Fortress coop ... in some ways

oh, not as hot or humid as Austin. we are highplains, which is desert-like, but slightly colder sometimes... i lived in Calif, visted many western states, never been east except for SE ariport and Ohio a few times... the grass is always greener in anothe rzone LOL.... i think i have heard it called ZONE ENVY...

Pamgarden,

My area is brutal for existence (please don't anyone move here ... it sucks). 10 inches of precipitation plus winter mornings with -24f degrees. We've experienced cold windy mornings in February with the winds howling 95 MPH ... just a mile from my home. The winds blew our garage off the foundation and blew over/knocked over more than 500 ft of the welded wire fences ..... blew it right off the 5 ft tall rods. We get 110f degree temps in July ....all the time. Bugs (everything) find it tough to live here. The eastern seaboard is more humid and bugs thrive there. You're not alone in bug hell that's for sure. I saw them when I was there and they're all over from the mid-west to the Atlantic Ocean and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. I just remember the bugs on the tomatoes when I was in Harrisonburg. A whole lotta insecticide gets you terrific tomatoes. At least they grow in Virginia. We try here but they end up green and almost ripe when October cold or even September cold weather freezes them on the plant. One should take the good with the bad. The countryside views in Louisa County .... that's what I loved the most about Virginia.

ZONE 4b where I sit ... is absolutely brutal for flora. We get Irises and Tulips and Forsythia, Snow in Summer-Cerastium. Kelly in Moxee

This message was edited Jul 23, 2008 2:24 PM

Kelly, if it is so horrible there why do you stay?

GG

waht are the zones for dose each state get a zone or are there invisible lines dividing u

u guys have a lot of states we only have 8 states

The zones are temperature zones computed by the USDA (government agriculture department). I'm aware of zones 1 thru 11, but there may be more. My zone is 7. I used to live in 9, and before that in 6. The zones cut across state lines, as they take in areas that have similar high and low temperatures, as you said invisible. Within all of the zones are micro climates, depending on whether you are on a wind-swept hill or a sunny valley. Those you just have to get to know by experiencing your own property. I know there is a much more scientific explanation than I've given, but I didn't think you were asking for that.

Kelly, if the tourist bureau gets wind of what you're saying here, you are in BIG trouble...LOL. I'm interested to hear why you live there too, as granny-goody asks, but my guess is that like most people, that's where you make a living and can't just decide that Maui sounds nice so you'll go there. People find it amazing that we moved north from Florida. They think everyone wants to live there because Disneyworld is such fun to visit. As you said, Kelly, it's like any other place--has its good and bad points both.

Now Australia, there's a place I'd like to visit!

TamaraFaye, Zone envy, yes, I know what you mean. When in Florida, I wanted to be able to grow tulips, daffodils, peonies, things that required a dormant period. Now I get here and everyone here wants to grow Brugmansias and citrus trees. I guess you can pretty much grow anything anywhere if you fool mother nature.

Kelly, My beautiful volunteer squash/pumpkins are being decimated by giant aphids. I tried to add a picture, but it wouldn't upload.

Here it was a couple of months ago. Now just a pile of dead leaves.

Pamgarden,

I lived out on the North Shore of Oahu for 3.5 yrs .... loved it but the cost of living is too much to justify ...met my wife there. I was a few miles from Haliewa and closer to Waimea Bay and the Hyatt Regency at Turtle Bay. I worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center (I'm a haoli). I don't think I even want to visit there any more. I've traveled to many places .... will visit Spain before long ... the Basque region.

I moved my firm from SLC, UT to here 6 yrs ago (6 sisters and a brother nearby). The valley is nice. The county is a fruit bowl. The cost of living here is decent and I enjoy living on 20 acres with a small stream and the accompanied wildlife. I hunt upland game on the property .... duck, quail, dove, pheasant .... occasional rabbit. Deer wander into our yard in the winter. The weather here is nice ... 300 days of sunshine. I have a 3 hole pitch & putt golf course in our yard ... 2 acres of lawn. We have a couple thousand sq ft of garden spaces .... mostly flowers. 4 kids at home ... 2 in college but all live at home. We have a 6 yr old and a 14 yr old too. I'm 56. I'm half retired ... mostly raise the kids with my wife and earn a decent income on the side. I have a few $mil invested in assets related to my firm ... its a cash cow. I just sorta push the buttons. With any good luck we'll be twice as well off in a couple more years. I've been self-employed and work at home ... have for more than 30 yrs even while I was living in the dorms at college.

