Revisiting the Chicken/Duck Run in 2024

Revisiting the Chicken/Duck Run in 2024

Ah, the poultry run between the livestock shed and the energy generation shed! What a delight it is. I think it’s time for revisiting the chicken/duck run in 2024.

Why Revisit?

Well there are two main reasons I need to modify this system. The first being that when it works, it’s great, but when it doesn’t – like in the winter – it’s bad. The second is that it is labor and resource heavy to maintain it with satisfactory sanitation.

The issue is the rubber horse mattes. They are terrific and are required by law in my City. They are easy to clean, impermeable and long-lasting. The weakness is that I cannot adequately collect the manure runoff in a sustainable way for long before they clog or at all in the winter.

I was beginning to think that I had to modify the understructure of the mattes in a way that allows for chickens and ducks to have more natural materials beneath their feet. Secondly, I need a system that will manage manure in a way that does not back up. I found my solution from an unlikely source.

Paris or Bust

My original proof of concept was the redesigned 19th Century sewers of Paris. Allow water and waste to flow through channels and down into a main sewer where I could treat wastes with diatomaceous earth and UV radiation to cure the hot, acidic manure in a covered cistern. Then I could reuse the manure as a potent nutrient resource.

Alas, my sewers were under-designed and would clog easily. Even an 8″ diameter pipe and grated sumps placed strategically around the run were insufficient. In order for the system to work, I needed to engineer a 30cm (18″) drop which meant a cistern five feet deep.

Obviously that is a lot of work. It would also be a pain to empty. It does not work well in winter either.

Tour of The Livestock Sheds

Clean and functional poultry run

Dysfunctional Run in winter

The bioPath to the north of the poultry run and the manure collection cistern

Leave It To The Kids

Because this BioTechnology Summer Camp is an applied STEM summer camp, the team also came up with a series of solutions to the messy wastes and backup problem. Scrap it. Create a hybrid system that benefits animals and humans.

Team Duck, Mezzacello BioTechnology Camp Students

I have known this was a brewing issue for a while now. After two winters I can see the many flaws in my plan. But it was my BioTechnology Summer Camp Kids that really drove the point home.

In a section of the camp called sustainable habitats, one team of kids ran a meticulous review of the run and readily identified these issues. I was very proud of them.

Because this BioTechnology Summer Camp is an applied STEM summer camp, the team also came up with a series of solutions to the messy wastes and backup problem. Scrap it. Create a hybrid system that benefits animals and humans.

Listen To The Kids

Their suggestion was to install long French Drains located at the matte edges beneath the mattes. This would allow a small gap covered in hardware cloth to let water and wastes drop in and flow. They encouraged me to seal the south ends end to prevent rodents. They encouraged me to cover the rubber horse mattes with river rock to allow the manure and to percolate down and stay clean at the same time.

The drains would empty straight into a single 25cm (10″) deep, 8″ trough with a grate over at the run side of the walkway. Lastly, I am impressed that they recognized quickly the three major flaws with my existing system. I was quite surprised when they delivered their analysis.

I actually think this analysis the kids did is quite genius. One of them even drew what they thought the biggest problem with the system was: Too many 90 degree turns in the pipes. That had never occurred to me, but I see now that they were absolutely correct.

Their calculations showed that this stone hybrid interface would require .5 cubic meters (7.2 cubic yards) of river rock to achieve. The french drains would stretch north to south beneath the mattes and I could repurpose the existing sewer into a straight run in the walkway with a 10cm drop at the east end. The run drains to the north towards the walkway so this makes great sense.

This straight run and the smooth drains with steeper runs and no turns or wells to clog will allow me to clear wastes and recycle them easier – even in winter. The stones will keep the birds healthier and control the mess. The entire system will be far more sustainable and sanitary.

My BioTechnology design cohort!

