Chicken Coop and Heat

Finally, the geothermal system is up and running and we're getting a chance to see how it will do when we're heatin' with dirt. So far, the system is working very well and the house is staying at a very nice even temperature. We haven't used the fireplace in a couple of weeks. We'll keep you informed how it goes and what our electric bill looks like as time goes by.

Since the majority of the system is all buried, this is the only proof I have that the thing is working, that and the warm house of course.

As spring starts to peak over the horizon, it's time for us to build our chicken coop.  Friends who raise chickens along with sheep and hogs for sale as well as grow fabulous organic garden offerings, have generously started six hens for us. We'll pay them for their trouble and install our biddies as soon as we finish building our high-end, hen, high rise. We found a really cool plan on the internet that has been built and tested in Kansas.  If it can withstand the winters and summers in Kansas, the foothills of NC should be a breeze.  One of the features we really liked about this plan was that the builder installed concrete end-caps vertically in the soil to foil any intrusion by critters with an eye toward a chicken dinner. We used the tractor to scrape out a relatively level spot and then dug a trench all the way around the circumference of the coop putting the caps on edge. Once we completed this, we installed another layer of end-caps laid the way they're supposed to be on top to form the foundation of the coop.

 trenched and with caps laid on edge

 Buried caps, the right side and end closest to the camera also have narrow weave wire fencing installed into the dirt. Each corner is also wrapped in flashing to really limit access to the inside.  

 Filled with sand which will help support the cap blocks and give a good base for the chickens to scratch in that is easily cleaned.

The base framed with pressure treated 2X8's resting on top of the block foundation

Lastly, we installed wire fencing into the soil to add an addition layer for the truly persistent pests. We plan to use leftover wood from the house to construct the majority of the coop. To that end, we found some 2X8 pressure treated boards in the barn to use for the bottom plate. Sunday is supposed to be a rainy day and I have a meeting at church so we'll probably need to wait until next weekend to continue the saga.