We have bugs in the west but the desert conditions east of the Cascade or Sierra Mountains and extreme summer and winter temps combined with winds mitigate their numbers compared to the states east of the Rockies. No fireflies here, no ticks ... but we have flies just like everywhere else.

these 2 links give a glimpse of my lifestyle :

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/746125/

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/744897/

We have in excess of 100 varieties of flora on the property .... all that I planted. There are another 100 plant varieties I've not cataloged since they're along the stream in a natural state ... 4 acres untouched from watercress and cattails to sage brush to cactus with many others in between .... extreme biosphere.

Kelly in Moxee

You still haven't answered my question.

If the conditions where you live are so horrible, why do you stay there. If you like it, you should not be posting the negatives so strongly without posting the positives also.

Now I see where you have posted some of the positives, but why should we be interested in how much money you have? Most of my millionaire friends would never brag about their lifestyle. They act just like us poor folks. But, then, you don't know if I am poor or not, do you?

GG

I really enjoy reading threads by individuals who contribute interesting and factual information at DavesGarden. Reading between the lines is a valuable skill for example; free advice is seldom appreciated and usually worth what one pays for it. Some one wrote that and it sometimes is so relevant. I try to suggest solutions to relevant problems and greatly appreciate the input from people with the ability to share from their real experiences to the topic(s). When someone whom I can tell I like asks for suggestions to problems posed that I may have experience with I immediately respond via an even friendlier d-mail. Wishing you all a great day ... I gotta go hammer on the Carriage House to finish some of the interior and exterior trim. One can never be too busy.

Kelly in Moxee

Kelly--I'm not sure what travelogues of your life have to do with the topic you introduced--since you called me to task for getting off topic in another thread, it seems that prohibition is limited to those of us who are "other than".

Your two descriptions Moxee do seem inherently conflicting. Perhaps both factual, but not too helpful.

Hope your son appreciates all your hard work!

Catscan,

I was sorta just expanding on the Maui suggestion made by Pamgarden. After having lived in Hawaii already ... I have a "been there done that" feeling. No doubt its still a nice place. Since I was so down on my area in the original post I wanted to say something nice and expand since she mentioned Hawaii. I'd never want to go there after having lived there and now when I vacation ... I choose places that I've not been to. It broadens the horizon. Realize too I said the negative comments because one reads so often how everyone writes about their place being the best ... nothing like a bit of ethnocentricity to blind one of the real facts. We see and read biased reports of everywhere. There seems to be little objectivity that people can rely or trust in. I wrote Pamgarden a d-mail to that effect ... as well ... and you too for that matter. I've always enjoyed chatting here at DG and I suppose I do occasionally get carried away. I try to not exaggerate and I don't think the weather related statements were negative about this area I live in ... just descriptive. If it sounded like I was complaining ... well language can do that. I should know ... as I used to teach English. My work situation is what I wrote. I play half the time while covering my job post from dawn till dusk but my responsibilities are more of a hands off overseer plus PR and tech or intermittent sales calls which permit me to roam about. I have a small staff to handle the less critical things. I get to refer to myself as the CEO ... oh wow pinch me I'm dreaming! My life is mine to enjoy gardening and a bit of carpentry and the poultry flock and its become nicer over the years because I have been able to build up the company so that it takes care of the bills. The amount of investment has been unusual but was critical to stay afloat. I'd rather have punched a clock ... less stress and more security. Kelly in Moxee

Catscan, I guess Kelly totally ignores me because I am one of those "ethnocentric" people that he actually likes where I live. And, I am satisfied with my life, too!