I will keep you posted on the progress. Follow me if you have a coop and want to see the CAD plans and the before and after. If nothing else, show this to your kids to remind them that kids are the future, and a bit of Applied STEM goes a LONG way!


Nuisance and Willful Animals

Nuisance and Willful Animals

Where are all the leaves? Why are there eggs in here? Honestly, I just live here.

This has certainly been a summer of learning for me and my summer camp students. First after working so hard all summer to get my raised beds built and planted and trying to get the hens to lay, I have a new problem. Nuisance and Willful Animals.

Raised Beds, Raised Problems

The raised beds are for the most part thriving. Particularly the hybrid hugelkultur beds that rain their own water. Their moisture and Nitrogen levels remain every consistent.

I really like this design for a raised bed as they are incredibly durable and hold a great deal of material. Having them so close to the bioreactor’s raised water tower makes it easier to manage these as well.

As for my six raised beds to the east of the parterre, the results are mixed. They are hard to water, and the watering system I have devised is not sufficient to water all of them. Additionally the bioreactor does not generate enough water pressure – neither does city pressure – to get sufficient water to Bed 1 at the southern edge of the garden.

Then There Are The Squirrels and That ONE Chicken…

This was the year that the squirrels realized they could climb the vertical farming trellis and eat every lastone of the leaves off my sweet potatoes. I am furious!

I am in the process of applying a low-watt electrical connection to the steel trellis to deter them from climbing. I am alse regularly spraying the sweet potato vines with cinnamon and cayenne pepper. That will give those greedy little demons a jolt and a mouthful of regret!

So She Flew the Coop!

Then there’s the chicken who has steadfastly decided that she does not want to lay her eggs like a plebeian in the coop with the OTHER common chickens. No, she wants to lay her eggs in the raised bed with the vertical growing tower and all the missing sweet potato leaves.

I found a clutch of eight eggs in that bed the other day. What is that bird thinking? I am even more surprised that the raccoons didn’t find them.

Never a dull moment here at Mezzacello. But I love what the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation kids did with the systems they helped me redesign. It was fun and I continue to learn a lot!


This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023.



Tour of The Livestock Sheds

Tour of The Livestock Sheds

Tour of The Livestock Sheds
The modern iteration of the chicken coops and run.

Welcome to the Tour of The Livestock Sheds at Mezzacello. This is not just a coop, or a enclosed run: This is an ecosystem with specific inputs and outputs that are vital to the health of Mezzacello. It houses animals and supplies, keeps them safe, and harvests wastes for storage and reuse in all the ecosystems at Mezzacello.

This facility is the latest iteration of livestock housing and sanitary systems from the original chicken tractor I first employed. In addition to being able to completely wash, walk through and store feed, medicine and supplies, this facility has a sewer system that collects all wastes and centralizes them for later integration into the soils of Mezzacello.

chicken tractor (sometimes called an ark) is a movable chicken coop lacking a floor. Chicken tractors may also house other kinds of poultry. Most chicken tractors are a lightly built A-frame which one person can drag about the yard. It may have wheels on one or both ends to make this easier.

Wikipedia

The original chicken tractor.

The second iteration of the Ducks and Chicken coops.

More Than Eggs, Feathers, Fur, Insects, and Meat

Here at Mezzacello we raise chickens, ducks, rabbits, fish, crickets, mealworms, and earthworms. All of these with the exception of earthworms are a source of food, manure, and by products. Their manures are an endlessly useful supply of amazing and organic fertilizer.

Remember that five of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals deal with water, life underwater, life on land, and access to fresh food. This is a very important aspect of Mezzacello. We take our responsibility to and care for our animal family very seriously here, and you should as well.

So what is the value of this pond?

