Re: Sustainable Living was Solar Ovens

[Guest guest]

>Since I'm working on Dunkers, it gave me the idea of making

>a big porceline thingie that could be heated in the stove, with

>a metal insert so one could " hook " it to take it out. Then one

>could build a " straw box " ... put in the heated stone ... add your

>hot broth ... and let it cook all day. Actually if you combined it

>with solar ... hmmm ... yeah, it could be a file, if I could get it working.

>I really don't like spending a whole day's worth of electricity to

>get bone broth.

>

>

Oh, dunkers, I vaguely remember those, lol. How are they coming along,

then?

Outdoor cooking just makes SO much sense in the hellish summers here. I

figure (thanks to Darrell's suggestion) why not use the blazing sun for

any cooking and keep the house cool? We eat much more in the way of

salads in the summer anyway, but not exclusively.

I am gearing up for a bigger organic vegetable garden this year. (Are

you reading, ?) Living 20 miles from any sort of organic produce

variety, on some pretty good land for growing, I am coming to the

conclusion that it is stupid to buy much. If we had a hoop house, we

could grow plants all year. We already have two main growing seasons,

with August being kind of a down time of hot, dry weather. I used to

work on a CSA up north, so I am not totally ignorant of growing food and

weeding. ;-)

>>And speaking of bone broths (of the poultry persuasion), we are going to

>>raise layers. Wish me luck, I'll need it.

>>

>>

>Eh, I'll wish you luck but I don't think you'll need it. Just get your heat

lamp

>and chick area done BEFORE you buy the chicks (that's my usual mistake!).

>Our best area to date ... we laid a piece of plastic down on the floor,

>covered it with horse stall pellets (they don't smell, even with all the

>chooks!). Put the chick waterer's up a little so the sawdust doesn't get in,

>and put marbles in the water to help keep it clean (so they don't scratch

>in it). For sides we used the wall of the building (an old contractors shed)

>and 2 bales of straw. No lid, the cats can't get in that building. Hung the

light

>from the ceiling, so we could raise it as needed.

>

>The hard part comes at about 3 weeks, when they are too big for the

>enclosure but still " cat food " size. We had to convert an old dog kennel,

>putting a roof on it (old tarp) to keep the cats out. Once the birds reach

>full size, they can fend for themselves well enough. It would probably be

>easier to start with the " old dog kennel " , using the light to keep the chicks

>warm for that first few weeks, and putting them in a big box or something

>for that period.

>

>

Okay, laugh if this is a stupid question, but can't I buy adult chickens

to start with? I have seven cats! I am trying to find out what kind of

structure I can get away with here. Anyone have pictures of their

backyard chicken operation they want to post to NN photos? I have an

unused dog run that is 30'x70', shaded in parts by an oak tree. I could

grow some greens and things in there and have a chickie coop too. So

presently I am thinking of the where and how big factors. We have an

old shed like you describe, but it would get too hot in summer, as it is

metal. We are in growing zone 7, btw. Most of the chickens round here

roam freely, or have small fenced in, covered cages made of chicken

wire. Predators are a bit of an issue. My kitties visit some big birds

across the road occasionally. But anyway, how much room do I need for

eggs for a family of four? How many chicks to start? I might ask

locally as well, and I am off to the library to read up on it today.

> and I got one of those portable " outdoor

>fire grill " thingies that we can fire up on the porch.

>

>

>

>

>Heidi Jean

>

Those are nice. I have wanted to build a sweat lodge for years. But

heck, come summer, all I need do is sit on the patio off our brick

house, or I could hang out in the shed.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

>

>(Deanna wrote)

>

>

Okay, laugh if this is a stupid question, but can't I buy adult chickens

to start with? I have seven cats! I am trying to find out what kind of

structure I can get away with here. Anyone have pictures of their

backyard chicken operation they want to post to NN photos? I have an

unused dog run that is 30'x70', shaded in parts by an oak tree. I could

grow some greens and things in there and have a chickie coop too. So

presently I am thinking of the where and how big factors. We have an

old shed like you describe, but it would get too hot in summer, as it is

metal. We are in growing zone 7, btw. Most of the chickens round here

roam freely, or have small fenced in, covered cages made of chicken

wire. Predators are a bit of an issue. My kitties visit some big birds

across the road occasionally. But anyway, how much room do I need for

eggs for a family of four? How many chicks to start? I might ask

locally as well, and I am off to the library to read up on it today.