But, his travelogue and braggadicio really only show how shallow he really is.

GG

gee, i take a day off becasue i dont' feel well, and it seems a lot of other folks are missing from here as well. must be one of THOSE days. lets play nice please... or the chicken fairy will get you!

Hehehe

i hate to point htis out, but everythread in this forum gets off topic. that is why we started P&L chat, to try to contain it there. [it's not working!] however, i have been a DG member for a few years, and used to be "across the board" so to speak, and it is custom that the person who BEGINS the thread pretty much can have a wee little polite say in links and other off topic discussions. and i believe everyone on here should be respectful. to quote my guinea fowl forum...

Catscan,

I don't know what's so bothersome or irritating for a regular poster to this forum to write about a vacation destination especially since it was in response to the prior post from Pamgarden mentioning her wanting to go visit Australia. I'd sure like to go visit there too. I've seen many other members of DG post similar writings about vacations here at DG and when they get back they post photos and everyone oohs and ahs. So I mentioned a planned vacation site ... hardly cause to irritate anyone ... and certainly not a travelogue.

GG, You seem to think I was ignoring questions but in the posts today I've made an honest effort to answer all the questions people were asking and tried to stay on topic with the questions that were asked ... I believe your questions were answered but in posts not directed at you by name. Sorry if that was offensive but its easier to pay less attention to every name and be kind to all. Am I wrong in supposing you believe you're someone whom I'd actually enjoy sharing a topic with ? I may have overlooked your asking a question of me. I try to avoid dispensing advise unless specifically someone asks. If you'll go back and re-read my written comments ...they are usually ... from experience or my opinion. Its a kinder way to write and folks tend to understand experiences better. It is too too easy to get folks angry by telling them what they should or shouldn't do. I learned that lesson many many years ago. Now I try to say ... if I had to choose "I'd consider such and such a way because of what has been learned". Telling folks what to do or trying to insult them for who knows what reason ... I leave that up to the small minded, mean spirited people who twist what others write or say into something completely different. Not sure how you came to believe I was directing my comments about ethnocentricity toward yourself. I would never do anything so mean spirited ... just not me. I was being general in my statements and they were not directed at you or anyone in particular. I suppose we can all benefit from improved reading comprehension skills. This is pretty much the 1st or 2nd time I've even thought about your posts ... since your comment was unmistakably directed at me. There are individuals whose posts I ignore or skip when possible .... so I may have been in a hurry and just didn't notice you were expecting me to respond to what you wrote in the query. I hope that isn't offensive. I think suggestions are the best way for DG'rs to be best understood because advise is sometimes offensive.

I don't look at what I wrote about being necessary to invest as bragging (another mean spirited word choice) .... my mentioning is just my way of being frank and up front - truthful (and not that it was what I preferred). But thankfully we're still in business so I suppose that's reason to be pleased with the sometimes hard choices that were made. Have a nice day everyone.

George ... what're you laughing about ? What a great name you have!

Kelly in Moxee

TF,

Such a smart smart person your granny was. The world would be a better place if all the grannies were like her. I bet she could spell too and she read you bedtime stories like my granny did.

Kelly in Moxee

Yes, Miss Landers....I mean tf:0) I'll be good now!

TF,

Always a pleasure to read what you have to say. Yours and others poultry experiences are why I read posts and add my 2-4 hundred million cents (that's a joke).

Kelly in Moxee

Looks like it will do the job all right .

Gee, how kind of you to point out that you don't read my posts. And, also to make sure you pointed out that some people can't spell. We have known for a long time that the schools no longer teach students to spell. Didn't you know that the government has a policy of "no child left behind"? That means that even if they don't learn, they will be passed on to the next grade. But, when you make slurs about someone not being able to spell, you should find out if they can't spell or they have a problem that prevents them from typing easily. Perhaps one day you will learn about that. Hopefully it won't be because of a handicap.

GG

can we all play nice now? please?

My chicken coop needs to be reinforced just a tad more. I hope this hen house can withstand all the wind and high temperatures this summer.