  1. The livestock shed is 10′ x 12′ by 8′ in size
  2. It houses all poultry species and the rabbits and seasonally the crickets and mealworms
  3. In addition to the livestock shed there is a 10′ x 14′ enclosed run with dual gates for access
  4. The animals can also free range behind the livestock and power generation shed (see map)
  5. This space behind the sheds allows poultry to access dirt and grit and take dust baths
  6. This livestock shed will safely and legally house 8 chickens and four ducks at a time
  7. Meat birds are raised in the livestock shed as well, but are pulled out and housed in a temporary coop for processing
  8. The floors of the poultry coop contain a drain, linoleum floors and removeable platic trays for easily capturing wastes and aiding in sanitation
  9. The floor of the poultry run is covered in rubber horse mattes for easy clean up and power washing
  10. Beneath these mattes is an elaborate sanitary sewer drain that recaptures all wastes and stores them for later retrieval
  11. This waste storage system is lined with plastic and allows the acidic wastes to decay down in sunlight
  12. There is an industrial grate over the sewer collection leach pit located in the walkway that runs to the north of sheds 1 and 2
  13. The rabbits reside in the east side of the divided livestock shed
  14. Their wastes are also recycled and stored in a specialized manure collection bin for integration into garden beds, compost or just collected, packaged and sold
  15. Rabbit manure is incredibly fertile and will not harm tender roots like fowl manure
  16. The livestock shed can house a maximum of 8 rabbits, but we keep it to four at a time
  17. There is a 1000L (350 G) Rain Cachement cube located in the run for watering the animals
  18. This rain barrel is filled with water form the roofs of sheds 1 and 2
  19. This rain barrel is equipped with solar and battery powered heaters to always insure liquid water even through winter
  20. Insect species are housed in the Livestock shed and processed in the biolab, Shed 4
  21. Crickets and mealworms are vital food source for poultry, and properly processed, humans
  22. The insect population is a hybrid compost system as they eat waste products from the farm and turn it into more insects
  23. There are dual security doors and gates at all entrances into the livestock shed
  24. In spring, summer and fall, the doors are secured by steel kennel doors to aid in air circulation
  25. In winter, there are heavy doors and an automatic temperature regulation system keeps the livestock shed at a comfortable 8C (46F)
  26. Sensors determine the presence of VOCs in the shed and activate fans to push out ammonia and draw in fresh air
  27. The door to the poultry coop is automated and opens at dawn and closes at dusk
  28. The facility is run entirely from renewable energy in the form of solar and wind power
  29. The livestock coop has its own weather station, wind turbines, solar panels and dedicated backup battery system
  30. There is the capability of keeping a rooster, but we only need him for procreation in the spring

Next-Level Algae Collection

Next-Level Algae Collection

This is a happy surprise post and unexpected realization about how I could achieve next-level algae collection at Mezzacello. It involves someone visiting and helping on the farm and being curious about what a chicken feather plucker does. As I was explaining how it worked, we realized this would work for algae as well.

Captures Algae Efficiently

You may be wondering what a chicken feather plucker is. Put simply it is a round stainless steel barrel with a motor on the bottom of a spinning base which also has 30 latex fingers that turn the chicken carcass. Picture a washing machine with rubber fingers instead of holes.

Where the holes are is where the fingers are and they stick out into the barrel. The feathers are removed by the friction of the latex fingers when a carcass is inserted and tumbles around against these fingers. The base spins while the drum remains still.

A Tool Not Torture

The Chicken Feather Plucker is a tool for harvesting humanely butchered animals. It is not a torture device. Please do not assume live chickens go into this. That is never and will never be the case.

Jim Bruner

The Surprising Insight

I was giving a tour for NDIA for their employees who were volunteering with me at Mezzacello on this summer day. This idea originated with Miles, an NDIA employee volunteer. We were 16 of us that day touring and working all over the farm.

We were working on multiple chores all over the farm – including changing out the biofilter and organizing tools and equipment. Changing the biofilter is a chore and the wet, algae-laden sponges are messy and require a day or two of drying before the algae can be scraped off. But the benefits of using the algae all over the urban farm are too good not to recycle this algae!

