The Eco House Project

Day 4

2011-08-10T10:29:00.002+01:00

Whilst mum is having her breakfast Barney takes a nap in the sun....

Barney is a dinosaur....

2011-08-09T11:15:00.000+01:00

Or so he thinks.... just over 24 hours old he follows mum outside and explores the world... suppose he feels a little lonely in the house as his brother didn't make it... :-(

Goats have settled in well

2011-08-06T17:06:00.001+01:00

Goats are happily browsing around their field, enjoying the sunshine and are wondering what that white thing is on the other side of the fence...

Surprise of the day !

2011-08-05T16:16:00.002+01:00

I did wonder why Doris wasn't coming out for her dinner...

And there she was with 2 tiny piglets !

Happy Piglets

2011-07-31T22:54:00.001+01:00

The remaining piglets from our "A" litter, Alexander, Andrew and Amy have moved up into the field together with Angy. Getting them up to the field was quite a task as they kept running back to the horse box. Unfortunately Angy is still a little skittish and the three kept following her as she is bigger and "must know better". But we got there in the end and they happily munched their dinner and explored their new home whilst the chickens enjoyed a little extra entertainment.

The Goat Whisperer

2011-07-29T21:41:00.000+01:00

Ann has spent a lot of time with the goats.
First we couldn't get anywhere near them.... and now....

Pygmy Goats

2011-07-17T22:59:00.000+01:00

Our latest additions:

Angy is here

2011-06-20T01:35:00.000+01:00

Finally Angy has arrived.
She didn't like being in the crate and tried to dismantle it for most of the journey.

Finally out of the crate, getting lost in the green stuff.

Look, I found water, dad.

Dad, she's not sharing her food with me !

Angy got accepted quickly and joined the line of piled up piglets.

Piglet Videos - Day 10

2011-06-07T10:22:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 8

2011-06-07T00:51:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 6

2011-05-29T15:57:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 5

2011-05-28T10:51:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 4

2011-05-26T09:50:00.000+01:00

Cute, cuter, the cutest...

2011-05-25T16:14:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 3

2011-05-25T00:19:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 2

2011-05-23T13:46:00.000+01:00

Piglet Videos - Day 1

2011-05-23T10:08:00.001+01:00

Gretel's first litter

2011-05-22T15:35:00.000+01:00

Last night Gretel had her first litter of beautiful little piglets. She had eight but one did not make it. The remaining seven all seem fine, wriggling about like little worms.

A wife for Hans

2011-05-21T11:15:00.000+01:00

I have been looking for a nice ginger girl for our registered boar Hans. Although we have 2 girls for him it seemed a shame not to be able to register any of the offspring.
Thankfully a nice lady in Yorkshire has decided to let me have a perfect little gilt that she was going to keep herself. She was named Angy and we will be able to pick her up on the 12th of June...

Rain, rain and more rain....

2011-05-17T01:30:00.001+01:00

The weather has been grubby for several days and it's not looking any better. At least I don't have to water anything.
Gretel has moved into the horsebox as she looks heavily pregnant. Maybe we will finally get some piglets this year ?
The rats have worked out a cunning way to get to the barley and I had to build a feed store inside the caravan and move half a tonne of barley from the outhouse into the caravan.
I have ordered 4 automatic door openers from Germany and 3 new electric poultry fences from Mole Valley Farmers.
Chicks are hatching everywhere and half of the hens are broody, so egg sales are way down.

This week I am planning to get a tonne of stock feed tatties (potatoes) for the pigs to reduce the feed bill and get a hand baler built by next week.

Papas Baum

2011-05-04T17:00:00.000+01:00

Baby chicks 2011

2011-05-03T07:03:00.002+01:00

Here are some pictures of some of the baby chicks we have hatched so far...

Happy piggies

2011-05-02T06:43:00.001+01:00

Ann's been cutting the lawn and rather than adding the grass to the compost heap we decided to feed it to the pigs. As Kune Kune's are grazing pigs they loved it and it will be part of their diet all through the summer.