Kelly in Moxee

This is my son. He is 17 years old and a Senior in High school.

I have been listening to my mom talk about how this forum has been going for a while now. I am getting kinda sick of the complaints so i will say this.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you do not like their opinion, you have the right to your opinion. You do not, however, have the right to force your opinion on others. Be this through verbal, physical, or mental abuse.

Flaming will get you nowhere either. Since not everyone knows what flaming is, here is a link to the Urban Dictionary. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=flame

If you choose to continue these antics, just bust out the flamethrowers and gasoline.

David

Hmmm. I said "flame", but my son hearing the same thing came up with "troll". So I guess we could have trolls going wild with flame throwers and gasoline....but wouldn't it scare the chickens? Not to mention the ducks, guineas, and pea fowl?

This message was edited Jul 25, 2008 3:37 AM

Kelly, I just reread your posting of yesterday.

GG,

Here's the truth.

I hadn't been reading your posts ... purposely because I had concluded you were not at all enlightening. So I'd been skipping them purposely. Finally read one of your posts because it was directly following one of my posts and noted your rude query. I get the distinct impression you are wanting to pick fights verbally ... not necessarily wanting to have a nice conversation.

As a 5 yr old my Grandmother spent hundreds of dollars on my behalf ... mostly books and alphabet stuff. Kindergarten classes had been canceled in my local Yakima School District in 1957. I believe it was the last time this school district failed to pass the bond levy that forcing the closure of kindergarten throughout the district. As a result I was not getting the education she held in such high regard. She was a Reg. Nurse. She would visit our home and spend much of her time with me helping me read, write and spent endless hours reading to me because of my special situation. All my siblings attended kindergarten. I have a copy of a book my grandmother gave me. It is cherished. John J Audubon's Birds of North America ... from a 1953 publishing. By the time I turned 6 ... I could turn to any painting in the book and without reading name the bird ... just name the bird ... 345 or so different birds ... I moved on to dog and flower books and did similar memory work. My Grandmother represents to me the love of learning and reading and writing and spelling. I hadn't noticed your skill or lack of skill in spelling .... mostly because I had not been reading them. Yesterday I went back on a good many threads and read several to see if you were intentionally trying to pick verbal fights with me or anyone else .... at least I'm not so special in that respect.

I moved back here to this area (near Yakima) ONLY to be near family ... 6 sisters a brother and my mom ,,,, and my grandmother (she died last year at 104.5 age) ... not because I like or dislike the area. Every area has good and bad. I told the good and I mentioned the extreme weather (not necessarily bad) ... you and others felt I was being negative it would appear.

Have a good day.

Kelly in Moxee

This message was edited Jul 30, 2008 11:51 AM

Kelly, since you so directly asked a question about being able to know 345 birds in that book, I would like you to know that I was reading at the age of four and reading and comprehending at a twelth grade level by the time I was seven. So, there are many people out here that could equal or exceed your reading prowess at that age.

GG

good reading on this . im learning alot

I wish I was :o(

Hey Sue!!

yer this thread has had heaps of info

Kelly,

Thank you for posting the plans & pixs of your Fortress in progress. I have a lot more ideas now that I can incorporate with what I already have completed & to make new pens with the materials I have just lying around (looking like trash right now)

Hope you don't mind if I 'steal' your plans ^_^

Cheryl
Pea

Hey Geo !! ~~~~~ :)
well i was looking forward to this thread .
Photographer what are you using for your ground ? sorry if you explained above and i missed it . I was thinking of using a deep manure compost type for my coop. So i m asking around and seeing if anyone else is using this method. ?
Im looking forward to chicks this spring
I am thinking of Buckeyes , Delawares and some Guinees.
Sorry for the spelling but my arthritis in my fingers is acting up ?
i know TF has Buckeyes
anyone else have them
and what guinees do you have ? and which are your fav color ?
best
sue

