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.

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!

Tour of The Livestock Sheds

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.

A 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

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

Life Finds a Way

The image above is of the tiny triangle tube chicken brooder tractor I use to keep chicks safe. It is smaller – too small I thought for a big Saxony duck – but there you have it. Life Finds a Way.

Our chicken Roo-Paul-Ster has developed a nasty habit of pecking duck eggs. The chickens and ducks share the coop at Mezzacello. I think this is a sign that I need to change that arrangement. Let me explain why.

Manures and Laying Habits

Ducks lay their eggs on the ground. There is no way I can protect their nests from the chickens without blocking off half of the interior chicken coop. I’ve tried to do this on three different occasions and all are just a nuisance.

Add to that that duck manure is vastly different from chicken manure. If I had these birds separated, it would make my life much easier. I recycle all sustainable materials here at Mezzacello.

Lastly, ducks are annoying. They never go in with the chickens and in fact will stay out all night if I let them. If I built them a separate coop I could (pardon the pun) kill two birds with one stone.

A private coop would make it easier to collect duck eggs unravaged by chickens. A private coop would allow me to more efficiently process duck manure. A private coop dould have it’s own sensor and timer to lock up after I train the ducks to go there.

Building a Quonset Hut

It looks like I will be building a modified Quonset hut onto my livestock shed for the ducks. I’ll keep you posted and provide plans when I am done. Cheers and thanks for listening!

Robots, Chickens, and Ducks

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.

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 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!

Shenaniducks! Those Ducks Are At It Again!

Well, these ducks are at it again! Rick has taken to calling them Shenaniducks and I have to agree. Shenaniducks! Those Ducks Are At It Again! They aren’t mean; the ducks are just multiverse LOKI that happen to live on my farm.

Sometimes sneak out of the run. Or they make a mess of the water bowls. Recently the have learned to teach the chickens how to escape the run. When they get into the pond and wreck havoc. It’s fun to watch, but for a day after the pond is a mess. But tonight might be the most spectacular of their snubs to the alpha human.

Ducks vs Robots

Tonight I was sitting in the house at #FakeMidnight (AKA 7:30 EST in winter) and I thought, what are those ducks up to? I went out to the livestock shed to check on them (and the chicks, and the rabbits, and the chickens). A good farmer has maternal instincts.

When I got out to the coop and the run the first thing I noticed was the loud quacking. That was the first sign of trouble. I didn’t have a flashlight on me, so upon a cursory search of the run and not seeing movement, I went inside the coop to turn the livestock shed lights on.

The chicks were fine in their heat lamp and coop partition. The rabbits were fine in their pens. All of the chickens where safe and roosting on the raised roosts and nesting boxes. But the ducks. Well, they were all on the floor. In fact the male Rouen decided the perfect spot for him was with his tail feathers hanging out the door. This bold act blocked the safety circuit on the robotic door that keeps the door from slowly closing on an animal. So I yelled, “get your but out of the door. And the circuit completed.

Apparently I need a door that just drops like drawbridge gate in a castle. Now I have to design something else to keep these animals safe. Anyone have any ideas?

The Boy Scouts Were Right; Always Be Prepared

On Monday I noticed that one of my female ducks was hiding somewhere. Even at night. I finally realized she was sitting on a clutch of 12 eggs in the fruit lane behind the potager gardens.

I decided right then I did NOT want a broody duck sitting on a nest. I shooed her off the nest. That was a poor decision, but I didn’t know better. She was guarding those eggs.

My intention was to go back and place the eggs  in an incubator so I could control the population and the crazy dynamics between the ducks. My drake is very hard on new vulnerable mothers and ducklings. This I had just learned the hard way.

Another of my duck hens had just attempted to hatch 13 eggs in the coop, but only one survived. The drake is still hounding her and that duckling. My intention was good but unfortunately, I was not quick enough.I

I Was Not The Only One Watching

I had discovered the nest and so had the raccoons and possums. By the time I had pulled out the incubator, set it up, and gone to work and back and had a night’s sleep, the clutch was lost. A casualty of the reality of being an urban farmer with a full time job as well.

All is not lost though. I will set up another nest – this time in the protected coop and hope the hen will lay another clutch and I can try again.

Failure is a Data Point

Failure is a data point, not a destination. The whole point of this blog is to identify, explore, explain, and learn from both failure and success, hard work, and life hacks. Stay tuned.

To make you feel better here’s a snap of my chickens holding court in the compost pile. Turning it for me, hunting for yummy insects and adding to the biodiversity of the compost as well.

Springtime, Chicks and the Truth About 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.