July | 2015 | Build Me a Dream

Time to Redefine our Lives in Oregon

Archive for July, 2015

Poop Happens

Some days….my life seems like it’s all about the poop. Seriously….when you have multiple animals, you’ve got to stay on top of it…hahaha!

I recently discovered an amazing way to stay on top of the incredible nightly chicken house poop accumulation. No joke….they sleep and poop, poop and sleep….at the same time….in huge amounts. I try not to capture the results of their evening….activities…..when I post pictures because…welll….who really wants to see that??!! (Sorry about the picture above.)

I’ve tried to manage it all with pine shavings, works pretty well….straw (never again will I use straw) Creepy Crawlies….YUCK! …. and dusting the floor with DE (livestock food grade diatomaceous earth.) Shavings, and straw are very labor intensive when it’s time to clean, and there is a point where the production of ammonia is just inevitable….so whether it was on your schedule that day to muck out the hen house….if you start detecting ammonia….cleaning day moves to the top of the chore list. DE floor dusting (very thin layer) actually worked pretty well….it dried out the droppings pretty well. The most difficult things with this method were the “splat” factor, resulting in the need scrape the floor a bit. Other than that, things generally cleaned up with a shovel and a broom.

Then….I found this……

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/460352393133899588/

Amazing idea!!! So, Tony decided to build it!!

It didn’t take too much convincing……

Although our local farm store did not carry the Sweet PDZ granules that the Pintrest poster spoke of….this product…

…has very similar ingredients, and works amazingly!! Seriously…I feel like my life has been liberated from the drudge of the frequent mucking out of the chicken house!!! I’m a happy, Tami!!!

Literally, I take a cat litter box scooper, and scoop the poop right out of the poop tray!! The effort is so minimal its amazing (ok…I know I’ve used that word several times this post, but it actually is AMAZING!!) The beauty of this product is that it has the benefit of DE which will eliminate any fly that lands in the poop box (DE dries out their exoskeleton, and dun, dun, dun, no more fly) yet, it is not as lightly powered so there is not near as much dust. I’m so excited!!

So now, besides cleaning out the nesting boxes, and adding clean bedding….my mucking days are over!!! YES!!!

Oh, wait…. <sigh> ….. I forgot about the kids’ house!!!

Hahaha…well once the barn gets built….the tractor will help with that chore…I hope!!

Thank you for visiting the hen house today!!

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami

Category:

building a new home, Chicken House, Chicken Poop Boards, Stall Dry

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Tracks in the Mud

I hope all within the United States of America had a wonderful Independence Day weekend……Happy Birthday to our beautiful country!!

What do you think made this…..

…..impressions in the mud surrounding the pond? If you guessed racoon for the tracks on the right, I think there is a very fair bet that you are right!! The tracks on the left, however, are not as apparent. These tracks were part of the results of our great expedition in search of creatures unknown….creatures who make odd, foreboding sounds in the forest….creatures that….oh well, if you don’t know what I’m talking about…take a look at my previous post.. What Was That??!!!

We searched high and low, with Penni ‘s nose leading the way, but found nothing. Nothing, that is, until we reached the pond. TRACKS!! Due to the unusually high temps surrounding most of the month of June, and into July…and the lack of rain….our pond has receded a lot already this year, leaving a good muddy base to capture a picture of those that visit for a quick refresher.

Tracks are very difficult to capture in time…especially when one is using a cell phone as camera…but these are big impressions….and without a marker….I think they appear bigger in the picture than at the site, but they are large, none-the-less, large….and probably somewhat spread out due to the soft mud.

Captured from http://www.bear-tracker.com/coyote.html This is a really cool site to check out with a lot of good info.

The picture above, captured from http://www.bear-tracker.com/coyote.html is the closest example that I can find. Both have suttle nail impressions, indicating a canine paw rather than a big cat paw…..

From http://www.bear-tracker.com/cougar.html

…..such as the cougar track above from http://www.bear-tracker.com/cougar.html. You can see how much wider the “palm” pad is from the cougar track, as compared to the coyote track.

Although, I’m fairly certain the sounds just before dawn on the early morning of July 2, 2015 are not related to the tracks we found in the mud of the pond, I am reminded that this place wherein we have created a home…a small farm…is actually home to so many others. We are truly living within a forest, and the creatures of this forest are sharing their home with us. Most of the time, although on the same land, we live in very different worlds….however, I suspect that they know our activities much more than we know theirs. Also, we have water around us…in the pond, and in the creek…..with the unusually early, dry conditions this summer the critters are getting thirsty….something to remember.

Thank you for visiting the forest today. Have a great day!!

Your friend from Oregon,

Tami

Category:

building a new home, Cougar Track, Coyote Track, Coyote Track in Mud

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WHAT WAS THAT??!!!

Many of my friends know of the, WHAT WAS THAT, moment of my day today. It started around 4:15 a.m….the sounds were odd…really odd. They were coming from the bottom of the gentle hillside leading away from our goat enclosure. Penni, our great dane, was the first to hear and react. The hackles along her spine were raised, creating a dark, rust colored line extending from her shoulders to the base of her tail. I crawled out of bed, sat, and listened for more. WHAT WAS THAT??!!

By this time all the dogs on the properties around us were sounding the alarm, yet the noise continued. Hard to explain, the was a hollow, somewhat high pitched cry….not quite a howl, not quite a scream.

http://www.freesoundeffects.com/sounds1/animal/BigCats/bobcat.aif

The most concerning was the long, low grumble of deep, throated growl. Ok…it was clear…it was definitely something of the carnivore persuasion.

http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/soundfx/animals/animals_sounds/BigCats_sounds/lion_bob-cat2_wav.shtml

As soon as I could, I googled sounds, and most of the day, though that it must have been a cougar, aka mountain lion. However, I found the bobcat sounds this afternoon, and truly believe it was a bobcat.

Picture from http://coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com/2013/04/does-it-make-sense-for-ny-dept-of.html

Yeah kind of spooky. We’ve yet to go exploring to find what we might find, but I’ll keep you posted. And, yes, these guys and gals…

…were all locked up tightly for the night….although, they did seem a bit trepidatious stepping out into the big, bold world this morning…they seem to be fine this afternoon.

Okay….I’ll keep you posted!! I definitely need more of these…..