Hey Sue!
I don't know how far you are from Lucasville, Ohio, but they have meets 3 times a year. I go to them and it's a blast. There is every kind of critter you can think of there. I buy a lot of my poultry(peafowl, guineas, chickens etc.) there. There is always a huge variety of stuff there and the prices are not bad. I can't find the colors of guineas or peafowl local that I can find there. I love the colored guineas. I have buff, bronze, coral blue, royal purple and French guineas right now. I keep a listing on craiglist for more colors all the time. Melissa and I are going to hook up at the fall meet this year. It would be great if you could meet us also and you could get a feel of what you may want and the prices. The meet is also a huge yard sale/flea market. Oh and they also have some great hard to find plants there also.
George

taynors,

My ground in the coop or around the coop or inside the enclosure?

1) Ground in the coop 8ftX8ft .... is the ordinary dirt that has been there for centuries ... covered in pine chips .... diggers (its easy to dig in) are not welcome but then they have to reach the coop inside the poultry pasture in order to dig into the coop. The idea is to stop them at one point or the other before they get to the hen house. I chose the perimeter fences .... since we do not have fence climbers (yet) fortunately ... We actually have 2 identical perimeter fences facing the stream where potential predators approach the poultry and hen house from ... these 2 fences are 150 ft apart .... the width of my yard .... north to south front to back. The front fence ends at our shed/storage facility which in itself is another 100 ft long. So we really have a fairly good 250ft south facing initial perimeter fence line. The predators that get past the 1st line then have to negotiate thru the yard in open grass to the second nearly identical fence. Most predators are just too afraid or timid to venture so far from the stream in the open. That streams is an animal super highway. The poultry pasture has significant predator barriers ... the 2 ft woven wire fences, gardens, house & open turf lawn between the stream where the predators roam and where the poultry are secured. Since the fencing went up ... the poultry attacks have been limited to mink killing 2 adult poultry. The cats used to kill the Game Fowl roosting in our trees ... but since they learned to roost in our 4 car bay garage w/ gravel floor .... 12 ft high in the rafters ... no more cat trouble. I've had some fatalities this summer due to inattentiveness (inexperience). The baby poultry need secure night nest boxes to keep out mink. That is accomplished but it requires my rounding up 25 babies each night at 7pm escorting 5 groups ... and takes a few minutes.

2) Ground around the coop .... about a 125ft X 275 ft pasture of welded wire or woven wire 5 ft tall. This pasture is large for 40 birds. We have ducks, guineas & chickens inside ... but the guineas fly outside any time they wish. The dirt everywhere is normal soft and sandy ... not rich soil ... a former lake bottom so we only have stones way down around the stream bed ... 25 ft lower than our driveway and 100 ft in front of the house perhaps 60ft from the gravel driveway. Our Toulouse geese are across the driveway in a separate pasture that gets sprinkler irrigation (on my neighbors property) ... and they love their near day long showers. Geese seem to need mostly grasses and weeds from March thru November.

Kelly in Moxee



This message was edited Jul 30, 2008 11:30 AM

Thanks Geo is that the one if fall ? oh oh oh oh yes i would love to . yeah . ( clapping hands with glee. )

thanks Photographer. Good to know
sorry didn't mean to hijack a thread :(
my bad
just trying to get ideas
i really like your coop Photograher . The coop looks great.

I too am learning alot from this thread... will be starting to build our fences next weekend and needed lots of ideas on how to keep all the critters out!
thanks kelly, for all the valuable info here :o)
anjL

Today in the afternoon I cut the last 6 pieces of galvanized corrugated steel panels to fit the small places on the chicken coop. I even go them mounted using the bolts. The temperature was close to 99 degrees all afternoon. I was sweating ... profusely. Great way to get dehydrated ... and we've been out of beer for a week. Lucky for me ... my neighbor Mike got home just in time to cool me off. This little chicken building should last a long long time. These panels are as heavy as can be. Cutting the metal steel sheets is kinda dangerous. I used thick leather gloves when holding the tin snips today ... not many nicks or cuts. Now I have the interior of the building to finish. I have to get better roosts. The rods are too small and sway a bit when loaded up with chickens and guineas.

Kelly in Moxee