Surviving Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

LOL. It is actually only 120 square feet because that is the limit to not need a building permit. My DH is a genl contractor and the building inspector was very comfortable stopping to jaw a while. That shed has the elevated floor that I told you about before. I told my DH and my DS that they could not discuss projects any longer or I would have to separate them. My DS came up with the elevator floor idea. Ugh! I call it the Rapunzel house. And yes, you can avoid the permit and inspection and I believe that the criteria for what is allowable has changed to a larger size.

Yeppers, they just raised to it too 200 feet. I like that as I will never need a permit ever again! nothing I build will ever go over that. The turkey house is 16x8 so way under. I am thinking I need a full 200 sq ft next spring for something.

 

[Cluckies]

Quote: You'll be busy today! I would think that only the top of the ground may be frozen and hopefully when the sun comes out that will unfreeze. Good luck!

 

[lvie]

Yeppers, they just raised to it too 200 feet. I like that as I will never need a permit ever again! nothing I build will ever go over that. The turkey house is 16x8 so way under. I am thinking I need a full 200 sq ft next spring for something.

Yeppers, they just raised to it too 200 feet. I like that as I will never need a permit ever again! nothing I build will ever go over that. The turkey house is 16x8 so way under. I am thinking I need a full 200 sq ft next spring for something.

Yeppers, they just raised to it too 200 feet. I like that as I will never need a permit ever again! nothing I build will ever go over that. The turkey house is 16x8 so way under. I am thinking I need a full 200 sq ft next spring for something.

But we are allowed only two of them on this property.

I think it was Ben Franklin who said "I did not fail. I found 100 ways to do it wrong."

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Water is set up on cookie tin heater. In the coop. I'll just need to watch the windows. Not sure how this will work with the Reflectix. In the run there is a lot of debris flying around and they are most active in the run. When they are in the coop they are sleeping or roosting if cold.

Plus I didn't want to run more electric cord outside the coop. Everything plugged in at one central location in the coop.

Idk we'll see how it goes

Chooks got third of a bucket of left overs from the fridge. Didn't take them long to eat that up.

 

[KlopKlop]

touche on your signature line ralphie! I just got in from driving all the posts and they went in just fine. once you broke through the top inch it was easy. I even convinced DW to come out and hold the posts while i hammered. I dont have a post driver, so i use a sledge. At fist she wanted to hammer and i held but the posts are 6.5 foot tall and she is 5'6". she was having issues holding the 13 lb sledge over her head and then try to aim

I came in to finish my coffee while it was still warm. it might actually be a decent day here. the wind is dying down and the sun is shining. i have to go zip the fence to the posts in a little bit, but after that... who knows what i will come up with. DW is headed to the next town over to have lunch with her mom and grandma so i can do whatever i like

 

[Cluckies]

I have decided to go back to old steel founts and the misery they mean for watering. The drinking cups do not work in this cold. I have failed.

I do not want them to freeze and crack so I am going to put the water tanks I made away until spring.. I built a cafeteria room for the creamettes, moisture cannot get from the cafeteria into the creamettes coop. I am going to try and keep the cups in there as long as possible.

that stinks, I was hoping that would work for you.

My waterer with the horizontal nipples was still unfrozen this morning. Nipples not frozen either.

As far as I've seen, only these horizontal nipples can hold up to very cold weather.

Heated waterer with Horizontal nipples. This is close to my set up, only I use a 2 gallon pail, my nipples are not all on the bottom, they are at different heights. Mine is not insulated, may try that if need be. I found with my point and click thermometer, that even with the heater on the bottom, the warm water rises. I used a aquarium heater most of last year, then replaced it with a bird bath deicer 1/2 way through winter. I'm using that again this year, hopefully it works or i'll put the aquarium heater back in. I also have a circulating pump in there, not sure if it is needed, but it is there.

You've all seen this photo:

I'm sure a 5 gallon pail would work just as well. I'll be testing it this winter again. Last year I brought it inside on the really cold nights (below -10). this year I think I'll leave it out and see how it goes, on a weekend though, I need that waterer working during the day when i'm at work. I left it outside last night, but it was only down to 8 degrees.

 

[duluthralphie]

Water is set up on cookie tin heater. In the coop. I'll just need to watch the windows. Not sure how this will work with the Reflectix. In the run there is a lot of debris flying around and they are most active in the run. When they are in the coop they are sleeping or roosting if cold.

Plus I didn't want to run more electric cord outside the coop. Everything plugged in at one central location in the coop.

Idk we'll see how it goes

Chooks got third of a bucket of left overs from the fridge. Didn't take them long to eat that up.

I have been trying to think of someway to do this and have drawn a blank.

The problem is the drinking cups hang outside the main body of the water tank. If they was someway to put the cups inside and have the chickens stick their little heads into a small opening for water, I think it would work..

I might try putting the whole 35 gallon barrel inside a 55 gallon barrel and insulate it except for the drinking cup area, and make the birds stick their heads inside the first barrel.


Dogone it ticks me off it failed.

I had the water inside the coop last year but I was hoping to avoid that.

 

[KlopKlop]

I have been trying to think of someway to do this and have drawn a blank.

The problem is the drinking cups hang outside the main body of the water tank. If they was someway to put the cups inside and have the chickens stick their little heads into a small opening for water, I think it would work..

I might try putting the whole 35 gallon barrel inside a 55 gallon barrel and insulate it except for the drinking cup area, and make the birds stick their heads inside the first barrel.


Dogone it ticks me off it failed.

I had the water inside the coop last year but I was hoping to avoid that.

did the spring mechanism ice up? i wonder if you just need to keep the ambient temperature of the water tank higher so it bleeds more heat to the cups? I am headed to town today for supplies and will look at de-icers. the heated dog bowls are working great so far, but they are a bit of a hassle to clean. i will also be looking for bowls to put inside them to try that theory out (aka use it like a removable liner for cleaning)

Your 35 in a 55 plan sounds like it could help but hard to say. if you insulate the 35 the water temp would be higher so maybe what i said above would apply there. how many watts is your de-icer?

 

[KlopKlop]

Fence is up and I'm back inside! i used zip ties to hold it to the fence posts and realized after the first one that i would be out there for hours if i didnt take off my gloves. So now i sit here defrosting glad to have that done. hopefully that site was correct about distance. I went 50 paces from my driveway which is between 125 and 150 feet i suspect. I figure best case it helps, worst case it does nothing. If i put it too close it would make the drifting worse!



My girls are finally venturing out into the yard. they are enjoying the sun, which is nice if you can get out of the breeze.

 

[Coffee 1st]

here is my new ride Raphie mentioned... Actually my son bought new car yesterday 2015 Dodge Charger V8 totally loaded BUT Mamma is driving it..I had it up to 120 mph today... thought my DIL was going to pee her pants,, LOL.. good thing i didnt get pulled over by the Po Po but i think they would have understood. told her to relax i have good INS and the ticket would be worth it..The kids just know its a pretty car I KNOW what it can do...