The RE-Build of Les Farms

[aoxa]

Progress for today June 3rd:

Breeding pens started. Each of these pens are 4x4 and intended for breeding trios/quads. Covered runs will be out the back. Each pen is walk into.


Mock pop door. He wanted to know if we wanted ones that slid up and latched. Yes we do! He's going to make them look more finished.


Large breeding pen in the hallway. you can see we painted this room. It has no windows (except the door will be dutch, so we will open that during the day) but the white paint makes a world of difference. We will be painting the hallway and brooder room as well. Priming first this time though.. It took 5 gallons of paint to do this 12 x 14 foot room..

Doors. The smaller chicken wire used so I don't have to worry about chicks getting through. I'll use these two pens for Silkies & Mottled Houdans in breeding season, but will be using them for Meaties on one end, and layers on the other for brooding. We have an order coming in on June 28th. 30 meaties and 40 layers. There will be pop doors to go outside to free range as well when they are old enough.


This pen is 4' wide by 14 feet long.


This one is 14 feet long by 5 feet wide.




This pen has about a foot lost. This is where our fuse box will go.



Here is our brooder room (very dark) going to paint here as well..

I have a question for you guys about these brooders.. Contractor brought up that 4 feet deep may be hard to clean... but I want lots of chick room.. Will it be worth it? Yes? No?

I figure I can use a rake to get the further behind, but if this is going to be a hassle, we can trim to 36" instead (3 feet). Thoughts?


The hallway going out the exit.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Your barn looks really good! I've been following your large on Facebook for a while, but I just subscribed to this thread. Bet you can't wait for the finished product!

 

[aart]

Here is our brooder room (very dark) going to paint here as well..

I have a question for you guys about these brooders.. Contractor brought up that 4 feet deep may be hard to clean... but I want lots of chick room.. Will it be worth it? Yes? No?

I figure I can use a rake to get the further behind, but if this is going to be a hassle, we can trim to 36" instead (3 feet). Thoughts?

I think it would depend on the access opening to the brooder. I take it that the portion of board on the supports is representative of the floor of the brooder? How high will the walls of the brooder be? Will you access them from the top? Maybe mock up (using scrap wood and screws or cardboard and tape) the brooder walls, top and access openings and see how it feels? I am a huge fan of prototypes/mockups, sometimes you just don't know how something should be best configured until you make something 'true size and shape' and stand next to it and work with it.

 

[aoxa]

I think it would depend on the access opening to the brooder. I take it that the portion of board on the supports is representative of the floor of the brooder? How high will the walls of the brooder be? Will you access them from the top? Maybe mock up (using scrap wood and screws or cardboard and tape) the brooder walls, top and access openings and see how it feels? I am a huge fan of prototypes/mockups, sometimes you just don't know how something should be best configured until you make something 'true size and shape' and stand next to it and work with it.

That's what this frame was supposed to be - a mock up.

So we have went with his advice to make it less deep. We asked for the interior walls to be dividers - meaning we can take the dividers out if we want to make a longer brooder.

I'm not a tall person, so first brooder is 2 feet off the ground, next will be two feet above that, all the way to the ceiling. He's going to make a 8" shaving barrier as well.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

So what is the overall size of this barn (in sq ft.)?

 

[aoxa]

So what is the overall size of this barn (in sq ft.)?

1,380 square feet.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

1,380

Sweet!

 

[amenfarm]

Yes there is a roof peak vent, but if the OSB is covering everything in the room, how does it pass through the OSB to the vents? So confusing to me

Yes they do work fast! They are working on the doors over the weekend, and next week electrical and breeding/brooding pens!

Any suggestions for type of paint to cover OSB easily? That's our job. I don't mind painting.




Here are the workers taking a lunch break. Henry is their supervisor

Ok, to paint the OSB--start with 2 coats of zinsser ( suppose to cover better than) Kilz--I use kilz. You can have the hardware store tint the primer, then 2 coats paint. If you skip the primer you will spent far more on paint and time painting because the OSB will absorb everything like a sponge, really in this case the primer should be considered a sealer or filler. The paint with primer will not be enough! but if prep really well,one coat of high quality paint-maybe. You could do what I'm going to do and paint everything with whitewash- http://www.motherearthnews.com/home...ewashing-using-slaked-lime.aspx#axzz2VMVrAJuz. Mites hate it, but be sure to let the mixture set 24 hours if possible, to allow it to slacken. Google it. first coat thin, then glob it on --find a whitewsh brush, good ventiation, and gloves are a must.

 

[aoxa]

Ok, to paint the OSB--start with 2 coats of zinsser ( suppose to cover better than) Kilz--I use kilz. You can have them tinted, then 2 coats paint. If you skip the primer you will spent far more on paint and time painting because the OSB will absorb everything like a sponge. You could do what I'm going to do and paint everything with whitewash- http://www.motherearthnews.com/home...ewashing-using-slaked-lime.aspx#axzz2VMVrAJuz. Mites hate it, but be sure to let the mixture set 24 hours if possible to allow it to slacken. Google it.

I got the Kilz last night.. I hope it works okay, because it was EXPENSIVE! It is the stuff made for exposed wood like OSB and Plywood.

I am going to start priming tonight. I have only a little paint left, so I may just leave some of the walls just primer... At least for now.

Also it is indoor/outdoor primer.

I have heard about the white wash.

 

[amenfarm]

You can whitewash straight over the kilz--what has taken me so long to do the coop,was finding info on whitewashing over paint. Dairy barns here still whitewash, scrub down yearly, then re-coat with whitewash. the only drawback I can find is getting a white marks on your clothes. I think the benefits make it all worth it for me. Far cheaper, no build up, mite and antibacterial resistant. If you don't want white there are things you could add to tint it.