Highland Cows

2011-05-01T15:41:00.000+01:00

Two fields down the road...

Growing everyday....

2011-04-29T16:10:00.001+01:00

The weather has been really nice and everything is sprouting like mad....whilst I am running around watering like mad...

Ash (Esche)

Alder, planted this year (Erle, dieses Jahr gepflanzt)


Alder, planted last year (Erle, letztes Jahr gepflanzt)

Making hay

2011-04-25T23:52:00.000+01:00

I have been thinking about how to get my grass turned into hay bales without spending a fortune on machinery or hiring costs. Surely people used to make hay before the invention of tractors and balers.
A little dig around google and youtube revealed that hand balers can easily be built and used on small fields.

Hopefully I will find the time to build one this year. Hay can be cut twice a year. With a bit of luck I will be able to make some good bales to feed the pigs through the winter and have enough bedding for them and the chickens. Buying in straw and hay could be a thing of the past.

Next question is how to cut the grass. Low impact demands something manually operated without fumes and a lot of noise, so maybe a scythe would be best.

Then I just have to hope we will have enough good weather for me to cut and dry enough hay...

Orpington Bug

2011-04-22T06:45:00.001+01:00

I have been bitten by the Orpington Bug...


Buff Large Fowl Hen

Red Large Fowl Cockerel

Chocolate Bantam Hen

Chocolate Bantam Pair

Dogs

2011-04-21T08:11:00.001+01:00

Our dogs have been enjoying the sunshine as much as the chickens, pigs and cats.

Ice & Rammie with chickens

Rammie looking for eggs

Ripley

Trees are doing well

2011-04-20T21:55:00.001+01:00

Planted this year:

Alder (Erle - Alnus glutinosa)

Downy birch (Moorbirke - Betula pubescens)

Planted last year:

Willow (Weide - Salix viminalis tora)

Hiding Nessie

2011-04-12T06:17:00.008+01:00

Been thinking about what the cheapest way is to hide Nessie. She is a bit of an eye sore in all the lovely landscape. So I decided to make a willow hedge around her.

First dig a trench...

Break up soil and refill trench (chicken approval essential)

Plant willow every 15cm....water and wait.

Look what I spotted today....

2011-04-11T06:56:00.005+01:00

...inbetween the willow.

Click on the picture for a larger view.

Auf das Bild klicken um eine Grossversion zu sehen.

New Hen House

2011-04-10T12:12:00.001+01:00

I have been busy building another hen house. This time I bought cladding to make the sides, which is a lot quicker than building with pallets. I am still using some recycled materials. The corner posts are cut offs from roof construction, the floor is made from old sheets of laminated plywood and the roof from old furniture. Pieces of pallets always come in handy as well.

Posts angled with floor support

Cladding, hand sawn to length

Side with door

Cladding screwed onto angled corner post

The finished side

Getting there...

Laying box with feeder on top

Door frame

Roof

Slots to slide the door into

Finished house with automatic door installed

All the way from Germany....

2011-04-10T07:19:00.001+01:00

All the trees I am planting this year came all the way from Germany.

Amazingly they have only been in the ground for 2 weeks and the downy birches are already starting to bud.

Downy Birch - Moorbirke (40cm)

Even the cats...

2011-04-10T01:04:00.000+01:00

are enjoying the better weather.

Employee No. 1

Sunbathing (Click on picture, Bild anklicken)

Growing everyday....

2011-04-08T09:35:00.001+01:00

It's nice to see the first efforts pay off.
Rhubarb, strawberries and gooseberries are all growing well.

Rhubarb (Rhabarber)

Strawberry (Erdbeere)

Gooseberry (Stachelbeere)

To heat or not to heat...

2011-04-05T07:22:00.002+01:00

After speaking to Seamus from http://viking-house.ie I am inspired and even more confused. After much thought I had settled for substandard passive house insulation, an exhaust air source heat pump with integrated water store and a woodstove with backboiler. The system would need a MVHR (Multi Vent Heat Recovery) system to supply the house with preheated fresh air.
As I am still trying to save money I looked into the whole MVHR system as it's pricey and needs a lot of ducting running around the house which will cost time and money to install.
I found these very interesting units called FiWi HRV (Fine Wire Heat Recovery Ventilation), that work without ducting, on the Viking House web page.