> and I got one of those portable " outdoor

>fire grill " thingies that we can fire up on the porch.

>

>

>

>

>(Rebekah) - what about something like a chicken tractor? Wouldn't that offer

some protection from predators?

http://home.comcast.net/~kkskinner/tractors.html

(This suggestion from the woman living in suburbia)

[Guest guest]

>>(Rebekah) - what about something like a chicken tractor? Wouldn't that offer

some protection from predators?

>>

>>

>

>http://home.comcast.net/~kkskinner/tractors.html

>(This suggestion from the woman living in suburbia)

>

Oh, thanks . Those are great photos! Everything in one place.

Uh, the one of the guy in the coop - guess he was bad, eh?

I think I will convert a portion of the shed for night time chickens.

But just this afternoon, whilst I was replanting bulbs, my neighbor

warned me about the chicken hawks that swoop down and nab the young

birds. One of theirs was taken recently. So those chicken tractors are

just the thing for young birds in the day time.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

>

>>

>Oh, dunkers, I vaguely remember those, lol. How are they coming along,

>then?

I got the first batch fired, and they came out nice. Now I'm building molds to

go into

production.

>Outdoor cooking just makes SO much sense in the hellish summers here. I

>figure (thanks to Darrell's suggestion) why not use the blazing sun for

>any cooking and keep the house cool? We eat much more in the way of

>salads in the summer anyway, but not exclusively.

I cook outdoors a lot too. I use a propane smoker mostly though ... the Great

Outdoors

smoker does 5 big racks at once, then I freeze it and just heat slightly in the

toaster

oven as needed.

>I am gearing up for a bigger organic vegetable garden this year. (Are

>you reading, ?) Living 20 miles from any sort of organic produce

>variety, on some pretty good land for growing, I am coming to the

>conclusion that it is stupid to buy much. If we had a hoop house, we

>could grow plants all year. We already have two main growing seasons,

>with August being kind of a down time of hot, dry weather. I used to

>work on a CSA up north, so I am not totally ignorant of growing food and

>weeding. ;-)

Cool! I AM ignorant, but I'm learning.

>

>>

>Okay, laugh if this is a stupid question, but can't I buy adult chickens

>to start with? I have seven cats! I am trying to find out what kind of

>structure I can get away with here.

Sure, buy adults if they are handy. We used to be able to get them for $10 each,

but

they aren't real available anymore since that place no longer carries them. The

chicks

are $1 though, which is cheaper.

You just need a little place to lock them up at night, if you don't mind them

running

around during the day. We have found though, it's best to have fences ... those

metal-stake

fences with dog or horse fencing work fine. And rotate them so they don't kill

all

the vegetation.

>Anyone have pictures of their

>backyard chicken operation they want to post to NN photos? I have an

>unused dog run that is 30'x70', shaded in parts by an oak tree. I could

>grow some greens and things in there and have a chickie coop too.

What we did is put the chickens in the garden for a bit ... they weed it, eat

all the bugs,

fertilize it. Then kick the chooks out and plant. You can do that in greenhouses

too.

Rotate chickens and crops. Ducks can be used to get rid of weeds and slugs.

Chickens

will weed plants too, but the plants have to be pretty big or they will eat the

plant or

uproot it.

You could probably divide the dog run in half, and rotate the chickens back and

forth.

Also, when you weed the garden, toss them the weeds.

> So

>presently I am thinking of the where and how big factors. We have an

>old shed like you describe, but it would get too hot in summer, as it is

>metal. We are in growing zone 7, btw. Most of the chickens round here

>roam freely, or have small fenced in, covered cages made of chicken

>wire. Predators are a bit of an issue. My kitties visit some big birds

>across the road occasionally. But anyway, how much room do I need for

>eggs for a family of four? How many chicks to start? I might ask

>locally as well, and I am off to the library to read up on it today.

How many eggs do you eat per week? Figure on one egg every other day, per

chicken.

And you will lose some birds. We started out with 2 grown chickens though ...

which was

good, it let us make small mistakes.

And yeah, the shed is WAY too hot in summer. But it's ok for a couple of weeks

for chicks.

I'd like a better solution though.

-- Heidi Jean