High Desert Farm Girl

DIY 15' X 30" shed completed in 3 days. Alpaca sunning area is a big hit.

2011-11-27T22:04:00.000-08:00

With winter approaching the completion of the DIY Alpaca shed is such a relief. The beginning of day 3 found me at Metalmart to pick up the metal for the new shed. The cost of the metal came to around $1200.00.

The metal for the shed didn't look like much but it was all there.

It helps to have cheap labor, who will basically work for free.

The one bad thing about cheap labor is that it is sometimes slow and your projects take longer to complete. The shed was completed way past dark. lol

Shed, roof and walls completed way past dark. Now we need to finish the trim and we are good to go.

Having a farm in our environment can be such a challenge. Every animal that we own must have good shelter that protects them from the wind and extreme cold. The result of our location means the expenses of our infrastructure are higher than most farms. We believe that in the end our farm will be something special that will give back to the community.

Development of any kind in this economy is an uphill battle. When you are responsible for the well being of your farm animals, you sometimes have no choice but to spend money. What makes it hard is that people are not eager to spend their money for your goods. The economic balance on the farm depends on money coming in and money going out. Right now it seems that its all going out, with not much coming in.

My next big challenge is to come up with some really creative ideas to make money.

I am thinking FIBER. hummmmmmm.

DIY three sided shed for our alpacas

2011-11-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

This week is crazy! We have the opportunity to agist (board) 15 alpacas at the farm. The only catch is, that we need one more shelter. You cannot get away with weak or thrown together shelters here at the mouth of Weber Canyon. We only have 4 days to complete this shelter before a big storm is suppose to hit and the new alpacas arrive. The alpacas love these 3 sided sheds. They are open to the South and get lots of sun all winter. Utah has more sunny days than almost anywhere else in the country. So we like to take advantage of that fact.

Day one 3' holes to set used electric poles into. And the beginning of framing. Working with used electric poles saves tons of money. Recycling or re-purposing poles is a big money saver and makes environmental sense. All the lumber for framing of this shed came to $403.00.
Smile working under pressure is tons of fun!!!!!

View of one of the completed sheds. The new shed can be seen in the background.
Day two frame work completed.

The end of day 2 framed shed 15' X 30' plus fill to elevate the floor.
Day three cross you fingers with any luck the next post will have pictures of a completed shed.

Beautiful end to day 2.

Great DIY chicken coop for winter

2011-11-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

One of the winter chicken coops is completed. The roosters seem to love it. The Chicken coop sun room seems to be a big hit.

First I made the coop with a vinyl floor. Clean up is a snap.
Second I made the coop easy to move with the bucket of our tractor. The space under the coop has green house panels and makes a sun room on Utah's many sunny days.

Third I needed to provide wind protection, so the chicken coop sun room is enclosed on three sides open only on the west. Most of our wind is from the canyon to the east so there is good protect.

The second coop will be roosting space for the chickens and a sun room. Stay tuned and check it out.

The hustle and bustle of winter prep.

2011-10-11T11:12:00.000-07:00

I love fall and the prep for winter. It seems that during the summer everything on our farm spreads out all over the whole place. Pastures, roaming chickens grazing alpacas. In the fall we pull everything back in so that winter chores won't be so tough. Winter here in our high desert farm can be really tough. But if winter prep is done right it isn't so bad. My favorite part of winter is when is stays just below freezing. It is not to cold and it is not to mushy. The animals puff up and there winter coats keep them toasty warm. But I am getting ahead of myself. For now it is organizing, cleaning, moving pens and making sure everything is where I can get to it. I am just finishing a new chicken coop and have one more to build. I have 2 sun walls to put up on the south side of my barn and a bunch of fill to bring in to make sure everything drains well. Everybody needs to be able to be snug as a bug in a rug. Busy, busy, busy and loving it!

Photos of the new coop.

2011-10-07T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here are photos of the new coops. I want them to be sturdy enough to move around with the tractor.

I will add pictures of finished coop. The last couple of days have been cold and wet. We even got snow in the valley here in lovely Utah. Some of my chickens are hating it. Better get there new housing finished ASAP!

New Chicken Coops

2011-09-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

I am creating 2 new chicken coops that will be movable. I am trying to design these coops so that I can move them with the forks on our front end loader. Regular whimppy coops don't work here because of our 30 - 40 mile an hour winds that we get at night and early morning.

My coops will be 4' X 8'. They will be insulated with good variable ventilation and have sun tubes made out of 2 liter pop bottles. The back (south) wall has green house panels for passive heat on sunny days. The high desert here has more sunny days that almost any other part of the country. The back wall will be a two layer door system so that I can close the solar wall at night and on cloudy days.

The chickens should have plenty of roosting space at 6" per bird. They will be able to keep each other warm at night and then free range during the day. The coop has 2 levels with easy cleaning lanoleum floors. I am planning on 8 nesting boxes. I will be installing an outlet to provide supplemental heat when needed.

As I work on this project I will post pictures!

Farm projects never end. lol

2011-09-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of planning for next year. We need to make our farm more profitable so is can sustain all the livestock without drawing from our paychecks. And then we will work on the rest drawing revenue.

The plan that I would like to see is not simple and will take effort. I need to get our replacement hens going, so they will be laying as the old hens retire. I need a productive garden next spring so I can participate at the farmers market more fully. I am thinking heritage veggies and herbs. The garden will take alot of planning due to the wind here in the mouth of the canyon.

The Alpaca fiber needs to be processed into products that people will want.

Fall is approaching very quickly, winter preparation needs to be in full swing. It seems that the farm projects never end. Planting new pastures, building and repairing fence, new hen house, irrigating, hauling hay, the list goes on and on.

I love the work, the lifestyle, the effort, the animals, and the land. Now to choose the most profitable crops and start soil prep.

Farm girl at heart

2011-07-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have always had an affinity for farm life. I love the sounds, sites and yes, even the smells of a well run farm. I start this blog with the hope of sharing my experiences of farm life with you. I want to connect with others that feel the way that I do about living a simple life full of warmth and joy.