Only two of them are needed to ventilate our house. This should work out considerably cheaper than the MVHR. However, I will need to scrap the heat pump, rethink my insulation and heating needs and construct a thermal slab, get a thermal store, a load of solar thermal panels and life happily ever after....
...if i had triple glazing :-(
Why is being green so bl**dy expensive ???

Chickens at work

2011-04-04T19:09:00.000+01:00

Cream legbars working hard in the soakaway area...

More trees

2011-04-01T23:30:00.001+01:00

Today 250 willows from Germany arrived. After loosing many willows every year which all came from the same place in Yorkshire I decided to try something different this year.

The parcel took 5 days to arrive.

In good old German fashion the parcel arrived neatly and extremely well packed.

To give the trees the best start after the journey I put them in a tub and added some rainwater.

I ordered 150 Salix viminalis and received 188. I also ordered 100 Salix americana and received 111. Thank you for the extras Mr. Scheffel !

Although it was getting dark I started planting around the soakaway. The chickens are doing a good job at scratching up the grass.

Gardening

2011-04-01T16:47:00.000+01:00

I have been busy in Boris' old enclosure. Fruit bushes that had waited for several years in containers have been planted out. Strawberry plants finally made it into the ground and 50 one year old alder trees are in the ground...

Rhubarb

2011-03-31T14:59:00.000+01:00

The rhubarb I stuck in the ground a few weeks ago is growing....hurray !

Grey water system

2011-03-23T23:59:00.000Z

Finally SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) has come back and approved of our greywater treatment system. All I have to do now is convince the nice building control officers that I can construct and install a home made straw and woodchip filter to "British standards".

In the meantime I have started planting trees in the greywater discharge area and made a small "soakaway". Of course nothing will soak away as the ground water level is just 10-20cm below the surface this time of year. So the trees will have to grow quickly and soak up all the water coming out of our house. The soakaway is just there to prevent land movement over time.

Today at the beach

2011-03-16T21:39:00.000Z

Ann persuaded me to take some time off today to have a walk at Thurso beach...

Winter time....

2011-03-10T01:14:00.000Z

It's wet and cold and muddy.
Even pigs don't like it...

Making a pig feeder

2011-03-04T08:35:00.026Z

After looking at commercial pig feeders and their prices I decided to make my own a while back.
In good old low impact fashion I used pallet wood. What else? I also had a plastic tray that I bought for plants a long time ago when we had a small garden, which wasn't used any more.

The piglets loved it so much they stood in it and shoved each other out the way.

So I added a board in the middle, which worked much better.

Eventually the pigs grew bigger and bigger until the were too big to stand in their feeder....

Time to plan

2011-03-03T20:05:00.002Z

Live Time Planner

Keep up to date with the project. Anytime Anywhere...

Plans are ready

2011-03-02T19:25:00.001Z

Final changes have been made to the plans and submitted to the planning department. Hopefully all will go through quickly and we can start building in 3 weeks.
We have changed the battery bank extension to be cooperated into the house. It will now be my office / dog room. A patio door leads straight into the garden and a small log burner will heat up the room quickly after the dogs have been in and out on a cold winter day....

Have a look at our plans and feel free to comment.

Location Plan
Site Plan
Foundation
Downstairs
Upstairs
Elevation Plan

Electricity in sight

2011-02-07T12:08:00.000Z

The quote has come in and is more than 5000 pounds lower than we thought. So we have decided to connect to the grid. It means we won't have to buy a battery bank, back up generator and inverter. It's good news for the budget although not quite as eco as we had planned.
Ann is now toying with the idea of a conventional fridge rather than a cool box and an electric cooker. It would be cheaper.... Why is it so expensive to be green ???

Off grid or not ?

