November Musings + Updates
Although we have had a wildly nontypical Autumn with record highs, it always comes to pass that one day you wake up to snow on the ground or freezing temperatures. I for one am not entirely ready for mother nature to take me by surprise, especially when it comes to dealing with little lives that depend on me to keep them thriving. You’ll see that we are nowhere near completed with our goat houses or any other project when it comes to the animals. The insulation is part way in and hasn’t been covered- we have yet to find wheels that won’t break on us while moving their houses. We’ve decided on a change of direction in how were going to keep the chickens, so they continue in the yellow box trailer… none the less, we press on trying to ignore the massive absence in aesthetics. Right now, we just need everyone situated and on a rhythmic system to start making a profit with them again! That alone will help financially to start adding the things we really need like a barn and stall etc. I’m someone who really, really needs their ducks in a row before I feel I can move forward.
Most goat shelters I noticed, utilize the bare ground as the flooring to be able to have them fertilize the land as they rotate around the pastures which, in theory I love!- The issue I have with it though, is that with Kentucky’s rain fall, the ground gets very saturated with water causing moisture and dampness if not straight just being wet, which can lead to funguses on the skin, mold in the house and other issues that would arise form living in damp conditions. We put a wood floor in and haven’t had to worry about it for quite some time since it’s been warm enough that they lay out on the grass. Now however that we’re preparing for temps of freezing or lower, we decided on straw for bedding since it’s non absorbing. Straw will help as an extra insulator to help keep them warm and off of a drafty floor, as well as something soft to lay on.
Fox is sweeping up the waste (in the above photo) that he ended up sifting to get all the insulation pieces that my mischievous goats ripped and then we’ll set it aside for compost.
The doors will resemble a doggy door so that way just the sheer output of their body heat + the aid of the house being insulated keeps them toasty. I’ve had folks ask me online if I’m going to add a heat lamp inside, and the answer is no. I don’t really believe in utilizing heat lamps for animals unless they are newborns, recovering from a sickness or an injury. In my experience, animals tend to become spoiled with the additional heat and refrain from going out to forage, they do not grow sufficient winter coats which will only hurt them in the long run and heat lamps do pose a fire risk even if it is a low one.
We decided NOT to go with chicken tractors. We might use a few for the roosters as bachelor pads but, even then I’ll have to consider it. Young babes who hatched earlier this year were taken out and added to the rest of the crew in the trailor and Matthew hooked the tractor to the chick tractor, hauling it over to the current garden. Removing a section of fencing we got in in there, got a floor in and stuffed it with straw for this to serve where the ducks will be temporarily keeping warm should they need it for the winter.
Added some shingles to complete the roofing to make sure they are waterproofed and for the most part we are ready to rock.
