Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Perris]

I'm 61. I have no children. The worst of what is (probably) to come will affect those who are younger than I. I hope I don't live to see it.

I don't know if what I do makes things better, but I do what I can to try to NOT make things worse.

On the last day of a biology class in college, the prof (normally an easy going, happy guy) was in a terrible mood, or so we thought. His last lecture was about what we were leaving for the next generation. His last statements were from what would be our children's and grand children's perspective.

SLAM of the hand on the lectern. "You knew! YOU KNEW! And you did (SLAM) nothing (SLAM) about it!"

You could have heard a pin drop.

Tax:
View attachment 3539968

I didn't know this until just now
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...sidies-causing-environmental-havoc-world-bank
it is madness plain and simple

 

[no fly zone]

Well, sure. What do you think I'm doing out here in a South American jungle backwater? The land looks nice now, but it was a muddy treeless swamp six years ago -- that's all we could afford. But there's no way I could have done anything even remotely like this in the US. An academically trained, eco activist yoga teacher buying a sizeable plot of land and launching an agroforestry farm? No way.

It's a real shame what's happened to most big cities in the US -- and I'm not talking about crime or decay. I'll take some crime and decay. I'm talking about the absurd rise in the cost of living that comes with full on gentrification. When I lived in Washington DC in the 90s, it was diverse, affordable, and we had a great music and local arts scene. Sure, the mayor smoked crack but whatever. If you weren't buying crack, the crime rate wasn't a big deal. Live and let live. But housing was cheap enough for people like me to live there and enjoy the colorful urban scene. Now it's a bunch of boring defense contractors and the lawyers who defend Chevon and trust fund brats.

Anyway. That's one of the downsides of living in the first world. The world is a teeny tiny oyster. For land with space and animals and green things, a less technocratic post industrial country is a more realistic option -- if one can leave.

I wish you the best of luck down there.

 

[bruceha2000]

I'd never use composite, I don't trust it to support my 300 pounds. I'll try to repurpose what I can of the composite boards but being bowed will limit my options.

Did you buy the property recently? Clearly whoever built that dock didn't consider the lack of rigidity of the composite and put in more joists.

 

[TropicalChickies]

I wish you the best of luck down there.

Thanks, we've been here seven years now and still doing alright. It was very challenging especially the first two years, but now even with the small conveniences we have (lights! Terrible wifi! Chickens!), I feel really fortunate. I was slowly losing my mind in Amerika anyway.

^ our first "settlement" -- was nuts when the rainy season came and we had no idea what to expect.

Our kitchen and main living space, today. Built with bamboo, mud,brain sacks (edit: grain sacks), and scrap wood. Big roof overhead, very grateful for that.

Tax. My chirapa (frizzle) Dusty is broody. I'm not letting her set right now because she only laid two clutches of eggs in her life so far (she's only 8 mos old), she's totally scatterbrained about being broody, and anyway both the broody apartments are still occupied with mum's and chicks. I took apart her "nest" which was in the worst possible spot in the workshop with all sorts of sharp things around, and piled up some rice sacks in her "spot." Now she's nesting on the sacks

Chickens are not a convenience. That was a joke.

 

[TropicalChickies]

Well,

If you go to the website you'll see they say they got the idea from South Africa. They're not appropriating it. They're trying to spread good practice. And it's a national botanic garden, not a commercial anything.

That's good to know, very refreshing. There is a lot of borrowing without due credit going on. Nice to see people being more thoughtful about that

 

[no fly zone]

Thanks, we've been here seven years now and still doing alright. It was very challenging especially the first two years, but now even with the small conveniences we have (lights! Terrible wifi! Chickens!), I feel really fortunate. I was slowly losing my mind in Amerika anyway.
View attachment 3542704
^ our first "settlement" -- was nuts when the rainy season came and we had no idea what to expect.
View attachment 3542718
Our kitchen and main living space, today. Built with bamboo, mud,brain sacks, and scrap wood. Big roof overhead, very grateful for that.

Tax. My chirapa (frizzle) is broody. I'm not letting her set right now because she only laid two clutches of eggs in her life so far (she's only 8 mos old) she's totally scatterbrained about being broody, anyway both the broody apartments are still occupied with mum's and chicks. I took apart her "nest" which was in the worst possible spot in the workshop with all sorts of sharp things around, and piled up some rice sacks in her "spot." Now she's nesting on the sacks

View attachment 3542740

my wife and i are seriously contemplating moving out of the US for a few years minimum.

have you ever heard of earth ships/cobb houses?

 

[TropicalChickies]

my wife and i are seriously contemplating moving out of the US for a few years minimum.

have you ever heard of earth ships/cobb houses?

Yep, the way we build is sort of a combination. Earthships and cob houses are totally different things. Earthships use mainly durable trash -- tires and bottles -- with cement or natural mud plaster to finish.

Cob is completely natural, a mix of sand, clay, fiber, usually straw.

We use cob and clay plaster instead of cement, but also incorporate trash, so something of a hybrid. I'll post some pics later for you, connection is spotty right now

 

[no fly zone]

Earthships and cob houses are totally different things.

i should have put and/or on that.

 

[Molpet]

Our kitchen and main living space, today. Built with bamboo, mud,brain sacks, and scrap wood. Big roof overhead, very grateful for that.

What is the temperature and humidity down there?
I have a feeling I would wimp out with an air conditioner lol

 

[notabitail]

What is the temperature and humidity down there?
I have a feeling I would wimp out with an air conditioner lol

I would need a air conditioner. The chooks say it is a requirement as they like it.