2011-01-13T08:34:00.000Z

After long and careful consideration we have approached our local electricity supplier for a quote for grid connection. We still want to put up the wind turbine and solar panels but with a grid connection and the new feed in tariffs we wouldn't need the battery bank, inverter and back up generator.
Those three item cost 12k to buy, so if the quote comes in below that figure we would be no worse off.
We should know within 6 weeks...

Will we ever build a house?

2011-01-07T13:55:00.001Z

After getting our building warrant a year ago we are still fighting with financial paperwork, but hopefully it will all come to an end in the next few weeks and we can start building as soon as the weather improves.

Boris finds a new home

2011-01-06T13:44:00.000Z

Pigs like company. Most of them do and Boris certainly did. Unfortunately Doris didn't like his company, in fact any food competitor gets eyed up, pushed out the way and puts her in a bad mood. You can't blame her considering her past, but Boris was feeling lonely...
So after weighing up the pro's and con's we decided to let him go. He found a lovely new home with sea views and three girls all to himself. We miss him, but we are sure he is a lot happier now.

Bye bye Boris....

Time flies

2010-12-31T18:42:00.001Z

I can't believe it has been 4 months since I last posted on here. So many things have happened and I will try and update the blog in the next few days.

Building another hen house

2010-08-21T00:32:00.000+01:00

As the population of chicken grows more hen houses are needed.

We have made a simple frame for the floor from pallet wood.

We found some laminate flooring in the outhouse, cut it to size and taped the underneath to prevent moisture from entering. (We later get told off by Ann, as she had the flooring earmarked for another job.)

The laminate flooring gets screwed onto the base. (Note: Chris is working ;-))

Rather than taking pallets apart we then cut out the boards with a circular saw (thanks to the invention of petrol generators and the founder of "Praktiker" in Germany).

We end up with a nice pile of boards which are free from nail holes and cracks.

Using a tabel saw at a 45° angle the boards are cut either side.

These "rain screen" boards can now be screwed onto the house. Which reminds me: we need a frame first.

First post, cut at a 45° angle at the top.

The bottom frame is done.

The roof is taking shape and the first boards are up. Due to rain we are working inside the van.

The front boards are going on. There isn't much room in the van so it's difficult to take pictures.

More boards on the front and the roof frame is finished.

The front is all filled in, now to the back.

Day 3 and the sides are now being done. Both will be hinged to allow easy access.

Sides are done and the roof has been covered with odd bits of board to support the roofing felt.

Time for finishing touches. Ann is painting whilst I am working on egg laying boxes and Chris, who lost interest and motivation on day 2, is sleeping.

Branches from our garden make some excellent perches.

Egg laying boxes are in. Ann finishes the felt before the house is moved into the field.

After fitting the automatic door the chickens move in.

Softy

2010-08-06T19:55:00.001+01:00

Hans, our new kune kune boar is a big softy.

Here he is putting his head into my hand. If I would let him he would climb onto my lap for a cuddle.

Into the big wide world

2010-08-04T19:26:00.002+01:00

After several weeks in the holding pen the piglets are finally moving into their new field.

First we had to strim down the grass in the field for the electric netting. This alone took 2 weeks. Next the fencing was erected. (The white spot in the middle is Chris.)

Some old scrap wood was used to make a station for the battery and the energizer. Originally built by volunteers it was unusable and our son rebuilt it to make it weather proof.

We persuaded Ulla, Gretel and Hans (left to right) into the trailer with a little food where they promptly chewed up the floor.

Coming out of the trailer they didn't need any persuasion. Here is Hans jumping off the side of the ramp.

Ulla is off to inspect the green stuff. Their holding pen didn't have any grass left after 3 days...

There is so much room to run around in.... but only one thing they are interested in...food.

Hey daddy, I found it !

Tastes sooo much better out here.

I am sure there is some more here somewhere....

Wow, what a big water dish ! (We placed stones inside so they don't climb into it.)

See you later dad.

We have plans to extend the fence line by another 50m.