This is when my guest Miles saw the Chicken Feather Plucker. He was very intrigued that there was a machine with such a specific use. He was also involved in drying out the sponges from the biofilter and saw how much algae collected on the sponges and still needed to be scraped off and recycled.

Reframing The Problem

Feather removal is all I have ever used this chicken feather plucker device for in the past. When Miles understood the basic mechanics of the device he immediately saw how much chicken feathers and dried algae on biofilter sponges had in common. He also saw that cleaning algae off sponges is tedious work.

So I set up the plucker on the rubber mattes of the classroom and green house breezeway and put in the sponges. (See photo of the sponges in the gallery above). Even if it didn’t work, the frame of the plucker is stainless steel and the fingers were latex so it would be a snap to rinse it clean from whatever happened.

Biofilter interior
A cross section of the biofilter sponges and interior layout.

It was magic! Miles was right! In five minutes every biofilter sponge was clean as a whistle and the algae was pulverized and laying in a pile at the base of the plucker. I was astounded and delighted!

This insight will allow me to collect so much more algae in such a efficient and easy way! I am grateful to Miles and his curiosity and willingness to ask questions and make associations.

All this time I have been trying and failing to develop a system that would make algae collection less tedious and back breaking. In one afternoon a man from South Africa took one look at the feather washing machine idea and just said, “what about algae?” This is the power of #AppliedSTEM.

I would also like to take a moment and thank Angela Siefer and her amazing organization, NDIA for being so gracious and volunteering with me on 8/3/2022. So much good came from that day. Also if you don’t already know and support NDIA @NetInclusion you totally should!


Avian Flu and Sanitation

Avian Flu and Sanitation

Avian Flu and Sanitation
Campers wearing rubber boots or plastic bags to keep my birds safe.

Avian Flu and sanitation are really important issues for me at Mezzacello. This is the first day of my biochemistry summer camp and we had to adapt some shoes so they could be safely sanitized in bleach water after visiting the coops. I thought it was a bit of genius, but some of the kids were less than impressed!

Empathy, Recycling, and Sanitation Are Key

The very next day all these students had rubber boots! By highlighting that choices we humans make to safeguard vulnerable poultry really resonated with these young people. That gives me hope.

In addition to making sure we were keeping the birds safe, we also worked hard to keep humans safe. This meant hand washing and creating amended soaps and sanitizers for use at the mobile sinks. Then we used a water evaporative reclamation system to separate out the fresh water from the grey water .

We collected five gallons of fresh water with the filter and evaporator in one week! Then they shared that water with the birds and to add to the boot sanitation bowls. Some of it they analyzed for pathogens and added bromide to make it safe to drink.


The Foodist: Gnocchi with Creamed Eggs and Black Truffles

The Foodist: Gnocchi with Creamed Eggs and Black Truffles

The Foodist: Gnocchi with Creamed Eggs and Black Truffles
Jacques Pepin’s classic gnocchi with egg cream sauce with a few tweaks.

The Foodist: Gnocchi with Creamed Eggs and Black Truffles sounds like a mouthful and that is because it is! Such a delightful and surprisingly filling meal. It is delicious hot or cold and the addition of minced black truffle, vegetable or chicken stock and simple white wine take it over the top.

The most fascinating thing about this recipe is its stunning simplicity, and what an impression it makes at a dinner party. This is not vegan, but it can very easily be vegetarian. Put this on a table garnished well in a lovely bowl and then just clean the empty bowl after.

