Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[OneMountainAcres]

The toms can get to a respectable size. I have 6 of them running around the farm now. Beautiful birds and quite friendly. I couldn't bring myself to kill any of them.

That's why Dinner found himself a good home with 2 of the girls. He was just WAY too sweet! The one we butchered was not mean bit want friendly either. Adam will be this year's meal. He's turned into a nasty jerk. I'm hoping that he has a red son hatch out of one of the 16 eggs in the bator now.

 

[emorems0]

Wanted to share some pictures of my tarp roof... turns out I did cut the ridge pole but It would definitely be better not to. As I recall I was conserving pipe and used some cut scraps rather than purchase another pole. And looking at my tractor, it's is also better to secure the ribs to the ridge pole with the holes and zip ties/wire rather than cutting them and using the pvc connectors. The connectors don't stand up to the pressure of the curve and I have popped a few joints over the years. The tractor ribs aren't as curved at the top bc of this pressure at the connectors so they don't hold up to snow as well as the turkey shed roof has. Figured you could learn from my mistakes rather than making your own. And I have found that the black, heavy duty zip ties hold up really well through the elements. My tractor is 2 years old now and no sign of wear or weakening. They won't last forever of course, but it wouldn't be difficult to replace once every several years... neither pvc or tarps will hold up forever either but it's cheap enough and simple enough to replace every couple of years.

And just for fun here is the pallet coop I'm working in for my breeding pen. I have about six 2x4s, and handful of 2x2s, and three corrogated panels into it, the rest is all pallet wood. I left the base as a full pallet so that it is hopefully easier to move when we eventually get relocated.

 

[kie4]

Privett has them and they are sexed (I presume you want a pullet). Do you prefer the gold or silvers?

Hi @dheltzel, yes I'd like a pullet. The gold and silvers both look nice, I've also seen a thread on BYC with self bread "platinum" Lakenvelders. They are very pretty. I'm not sure what the difference is between a Vorwerk and Golden Lakenvelder.

 

[dheltzel]

Hi @dheltzel, yes I'd like a pullet. The gold and silvers both look nice, I've also seen a thread on BYC with self bread "platinum" Lakenvelders. They are very pretty. I'm not sure what the difference is between a Vorwerk and Golden Lakenvelder.

I *think* (don't quote me), that the Lakenvelder are silver and the Vorwerk is the gold version. it's just that Lakenvelder is a better known name. They also come in a bantam size. I've never had any of them, but I would expect them to act more like leghorns or california greys than orps, given that they are a light breed. John Blehm at fowlstuff.com has the bantams and says they are flighty, but then he is an Ameraucana breeder and most breeds would seem "flighty" compared to standard bred Ams.

 

[dheltzel]

Wanted to share some pictures of my tarp roof... turns out I did cut the ridge pole but It would definitely be better not to. As I recall I was conserving pipe and used some cut scraps rather than purchase another pole. And looking at my tractor, it's is also better to secure the ribs to the ridge pole with the holes and zip ties/wire rather than cutting them and using the pvc connectors. The connectors don't stand up to the pressure of the curve and I have popped a few joints over the years. The tractor ribs aren't as curved at the top bc of this pressure at the connectors so they don't hold up to snow as well as the turkey shed roof has. Figured you could learn from my mistakes rather than making your own. And I have found that the black, heavy duty zip ties hold up really well through the elements. My tractor is 2 years old now and no sign of wear or weakening. They won't last forever of course, but it wouldn't be difficult to replace once every several years... neither pvc or tarps will hold up forever either but it's cheap enough and simple enough to replace every couple of years.




And just for fun here is the pallet coop I'm working in for my breeding pen. I have about six 2x4s, and handful of 2x2s, and three corrogated panels into it, the rest is all pallet wood. I left the base as a full pallet so that it is hopefully easier to move when we eventually get relocated.

Looks good! I had a large tractor I constructed with pvc conduit (3 years ago) get destroyed by a wind storm a few months ago. Tractors take more abuse, with their frequent moving, so I should not complain about a 3 year life. Still, I am going all cattle panel construction for tractors now. 3 panels cost about $70 and make a 10 x 12 tractor that work great. I will be making a few refinements in my next one, but I'm happy with it.