Richard Pancake

2010-07-24T20:41:00.003+01:00

Earlier this year we were given a chick that hatched out of a light sussex egg. Clearly not a light sussex by any breed standard the chick was useless to the owner and found a new home in our garage. He soon turned out to be a boy with massive feet and some rather quirky behaviour.

We never really took any pictures as he was meant to end up on our table. Nick named pancake by his previous owner he was soon named richard pancake, richie for short.

Richie is afraid of other chickens. He will peck on small chicks to get to his food but as they grow older he gets more and more frightened. He loves a stroke on his head when he is in a good mood but hates being picked up and screams for Scotland if you even so much as try.

Richie walks funnily although he is perfectly healthy and sleeps with his head on the floor like a dog. He hasn't worked out to take shelter when it rains and he just sleeps anywhere in the garden. He will have to move back inside in the winter if he doesn't learn to go to bed as he will freeze to the ground otherwise....

Chicken update

2010-07-21T20:35:00.001+01:00

Stevie did a great job protecting his flock of laying hens but recently decided to start attacking people. When he scratched the face of one of our volunteers it was time for him to make a lovely dinner for us. He had a lot of exercise in his life and his legs were a bit tough but otherwise he tasted just fine.

Before he departed Stevie fathered plenty of chicks.

They were incubated and grew up indoors.

When the weather got warmer they all moved outside.

They now free range in the garden and will soon be moving down to the project.

Willow tree

2010-07-05T18:28:00.001+01:00

Earlier this year I was given two stumps of willow by our neighbour. Rammed them into the ground and although I didn't hold much hope they are doing well.

April 2010

June 2010:

Finally - water in sight

2010-06-22T19:18:00.000+01:00

After much searching we finally located somebody who sells second hand IBC's locally. We picked one up and now have to decide where to put it and how to connect it. It holds 1000L and as soon as it's placed we can start filling it with tap water from the house until it's connected to the rainwater system.

Not sure if I want to put it underground or else how to hide it, as I really don't like the sight of it. Also the water will turn green if it stays out in the sun. Decisions...decisions....

First outside chick of the year

2010-06-16T21:15:00.002+01:00

Finally our broodies have managed to hatch a chick.

After climbing all over his mummies he was allowed out today for the first time.

It's a big wide world.

Two mommies....aren't I special ??

(Shhhh, don't tell any of the three that they aren't even related. The egg came from our group of laying hens.)

Rearing pens

2010-06-14T22:23:00.000+01:00

We have chicks everywhere and are running out of space to house them. Thankfully we have some pallets that are lightweight and not much use for anything else.

The pallets are put together like a tent. Two strips of timber are nailed to the bottom to determine width, then the top is simply screwed together.

After that screws are added to the bottom of the pallets to hold the netting in place.

The netting (fruit cage netting) is stretched over all sides and held in place with screws. Nails would do the same job.

A branch adds some interest to the rearing pen. Job done. Note that an extra piece of timber at the back keeps the sawdust inside the sleeping box.

The chicks are happy in their temporary runs.

Piglets

2010-06-12T14:30:00.002+01:00

Our weaners have arrived. Hans (coloured) and Ulla (black) came up from Brora and are both birth registered. They are 8 weeks old and although they are friendly enough they are a tiny bit vary of people.
Gretel came from Stoke-on-Trent and at 3 month old she is bigger than Hans and Ulla. Gretel is the most relaxed piglet you can think of. She doesn't mind being touched at all and has a very laid back character.

More pig arcs

2010-06-02T09:20:00.001+01:00

I have been away for a couple of weeks and on my return we are busier than ever. We have two piglets arriving this weekend and another one hopefully the weekend after.
More pallets have been taken apart by Dawn (helpx) and Ann (host) and I am building another pig arc from the materials for the weaners.

What else has happened ?

2010-05-14T15:44:00.002+01:00

There has been plenty of other things going on in the background.
After putting up the rearing shed and moving the laying hens into a 6th of the space we ended up with a mud puddle. Chris (family) spared some of his precious time away from his beloved xbox and made a gravel path.

