now they have lots of room again. They were also moved to the basement - but first they got about an hour of fresh air time to lay in the sun. First time out to play on the grass, that was fun.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Very cool the both of you!

How good is it to make something from what would have been thrown out! I find it satisfying. So much so I build a business from it, more on that when I have the time to write it up, bit of selfless promotion hahahaha

Pam, your birds look bigger than ours already! I wanted to get ours out for a walk yesterday afternoon, but the clouds came over just as I finished the yard work. Maybe this morning after our mobile coop has a scrub.

 

[Wrightsx4]

I would love to hear about your business when you have time to write about it. Yes, whether it's finding a purpose for reusing old boards from the deck, using up scraps from other projects - or finding a nice box that's just too good to pass up! - always like to save $ where I can and use what otherwise would be wasted. I save EVERYTHING. Today cleaning the coop I was debating how to validate keeping the stack of empty feed bags I had collected over the past year...seriously...I don't know why but I've stacked them neatly in the corner and used the excuse that "they insulate that NW corner". I've used a few as windbreaks this winter outside on the pen wall but there are still a lot. So I rolled them up and put them in the rafters.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Funny you should mention feed bags. I just posted this the other day in the inventions thread

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631861/diy-thread-lets-see-your-inventions/470#post_11055263

I love the bag's some people make. I am useless with anything more than sewing a button back on though.

I will write a bit about my business later this afternoon. I have to do my tax first......groans loudly.

 

[ozexpat]

Funny you should mention feed bags. I just posted this the other day in the inventions thread

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/631861/diy-thread-lets-see-your-inventions/470#post_11055263

I love the bag's some people make. I am useless with anything more than sewing a button back on though.

I will write a bit about my business later this afternoon. I have to do my tax first......groans loudly.

I used to make my own clothes once - just for fun - I have a sewing machine, overlocker and a dress makers mannequin. When I win the lotto, invent a way for the earth to slow down to give me 36 hour days, and I reckon I will get back into it - but now - I outsource

 

[NovaAman]

I use the bags for coop cleaning, fill them up and chuck them out with the trash.

 

[Wrightsx4]

I like those ideas - our township doesn't have garbage pickup though. A few people around us hire for pickup but it's pricey. We recycle a LOT. Paper gets burned, food scraps go to chickens or compost, all else gets sorted in bags in a shed. Metal goes to recycling every few months as it accumulates. One day per year in June at the township hall they have huge dumpsters brought in and we can take the rest there for free. It's a little odd I guess, just takes getting use to. That's one reason the deep litter method works well in my coop. It all goes to the garden anyway, just in very large amounts in the spring. I'm really glad right now my DH prefers to do the tilling! I have trouble controlling the tiller. Mount Chickenpoop is getting raked out today while he's at work so he can rototill his next day home.
Love the potato idea. I don't usually plant potatoes because my garden has limited space so I may try that. I also like this idea...lol!

 

[Wrightsx4]

I sew chicken aprons for my hens (you'll do this too Ben, I know you will if you ever keep roosters! I hate seeing the hens with bare spots). I usually use old bluejeans for the durable layer but maybe the feedsack material would work as well, not the ones that fray though. I'll have to see.

 

[Bens-Hens]

It took a minute to process chicken aprons, but I think I get it. A back protector for when they are having 'special time'

Well, one of my machines would go well in your town Pam! If your following along and not interested in my little business, then you may want to skip this post!

I appologise already, as I tend to ramble a bit about my business. I will try keep it brief. So I will start with a story lol.

When I left the Army, I went to work in the mines of North West Australia. A 'fly in fly out' roster. I worked at a few mine sites, and they all seemed to have the same waste issues, they were paying large amounts of money, and not really getting the best bang for their buck in either recycling or transport. I thought I would improve both those aspects, so I designed, built and patented a machine that targets both issues.

Turns out, those issues are everywhere, not just in mining. We are now building Mark Two, as I was approached by a company that runs a government program, they did not want to wait for my to build them a new one, so they bought my prototype. It is now in operation in a country called Nauru, at a facility Australia uses to offshore process illegal immigrants.

Basically, it's a truck portable wasted process station and allows sorting and processing of dry waste. Our first unit allowed for separation of 10 waste streams, 9 of those are diverted from landfill and as a bonus, can be on sold to existing markets. he last goes to landfill.

We are now building a higher powered more compact version for another application. We are about half way through the fabrication phase, but I have not yet secured a patent on that so I won;t be sharing much info on that little beasty!

That's me anyway, I have been at it just over 2 years now, it's been a long tough road (much like our chicken adventures) but as they say, from down you can only go up.