Serving this dish cool the next day is also a delight. Think of it as the world’s finest potato salad, and surprise your guests. Serve with white wine or champagne.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 eggs
  • 12 ounces potato gnocchi store bought is fine
  • 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup minced green onions
  • 3 Tbsp sour cream
  • 2 Tbsp Minced black truffles (canned is fine)
  • 2 Tbsp freshly shaved parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a small bowl using a fork, beat the eggs and then set them aside.
  2. Spread the gnocchi in one layer in a large 12-14″ nonstick skillet and add the stock and wine or water, olive oil, butter, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for about 3 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.
  3. Add the green onions and continue cooking, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes longer, until the gnocchi and green onions start to sizzle and begin to brown lightly.
  4. Add the eggs to the skillet and cook, folding constantly, for 45 seconds, to 1 minute at the most. The eggs should be soft and loose.
  5. Add the sour cream and minced truffles to stop the cooking; mix it in well.
  6. Plate and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and a few drops of truffle oil, if desired. Serve immediately.

I have shaved truffles over the top at times as available.


The First Chick of 2022

The First Chick of 2022

On Easter Sunday I thought I heard a tiny alarm going off in the dining room. It turned out it was the first chick of 2022 hatching in the incubator. That was a surprise!

I was sure I had another week. I had to run out to the livestock shed and collect all the materials I would need. Pine shavings, heat lamp, electrolyte solution, waterer, feeder, medicated feed, a box, and little dome that it could hide under.

Who knows how long until the rest of the eggs hatch. I have candled them all and they are full. Only time can tell.

Image Courtesy of backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com

I will start up a new batch with the ducks. Problem is, I don’t know which eggs are the Saxony and which eggs are the Rouen. Life is an adventure, I guess.


Robots, Chickens, and Ducks

Robots, Chickens, and Ducks

Captured by my predator sensing robot camera herding ducks and chickens into their coop.

Since the start of Mezzacello there have been chickens and rabbits integrated into the system. That was my original plan all along. Later I expanded to include robots, chickens, and ducks.

I came across this photo on the cloud from March 21, 2019. It was captured by a motion and heat sensing camera mounted on the water tank in my chicken run. The system also included a hacked Arduino controller that used IFTT architecture to send the photo to my phone.

Yes, I captured my own self herding poultry with an automated sensor. But the other thing this photo shoes is my ignorance about bird flu and sanitation. My Robot Chicken sensor caught me in the poultry area without boots.

While this is a fun early example of my push to leverage automation, robots, sensors, and data in my urban farm. It is also an indictment of my naivety and the fact that one should always be learning, improving, adapting. I am sure I was just securing chickens so I could go to work, but I am NOT wearing wellingtons.

Breaking Barriers and Rules

The cases of Avian Flu are on the rise in the US in 2022, but is not yet in Ohio. This kind of silly reckless behavior is exactly why it is on the rise though. I want to believe I sterilized my shoes after, but truth is I don’t remember and that is bird flu spreads.

There is no direct evidence that the strain of avian flu prevalent right now out west is transmissible to humans, we did just go through a pandemic. Honestly, this is not about the humans, but the birds. I developed all of this tech to keep these vital members of my ecosystems safe.

Flash forward to today and I always sterilize my boots and shoes. I have gotten sick, my fault, for this mistake. This simple mistake is also responsible for killing millions of birds and is why I have three sterilizing stations and four sinks at Mezzacello.

Sanitation stations at Mezzacello

Hand washing Station Hand washing sinks

Sanitizer Station Hand sanitizer station

Boots Washing Station Boot sanitizing station

Boots Only Icon Boots Only Area

Why Boots are a Requirement at Summer Camps

Last summer, I hosted two summer camps at Mezzacello. I rotated groups of four kids through the BioTech portion of the camps. Only students who could fit into my boots, or brought their own could be part of the biotech team.

There were a lot of bummed out kids who could not interact with the animals safely. That was a learning moment for me. And a teachable moment for those kids.

Jim Bruner

In this summer’s camps, EVERY kid will be required to wear sterilizable boots. It is a necessity and it is the Law here at Mezzacello. Live and learn it may be, but adapt and thrive is a better mission.


