Richard: I discovered your video's a couple of days ago; they are great. As a 77 year old who had a 1/4 hectare family garden and semi dwarf orchard developed on gravel ground ( old creek bed )when I was pre teen by my family. We created a soil mix by adding clay from a bank that had collapsed a mile down the road; that was delivered by the large belly loaders removing the slide from the road. To this we added pine saw dust from the local sawmill and rotted horse manure from the trail ridding stable across the road. After we removed the rocks from the top 8" the four layers were mixed with a single bottom plow behind a 16HP walk behind 2 large wheel tractor with 7' long handles and a dog clutch. This mix after one year gave us a good starting medium; that became great soil over the years with annual addition of horse manure and our own compost to the planting beds between the rows of fruit trees. The only live stock we had were a flock of chickens for eggs and meat and the honey from 200 hives that we sold. My father was an accountant with an interest in researching bee diseases. My training in wood working was from helping him building supers, frames. bottoms, lids etc. all hive components except foundation and queen separators. I worked in the orchards that surrounded us as a teenager. That was the end of my life in agriculture at 20 I joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a lighting technician; then twenty years later left to build a equipment rental company for the motion picture industry growing in Vancouver B.C. When I was 50 I sold it as I was burned out after working an average of 80 hours a week for 30 years. Then I paid off my mortgage, bought a 50' wooden twin engine boat and mother nature has kept me busy trying to compost it. I am really impressed with the scope of skills you are teaching : practical farm permaculture, management, basic construction, high value crops and small scale animal husbandry. Then you toss in soil science, landscape design to constantly improve the quality and productivity of the land with appropriate crops and forestry with grazing. Did you do a back-up seeding to cover any losses from the spring frosts. If I were 60 years younger I would consider a diverse small farm; as the orchards I grew up with were too monoculture and I think polyculture with animals is the way nature intended. Bert
Richard, I know you are too busy to cover everything but if you ever get a moment free for somethign so trivial well at about 2:05 of this video you walk past what looks like a mobile hen house with tin roof? Some sort of ark? What is that used for? I just built some mobile pens for hens on pasture and was intrigued.
could you show a bit more detail on the roof part of your chicken pens I have built a couple not but havent found an eligant solution im now scaling up my production on new land so have to build some new bigger pens shortly bigest one previously was for 20 broilers and ive got 2 for 6 layers each
Free lumber, great chicken tractor design, maybe selling smaller tractors could bring a few bucks, now that you have a jig for your chop saw. ??? Sold as pre-cut kit, some assembly required!!!!
You make it difficult to work out sizes as some of us still use feet and inches example when you order conceit it is ordered in square yards not in meters a house when it is advertised in square feet so can you give the sizes in imperial as well?
Joan Smith in one (or a few) of the earlier videos he's shown the unheated, temporary living spaces for the interns. They've all been living in his house while the weather warms. - Jeff
Man, the cops are going to fly over your place with a helicopter, see all that heat from the lights inside and then raid your place for marijuana. But all they will find are hundreds of adorable baby chickens.
