Insulating the Chicken Coop – The Data

Insulating the Chicken Coop – The Data
Earlier this year, I took the time to insulate the walls of the chicken coop and cover the insulation with 1/4" plywood. I had hoped we could go without needing a heater in there in the deep winter, and luckily I was right. With Home Assistant tracking everything to InfluxDB and a Grafana dashboard to keep an eye on it, I can see that when all the doors are closed, it keeps nearly 10 degrees…

Chicken Casa Complete

Chicken Casa Complete
I have learned so much about estimations and weather. I thought I could knock this thing out in a few weeks. For those counting, it's been 13 weeks since January 5th 2025. A sprained ankle delayed me a little bit, but most of my miscalculation was due to not being realistic about Western Washington weather. If you watch the build video, you will see me cover my material and work quite a few times for…

Chicken Casa v2 almost complete

Chicken Casa v2 almost complete
Between a sprained ankle and the weather, it's taken me over a month to get 8 good days in, but that's enough to get it completely framed, wrapped and the roof covered. Next I need to install a door, the trim, the siding and the metal roofing. There is some painting and more weather coming, so not sure how long it will take, but I was shooting to have the roof on tomorrow, so I'm…

Chicken Casa v2 Paused because I’m an idiot

Chicken Casa v2 Paused because I’m an idiot
Saturday morning the gravel showed up and I got to work building the floor. Started Sunday screwing down the floor and ended with two walls built. We had guys coming to clean the gutters Monday, so I needed to clean up my material to keep gutter trash from being slung all over it. I jumped off the tractor after finishing moving the material, did NOT stick the landing, and rolled my ankle over. It's Thursday…

Chicken Casa v2

Chicken Casa v2
Most of the time, I figure out the key dimensions and just come up with my own design for everything. We sadly lost a chicken to a coyote and while the coop wasn't the problem, that put us at 4 chickens. We've decided to move up to 10-12 and the old coop was too small and kind of a pain to keep clean. A walk in shed is a much better option and I found…

Wildlife Pond v2 Begins

Wildlife Pond v2 Begins
I have completed my designs, sorted out deterrence for raccoons and moles, and ordered the newer, thicker liner with an under-liner. I'm going bigger and better. It will be deep enough raccoons can't walk around and eat things and the walls will be shaped with cinderblock and quick concrete. Bring it mole.

Wildlife Pond defeated by Mole

Wildlife Pond defeated by Mole
One mole. One hole. Spent this morning rehoming the somehow all still living fish to an aquarium and stock tank. I walked out onto the deck this morning to see the pond nearly empty. I raced to Wal-Mart and got an aquarium, but it's not going to be big enough so I'm going to get a Rubbermaid stock tank and set it up in the garage to load balance a bit. I guess we are…

DIY Rock Wall Complete

DIY Rock Wall Complete
I had 4 yards of rock delivered yesterday. I had a tarp ready and the landscaping cloth was put down the day before. A lot of work, but I should never have to cut another blackberry from this spot of yard.