Chicken TV, Coop Tech, and Safety

Chicken TV and Safety

The security systems at Mezzacello are growing increasingly more sophisticated and useful. I call this Chicken TV, Coop Tech, and Safety. I can monitor activity anywhere and at any time in 1080HD and infrared.

That last piece the infrared part is critical. I need to be able to make out details in the dark, as that is where the predators hang out. I have lost enough to predators, I am stepping this system up to insure I do not lose others.

Infrastructure Improvements for Education

These additions are also necessary for the #UrbanAgTech summer camps I will be running here at Mezzacello this summer. The camps are Project BioTech and Project BioEngineering.

This particular improvement will help in the ProjectBioTech camp, where campers will study animal health and sanitation, and monitor and treat animals as needed. They will diagnose and monitor animals using these systems as well as the rabbit cam coming online next week.

This improvement will also be a part of Project BioEngineering as campers will be extending this capability with a portable sensor array that will monitor, sound, infrared body measurements, motion, humidity and the presence of ammonia and methane in the coop and sound appropriate alarms.

The presence of a predator in the coop will quickly be Identified by it’s motion, body temperature, and the sound of fear and chaos in the animals. This will sound an alarm in audible and ultrasound frequencies as well as activate an intense light to scare predators away.

It is going to be a fun summer, I think. Butu mostly it’s going to be a safe and exciting summer. Everyone is going to learn something, even me!

Summer Camp sign up starts now. Go to Events, Summer Camps and choose the camp you are interested in. Or visit the PAST Foundation and sign up there!


Springtime, Chicks and the Truth About Ducks

Springtime, Chicks and the Truth About Ducks

Springtime, Chicks and the Truth About Ducks
Saxony Ducks

It’s springtime (well sort of… This is Ohio) and I am eager to expand my flocks of chickens and ducks so I can continue to work on my enclosed ecosystem here at Mezzacello. My New Zealand Rabbits are stable at five (two does and three bucks) and my fowl are mixed success.

The chickens are healthy and hardy, but the ducks… Oy. I’ve done a lot of research about the fowl I keep here. I choose the animals I do to meet the ecological and environmental constraints of Central Ohio, North America. That being said, I don’t always chose wisely.

Poor Choices

I chose my first chicken breed, Rhode Island Red, because it was a sex-linked hybrid that laid prolifically. But I got greedy on my tiny footprint of urban garden. Those chickens were mean!

So I switched breeds to the more docile and cold tolerant Buff Orpington and I have been very happy. The Buffs are gentle, handle temperature extremes well, and they don’t have an overly aggressive temperament. Also, they are great mother birds, and the one rooster I’ve had was a handsome and gentle bird.

The chicks are extremely hardy and I have never had a problem. The hens will step in to help rear the chicks and keep them warm. But I am facing a crisis with my ducks. It’s always the ducks.

Duck Crisis

The first breed of duck I tried was the Welsh Harlequin. Great egg layer, cold/heat tolerant and the mothers were doting and the ducklings were hardy. The only problems were that they are very aggressive and the males attack everything (think Donald Duck), and their small bodies fit through the wrought iron gate and fence and thus out into the street.

Then I switched to the Saxony breed. A lovely breed of duck. Rare, handsome, much larger, and a decent layer. Well, I have not had much luck.

They seem to be weak, and have a lot of health issues. I’ve lost three hens and one drake. The pair I have now mate, but she has yet to lay a single egg. I may have to reconsider.

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

It’s important that all the animals (including the humans) at Mezzacello pull their weight. The margins on this third of an acre are pretty tight. The Buff Orpington hens and the New Zealand rabbits are hardy and very easy to manage.

They produce hardy young and are great for manure, eggs, and meat. But the ducks, they pose more than a few problems. I am committed to continuing to try to integrate the Saxony ducks into the ecosystem, but they have to give me more to work with.

I’m trying for six ducklings this spring. Maybe I’ll get this flock of aquatic birds integrated into the farmyard, the pond and the food cycle. Only time will tell.