Richard: I discovered your video's a couple of days ago; they are great. As a 77 year old who had a 1/4 hectare family garden and semi dwarf orchard developed on gravel ground ( old creek bed )when I was pre teen by my family. We created a soil mix by adding clay from a bank that had collapsed a mile down the road; that was delivered by the large belly loaders removing the slide from the road. To this we added pine saw dust from the local sawmill and rotted horse manure from the trail ridding stable across the road. After we removed the rocks from the top 8" the four layers were mixed with a single bottom plow behind a 16HP walk behind 2 large wheel tractor with 7' long handles and a dog clutch. This mix after one year gave us a good starting medium; that became great soil over the years with annual addition of horse manure and our own compost to the planting beds between the rows of fruit trees. The only live stock we had were a flock of chickens for eggs and meat and the honey from 200 hives that we sold. My father was an accountant with an interest in researching bee diseases. My training in wood working was from helping him building supers, frames. bottoms, lids etc. all hive components except foundation and queen separators. I worked in the orchards that surrounded us as a teenager. That was the end of my life in agriculture at 20 I joined the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a lighting technician; then twenty years later left to build a equipment rental company for the motion picture industry growing in Vancouver B.C. When I was 50 I sold it as I was burned out after working an average of 80 hours a week for 30 years. Then I paid off my mortgage, bought a 50' wooden twin engine boat and mother nature has kept me busy trying to compost it. I am really impressed with the scope of skills you are teaching : practical farm permaculture, management, basic construction, high value crops and small scale animal husbandry. Then you toss in soil science, landscape design to constantly improve the quality and productivity of the land with appropriate crops and forestry with grazing. Did you do a back-up seeding to cover any losses from the spring frosts. If I were 60 years younger I would consider a diverse small farm; as the orchards I grew up with were too monoculture and I think polyculture with animals is the way nature intended. Bert
bert skelton you are a fascinating guy. What an interesting life so far.
Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
Great video. Like the new design. I have to build a few new ones this year as well and appreciate that. Is your roofing aluminum?
Swedish homestead recommended your channel, new subscriber
Things are definitely swinging into production, Looking good mate
Richard, I know you are too busy to cover everything but if you ever get a moment free for somethign so trivial well at about 2:05 of this video you walk past what looks like a mobile hen house with tin roof? Some sort of ark? What is that used for? I just built some mobile pens for hens on pasture and was intrigued.
That looks like a feeder for cows to me.
Thank you for this information!
Hey I'm subbing love you're work and I love the music you start your vlogs with. And I'm learning a lot from you.
are those nut and bolt? or coach screw / lag bolt that are self tacking? Like the design
cordell dutoit nut and bolt
Really great advice on the construction. Inspiring stuff. Thank you
Wonderful, great fun, thank you!
Is it possible for you to make use of your local timber with a bandsaw mill instead of purchasing lumber?
could you show a bit more detail on the roof part of your chicken pens I have built a couple not but havent found an eligant solution im now scaling up my production on new land so have to build some new bigger pens shortly bigest one previously was for 20 broilers and ive got 2 for 6 layers each
I really like the design, gj!
nice build thanks good job.
Free lumber, great chicken tractor design, maybe selling smaller tractors could bring a few bucks, now that you have a jig for your chop saw. ??? Sold as pre-cut kit, some assembly required!!!!
Nice jig
If you’re not a woodworker, make life easy and always predrill unless you’re 100% sure you don’t need to.
You make it difficult to work out sizes as some of us still use feet and inches example when you order conceit it is ordered in square yards not in meters a house when it is advertised in square feet so can you give the sizes in imperial as well?
www.google.com/search?q=cm+to+inches&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b&ei=946RW7nQNIPN8AOdvIjwBg&q=square+meters+to+square+yards&oq=square+meters+to+square+yards&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l2j0i22i30k1l3.24520.36253.0.36544.41.33.8.0.0.0.163.2482.29j4.33.0..2..0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.41.2528...0i131k1j0i67k1j0i131i67k1j0i10k1j0i20i263k1j0i22i10i30k1.0.W-ywxzk5Z_U
Then its time for the US to leave that behind and start using the Metric system like the rest of world ;)
Lol, the US will never abandon the Imperialist system!
what about putting cameras up everywhere... or maybe a small personal you don't have to hold.
"We are going to move out of the house". why?
Joan Smith in one (or a few) of the earlier videos he's shown the unheated, temporary living spaces for the interns. They've all been living in his house while the weather warms.
- Jeff
I prefer to see how the animals are doing (even though the people are lovely). Thanks for showing the design of the units.
Man, the cops are going to fly over your place with a helicopter, see all that heat from the lights inside and then raid your place for marijuana. But all they will find are hundreds of adorable baby chickens.