I have a local source for really nice pallets. They are make with 4x4's and 1x6's. I wish they were easier to disassemble, it seems they don't make them to be torn apart later.

 

[kie4]

Looks good! I had a large tractor I constructed with pvc conduit (3 years ago) get destroyed by a wind storm a few months ago. Tractors take more abuse, with their frequent moving, so I should not complain about a 3 year life. Still, I am going all cattle panel construction for tractors now. 3 panels cost about $70 and make a 10 x 12 tractor that work great. I will be making a few refinements in my next one, but I'm happy with it.

I have a local source for really nice pallets. They are make with 4x4's and 1x6's. I wish they were easier to disassemble, it seems they don't make them to be torn apart later.

Hi @dheltzel, how are you breaking your palettes? Using a crowbar is a too much hard work. The trick is to use a reciprocating saw and cut through the nails. Doing it that way it takes 5 min per palette.

 

[dheltzel]

Hi @dheltzel, how are you breaking your palettes? Using a crowbar is a too much hard work. The trick is to use a reciprocating saw and cut through the nails. Doing it that way it takes 5 min per palette.

Yes, I would use a sawzall, but it's still difficult to get the blade between boards that have been nailed with such force that the nailheads are recessed 1/4 inch into the face of the board. I plan to try one when I get around to it: http://a.co/d2TNjLg

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I took the opportunity to candle Ana's 4 eggs this morning while she was off the nest, eating breakfast. All 4 are developing very nicely! I thought that maybe they would have a hard time with temps being so cold during her breaks but they look great! They're due in about a week now. That girl is such a stubborn broody. I think she's been sitting for something like 2 months straight! I know she's a good mama though. I just hope that a couple of her babies are pure (and blue would be nice too but that's asking a bit too much!)

The babies that I moved outside last week are doing great too.they still haven't figured out to go back in the coop on their own at night yet but they do know to come out in the morning and have started free ranging. They look so little ruining around everyone else lol.

I don't know what it is about this group of CCLS this time but they're all shoulder birds! I did not spend much extra time with them at all but the one boy with the group outside kept jumping up on my shoulder/head yesterday and the 3 still in the brooder (2 boys, 1 girl) come flying out on to my arms and shoulders every time I open it! I wonder if that new boy I used to breed them has extra friendly genes or something?

Adam's time is running low (my big red tom). He openly tried to flog me this morning. I got wrong slapped on the face but that was as far as he got. I'm ready to just hope I get a new, red tom in the eggs that are in the bator because that boy is about to find himself at freezer camp. Romeo knows that he's not tooth enough to beat Adam and take leadership but he always comes to my rescue when I pin Adam down. It'll be nice once there's peace in the turkey pen.

 

[stake]

GM all:

Just to throw my two cents into the mix.....I tried building a PCV frame over top my 2x4x4' pen....the tarp was blue and not the thicker ones....it was 29'x20' or so.....it lasted one year....for rain it was great...for snow, you needed to sweep it clean every couple of hours or the weight just pulled everything apart....for wind it sometime held up and sometimes tore....I think if you have a semi-protected area a tarp may be functional...but out in the open, I don't think they'll hold up....

this year I decided not to protect the runs from snow/rain....I may try to jury rig something if a blizzard is moving in but for the small storms we've had, I just shovel the snow out of the way.....my two cents....

 

[dheltzel]

GM all:

Just to throw my two cents into the mix.....I tried building a PCV frame over top my 2x4x4' pen....the tarp was blue and not the thicker ones....it was 29'x20' or so.....it lasted one year....for rain it was great...for snow, you needed to sweep it clean every couple of hours or the weight just pulled everything apart....for wind it sometime held up and sometimes tore....I think if you have a semi-protected area a tarp may be functional...but out in the open, I don't think they'll hold up....

this year I decided not to protect the runs from snow/rain....I may try to jury rig something if a blizzard is moving in but for the small storms we've had, I just shovel the snow out of the way.....my two cents....

I'm with you. If I only had 1 run to protect it would be different, but at some point one tends to give up and hope for the best . . .