The pigs have been busy producing fertiliser. Loads of it.

After separating Doris and Boris I spent some time collecting all their droppings and adding it to the compost.

I also planted 25 alder trees that Nancy (helpx) was going to plant but left abandoned.

First I dug a whole large enough for the roots to fit in and about 30cm deep.

Then I put the tree inside the hole and filled it with soil. Simples ;-)

Just need to add a mulching mat now to keep the grass from growing. Some of the trees had started to wilt but hopefully they will all recover.

Whilst there was no volunteers at the project I started building an outdoor wood store. First I took the bottom off three pallets.

Then I filled the gaps on one of them to use on the weather side to keep the rain out.

Then I stood the three pallets up, braced them together and added a roof.

Chickens love it and are using it as a shelter. With a bit of roofing felt it will make a good outdoor store.

Building a Pig Ark

2010-05-08T23:00:00.001+01:00

The pigs, now named Doris and Boris, have had their quibbles but recently Boris has been bullying Doris and not leaving her in peace at all. Separation seems to be the answer which means building a pig ark for Doris.

Andy (helpX) quickly gets to work, taking pallets apart. until there is nothing left of it.

Broken bits are discarded for now and the cross bars are freed of nails.

The pile of timber is graded into thickness and the remaining nails taken out.

We end up with a nice neat pile of timber, so let's get to work.

First the timber is nailed back onto the cross bars, but this time evenly spaced out. One of the cross bars sits neatly in the gap whilst the timber is nailed on, then moves to the next gap...

Quickly enough a new structure is made that looks like a neat version of a pallet.

To make it all waterproof another layer of timber is nailed over the gaps.

After making two of those overlapping boards they are screwed together at a 90 degree angle to form a triangular pig ark.

The front needs a door and the back filling in completely.

First Andy (helpx) thinks about the how and why.

Then Chris tries his hand at measuring, marking and sawing...

Getting there... just a few more and the back will be finished.

The next day Chris (family) fills in the front. Doris will be thankful to him as she had to move in swiftly last night.

Chris does a rather good job and the ark looks brilliant. Doris agrees and after inspecting the new door she goes for a snooze around the back.

Putting up the rearing shed

2010-04-28T23:45:00.001+01:00

As the chicks are growing and need to go outside soon we need to put up the rearing shed.

Matt (HelpX) and Vicki (family) are preparing a gravel foundation for the base.

Chris (family) is bringing gravel with a trailer and quad from the front of the drive, whenever he manages to draw his attention away from his sweaty feet.

Ann (host) is supervising. Somebody has to stand around and look important.

No, it's not level...hang on, it's not on the gravel...that might be why it's not level.

I think we will put it here. Then it may be level.

After a lot more raking and measuring the six pallets for the base are placed on the gravel and the floor of the shed is screwed into place.

As the first wall piece is going up the lovely Caithness weather turns and it starts to get windy.

Matt is playing peek-a-boo but Arden is not impressed.

The winds is rattling the panels and windows about. After a few improvements to the windows there isn't anything else we can do. Lifting roof panels in 50mph gusts is a fairly impossible and rather dangerous undertaking.

After bracing all the walls and the side we have to abandon the job until the weather improves.

It's been a week since we put the shed walls up and the weather has been fine. Today it's windy again but we have decided to work on the shed anyway.

We have added a new cross beam to rest the roof on. It's stronger than the original one which got lost in transit...

I am sure you can guess by now that we are taking pallets apart, yet again. Matt (helpX) and Ann (host) are "harvesting" the top and bottom timber for the roof panels.

The pallet timber is cut to length and then screwed into place. The original roof panels got damaged and wet, so we decided on a pallet roof instead.

A nice overhang will protect the shed from weathering and increase the roof area.

Getting there... just a few more boards and the roof is as good as new.

Many pallets later the roof is done. Now it needs waterproofing. We will do that with traditional felt. It would be nice to use wood shingles, but there is just not enough time in a day to make a shingle roof for a shed right now. Maybe one day...

