Rescue Journal

the relocation of slum chickens

Carol · Mar. 7, 2012

i just need to crawl thru today and then i have 4 days off. not a good night last night, i am tired. the dogs were restless and reactive..hey...just like me! so was it them or me with the problem?

i don't even want to think about that one today...i really just want to go back to bed and sleep for a few more hours.

we were kind of stalled with the stuff going on out at the barn by the snow yesterday..i am happy with how it is going...i like how it it coming together but i am not sure i can stand another few weeks of animals not being able to run around and do what they like to do every day....and i really hate seeing all of our barnyard birds stuck in freaking cages.
i keep telling myself soon this will all be over and we can all get on with more normally living each day again. but i am worried cuz holy shit..that grant we were awarded to cover the costs better see us thru to the end of this very big plan too. and mostly i am driving myself nutz with the stress of trying to plan an appropriate and efficient chicken area when i haven't a clue. can you imagine all of this work and money spent..and i make some giant big planning ooops?
can't wait til this is all a thing of the past...i am tired of obsessing over chicken coops.

so..we brought in a big container to deal with our monsterous manure. i was hestitant to do it because it is another $150 a month just to deal with all of the poop our barn animals put out but it had to be done...that last manure pile we just removed was beyond insane. we had to get rid of it for the new chicken area and i am glad it is finally gone.
the container ain't working so great so we are having to figure out a way for it's use to be easier. it looks like we will have to ramp and catwalk it to dump in from the top and that is another expense i wasn't counting on.

oh well... ripples in the ongoing freaking saga of "our chickens need a better home" pond.

deep breath and keep yer eye on the ball carol...while our birds were safe, well fed, clean and dry..they were still living in a slum..a few more weeks and they will not be living in a palace but they will living in a decent and nicer and easier to care for home so this upside down worriness has got to be good.

i just want it to be happily ever after for all of us soon.

Comments

Carol

this is a walk in but once you start building mountains it is too hard to get the wheelbarrow up the growing poop pile.

Alison

What about a walk in bin where it's open on one side? I don't know what companies are available for this in the valley but I know there is one in Surrey. Must be something similar?

http://www.skinnybins.ca/surrey-dumpster-bins.php

another Doreen

Yes, definitely lots of railings! I was thinking more of humans falling off the catwalk but hadn't thought of animals falling into or by the bin.

Carol

the dumpster gets picked up at the top of the bin..but the mnure container gets picked up from the bottom so the bottom of the bin and the bottom of the truck have to be on level ground for it to work.

but even if it were possible to bury one side of the bin..it would pose a huge risk to the animals for falling in...our animals are stupid that way..esp.percy!
i am told that other barns who use the bins ramp and catwalk them...but since i personally am afraid of heights..i was thinking of putting a railing up so i felt safer when dumping!

Renee

Carol my rehearsal times got moved up a bit on Fridays so can I work 8-11:50? Perhaps Issabelle could come in for a cOuple of hOurs to make up for my lost hours? This will be until the end of April when my show is. Let me know if this doesn't work. After april my hours will stop being so crazy haha.

another Doreen

Just my humble opinion but I think an idea like Brent's sounds a lot safer for humans pushing wheel-barrows than a ramp and cat-walk. Especially if they have to push full wheel-barrows up hill! Maybe you could ask the equipment operators or container company and Brent to brain-storm a workable solution? The truck would just have to be able drive up to the dumpster on the same level.

Carol

i don't think that would work brent cuz the truck picks up the container by sliding a retracting metal thing into the bottom so the bottom of the bin has to be flat ground level for the truck to pick up.

Brent

Carol, re: "The Big Poo Container". You have several large pieces of machinery on site at present. Move 20ft. down the fence line from where the container currently is, use the backhoe and dig down about 1/2 the height of the container, create a flat pad for it to sit on, and still have access for a truck to remove it when full. The dirt you remove you place to the side where the food shed is so you can create a ramp (the full length of the container) to get to the top to dump. The other side remains open so drainage can occur so the container doesn't sit in a pit of water. Just thinking out loud.

Maggie

I write about renovations, among other things, for a living so believe me when I say everyone feels exactly the way you do during renovations....it's just a fact of life. Nothing you can do but keep your eye on the prize at the end.

K.O.

Full Moon tommorrow!!!Kinda makes four legged and two legged "restless and reactive"!