Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[fangedknight]

Here's what I built last summer:
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That's super cool! Did you use a set of plans or did you come up with it on your own?

 

[Krugerrand]

That's super cool! Did you use a set of plans or did you come up with it on your own?

Lots of graph paper doodling and temporarily placing / turning cattle panel to see what would work.

 

[Krugerrand]

The top front panel also opens. This is the best picture I have of it at the moment.

The wheels need to be redone. The boards twist and make it hard to maneuver. I'm still brainstorming how to fix them.

I built it as an isolation tractor, at the moment it isn't being used. My pullets were not yet laying, so I never built a nest box for it.

 

[fangedknight]

Lots of graph paper doodling and temporarily placing / turning cattle panel to see what would work.

The best kind of planning! I think I'll do the same then.

The top front panel also opens. This is the best picture I have of it at the moment.

The wheels need to be redone. The boards twist and make it hard to maneuver. I'm still brainstorming how to fix them.

I built it as an isolation tractor, at the moment it isn't being used. My pullets were not yet laying, so I never built a nest box for it.
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Ahhh okay, I was actually going to ask how the wheels worked since I know I'd like to put wheels on mine so it's easier to move.

 

[dheltzel]

My hands may be sore, and my face may have gotten smacked way more times than I'd like to admit. But I have won the first battle in pruning the 20+ year old apple tree that's not been maintained properly! Now I need to go back and work on it some more, but I'll do that when there's a less windy day before mid March.

The pear tree is looking okay, I managed to actually do all the pruning I needed by hand. (Some of the branches just snapped off when I tried to untangle them). The Geese are... well they're being geese. I still have coop and fencing repairs I need to do, again when the wind isn't trying to blow me to Kansas.

But I'm actually excited about spring! We're also planning on doing meaties this year again, so I'll need to build a tractor. As much as I love the John Suscovich style because you can walk into it, I really don't want to have to pay for plans... I know I can find the Salatin style tractor plans for free. I'm also trying to figure out which one is going to be the most cost-effective build. (Which honestly might just be a hoop coop tractor or something similar at this rate but I'm not entirely sure).

I have the John Suscovich book, if you want to stop by and get it. Read it and decided it was not quite what I needed. You can borrow it for as long as you want.

 

[dheltzel]

Ahhh okay, I was actually going to ask how the wheels worked since I know I'd like to put wheels on mine so it's easier to move.

My field is too uneven for wheels so I use a hand cart to lift the front edge and pull it. I would recommend doing the wheels last and trying to just pull it to see if that works. I now give lots of thought to how I can move it sideways and start pulling it backwards. That can be a lot of work with some designs.

 

[DLA]

Pa Game Commission and Bureau of Wildlife Management are considering re-introducing pine martins. I'm not worried about them being a threat as any steps we currently take for keeping our birds safe would work against them too. More of an interest piece as the attached the pdf has quite a bit of information regarding PA ecosystems. Hope someone finds it of interest as I did.

 

[SpringhouseFarm]

Hi from Berks County! I'm new to BYC & excited to have found other chicken enthusiasts to talk to! Me & my kiddos (toddler & preschooler) are going to be starting on a new adventure of selling hatching eggs & chicks (maybe pullets too?). I'm a stay-at-home mom & used to raise chickens when I was involved in FFA & thought it would be a great experience for my kids as well! My preschooler is so excited & says she wants to make a farmstand to sell our eggs lol
I wanted to get a feel for which breeds might sell the best in our area. Would anyone mind looking at the list of breeds we'll have & give any input on which ones you or others locally might be interested in in the future? I figured I can always change which breeds of roosters we're keeping if there seems to be a big need for a certain breed. Some I plan to breed as purebreds & others will be mixed breed to create rainbow layers.

•Whiting True Blues
•Black Copper Marans
•Buff Orpingtons
•Speckled Sussex
•Bielefelder
•Black Australorp
•Welsummers
•Blue Cochins
•Salmon Faverolles
•Lavender Cochin Bantams (some will be frizzles)
•was thinking of maybe adding some Silverudd's Blue (Isbar) too

Any input would be helpful! I started off just planning on having a couple but there are so many awesome kid friendly chicken breeds that I couldn't narrow it down so now we're going to have a big mixed flock! Lol Anyone else have this problem of ending up with more chickens than they originally planned on because there's just too many awesome breeds?

 

[dheltzel]

Hi from Berks County! I'm new to BYC & excited to have found other chicken enthusiasts to talk to! Me & my kiddos (toddler & preschooler) are going to be starting on a new adventure of selling hatching eggs & chicks (maybe pullets too?). I'm a stay-at-home mom & used to raise chickens when I was involved in FFA & thought it would be a great experience for my kids as well! My preschooler is so excited & says she wants to make a farmstand to sell our eggs lol
I wanted to get a feel for which breeds might sell the best in our area. Would anyone mind looking at the list of breeds we'll have & give any input on which ones you or others locally might be interested in in the future? I figured I can always change which breeds of roosters we're keeping if there seems to be a big need for a certain breed. Some I plan to breed as purebreds & others will be mixed breed to create rainbow layers.

•Whiting True Blues
•Black Copper Marans
•Buff Orpingtons
•Speckled Sussex
•Bielefelder
•Black Australorp
•Welsummers
•Blue Cochins
•Salmon Faverolles
•Lavender Cochin Bantams (some will be frizzles)
•was thinking of maybe adding some Silverudd's Blue (Isbar) too

Any input would be helpful! I started off just planning on having a couple but there are so many awesome kid friendly chicken breeds that I couldn't narrow it down so now we're going to have a big mixed flock! Lol Anyone else have this problem of ending up with more chickens than they originally planned on because there's just too many awesome breeds?

We should talk on the phone sometime. I've been doing this nearby for about 10 years and can tell you exactly what sells best. I will try to send you a PM with my phone number.

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

The top front panel also opens. This is the best picture I have of it at the moment.

The wheels need to be redone. The boards twist and make it hard to maneuver. I'm still brainstorming how to fix them.

I built it as an isolation tractor, at the moment it isn't being used. My pullets were not yet laying, so I never built a nest box for it.
View attachment 3414805

That is really awesome!!
Great job!!

Pa Game Commission and Bureau of Wildlife Management are considering re-introducing pine martins. I'm not worried about them being a threat as any steps we currently take for keeping our birds safe would work against them too. More of an interest piece as the attached the pdf has quite a bit of information regarding PA ecosystems. Hope someone finds it of interest as I did.

We have tons of predators in our area, large & small, land & air, going to be reading this!!
I thought they had already started the introduction...maybe that was a different species, or a specific "testing" area???... DH usually keeps me up on what the PA Gamers are into, LOL.
Thank you!!
I will just have to be quiet and read!! hahaha