The roof on the inside. Looks cosy. It certainly gave the shed a new lease of life. It's sturdier than it ever was.

Next I decided to convert a small part of the shed for the laying hens. The last hen house didn't get any egg laying boxes, so this time I am building them first.

First a looks a bit like a shelf.

Then it looks like a fancy book shelf.

Then it finally starts looking like egg laying boxes.

Should be making doors for the egg laying boxes but my knees are sore, so giving the wall some attention. Wall ? Which wall ?

The pallet timber wall of course. And the door, so that I can enter the chicken coop and clean out.

And as by magic the doors for the egg laying boxes have also appeared... but the door has disappeared. Oh, I am getting tired....

Can't wait to get nice clean eggs once again.

I even get my very own door to access the inside of the coop.

Just need to add perches now and make an automatic door. Well, tomorrow is another day.

Firewood

2010-04-26T22:21:00.000+01:00

After promising a friend to pick up some scrap wood from an old torn down building for months, we finally managed to get it shifted from the bottom of his field.

Three van loads later, and a couple of very tired people, a massive pile has emerged next to the drive.

Sorting through the wood, Matt (HelpX), Ann (host) and Kevin (family) are slowly reducing the pile.

Chris (family) has been thinking about helping for a while. Only it's such hard work for a young lad.... he can't quite make his mind up.

He finally decides to muck in and the pile is soon shrinking.

Composters

2010-04-21T23:35:00.002+01:00

The project for this afternoon is building a composter. And guess what we are using to build with.... yes, pallets. So here we go again. Taking pallets apart.

First we take the timber off one side of a large pallet. After a lot of experimenting we find that a strong piece of timber used as a lever does a reasonably good job and most of all gets the job done quickly.

The remaining nails are pulled out with a hammer and reused to nail the boards onto the other side of the pallet to fill the gaps.

5 pallets are prepared like this by Matt (HelpX) and myself to make 3 sides and 2 fronts for a large double composter.

Nearly there. To get enough timber for all the gaps one of the pallets gets stripped completely. The cross beams are later used for another job.

Two pallets stood up to full height and one on it's side at the front and it nearly looks like a composter.

Composters also need roofs so that the compost doesn't get too wet, so we prepare two pallets by overlapping.

Then we get carried away and forget to take pictures...

Matt adds the finishing touches. Job done. Another item off the todo list. Phew.

Volunteers arriving

2010-04-13T12:27:00.002+01:00

Finally our first ever volunteer, Nancy from Belgium, has arrived yesterday and swiftly got busy with everything that has roots and leaves. Matt from Australia should be arriving tomorrow and will be able to help Nancy with the trees, digging, carrying water etc.

It's a relief to have hard working and knowledgeable people at the project. It will make all the difference to driving the project forward.

Matt from New Zealand has arrived today and helped us setting up the fencing for the chicken enclosure.

Solar panels

2010-04-09T23:21:00.001+01:00

After having the solar panels, that power the motor home, sitting behind the windscreen all winter, I have decided to bring them outside again for the season. Although they do a great job keeping the batteries topped up all winter they certainly perform better in direct sunlight.
Last year I just had them standing next to the van but with the first volunteers arriving soon, dogs running around and pigs at the project you just never know who is going to knock one over or even step on it.
And of course there is Caithness wind. Worst enemy of everything that isn't bolted or anchored to the ground...

This pallet is made from plywood which is very heavy compared to other pallets. The perfect base for my project. I won't have to pour concrete and bolt it all to the ground. Hopefully.

Some old posts cut to length, screwed to the base, and the back of the frame is done already. The damage on Nessie you can see in the picture is from last years 112 mph storm. It lifted a large 150wp solar panel off the ground although it was tied to the bumper. The glass shattered on the panel but it still works. I plan to repair it one day. Poor Nessie got bruised and battered.

Another pallet added to the front at an angle, screwed onto the base and the top of the back frame. Feels pretty sturdy, but will have to see if it needs bracing when the wind is up.

That's where the bottom panel is going to sit. There are three 13wp amorphous briefcase panels I bought last year at a really good price (ebay). I recently tested them in full sunshine and they can output up to 0.91A each. Realistically they produce 2A, which should be enough for Nessie and her ever changing visitors.

Solar panels added and screwed into place with strips of wood. Job done. I wish my projects would always go that quick and smooth.

Happy pigs

2010-04-08T00:51:00.003+01:00

The pigs have only been with us for 10 days and they are starting to adapt to their new life very well. Since I have been feeding them from the ground from the start they have already learnt to forage for their food a bit more. This helps with keeping the excitement down. I spread the feed out in several different places which makes it impossible for the boar to protect all the food and keep it for himself.

As you can see the sows backbone is still sticking out from previously being malnourished. She is having a good time with the straw bales I have put out to soak up the moisture in the ground. It gives the pigs something to do and keeps their mind off extra feed. I have also changed the feeding times each day so that they don't get into a habit of expecting food at certain times of the day.

Since noticing that the pigs get excited when the quad bike is driving around I have made sure I fed them first before getting the quad out, then took water up to them on the quad. Couple times I have just driven past or got off the quad and gave the boar a scratch (the sow isn't keen on being scratched yet as her back bone is still sticking out and she is also more vary of people). They have since calmed down and even ignore the quad.

Both have started to listen to me and I am now teaching them to walk away from me when I ask them to. Not an easy task as they seem to think I miraculously grow food in my pockets and wellies whilst trying to fill their drinker. I am sure they will get the hang of it soon.

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow the house down.....failing that I use it to scratch myself. If only I could reach between my ears. Never mind. I've already trained that bloke to do that for me.

Happy piggies and no need to hog the food, there is an endless supply. Sshhh don't tell the boar that he will have to go on a diet if he carries on like this. It will spoil his fun...

Pallets

2010-04-06T22:06:00.001+01:00

It's been a long day collecting and loading pallets. We need another pig shelter, a toilet shed, quail shed, log store and hen house, to name a few. That means we need loads of pallets. Today was a good day and we collected 28 pallets, loaded them into the van, unloaded them, made a jenga tower on the tiny trailer behind the kids quad bike and then stacked them behind the outhouse.

This young fella is surely going to complain about muscle ache tomorrow. He worked hard and has earned his keep for today.

Hatching time

2010-04-05T11:18:00.001+01:00

Due to the lack of broody hens this time of year I placed eggs in the incubator. One chick decided it was a bit tight in that egg and hatched last night. 2 days early. Guess who wasn't ready?

Yep. Me of course. So I had to set up the brooder this morning (which was on my todo list for tonight, mental note: even chicks can come early, be prepared) and I am now waiting for the right temperature to be reached so that I can move the chick. Usually I wouldn't open the incubator, but this little thing is hyperactive, rolling all the other eggs about. Yes, I know it's Easter, but rolling eggs is only fun when they are hard boiled!

Pretty lonely in that brooder with all the other chicks still in their eggs... Before anybody asks, this is an Ancona chick, listed as critically endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

Two days later and it's pretty busy in the brooder now. Four cream crested legbars have hatched and seven ancona chicks, one of which is all black.

Kune Kune Pigs

2010-04-05T01:03:00.000+01:00

Guinea Fowl

2010-04-04T16:50:00.004+01:00

We have been thinking about keeping guinea fowl since last year. It so happened that somebody only 5 minutes away from us has 3 spare hens and a cockerel. Well, we thought, why not have a look at them.

So we went today and guess what? Yes, we need to build another animal house. Small one this time, but it needs to be nice and warm as there is only 4 birds living in it until we get a few more.

So here we go again, taking pallets apart. Unfortunately we don't have any dry pallets which makes the job of taking them apart harder. The van is still not back on the road so we can't collect any more pallets until it has passed it's M.O.T. next week.

The boards of timber are taken from the top of the pallets and the remaining nails are taken out. The nails are straightened and used to nail the boards back onto the base.

The base strips taken from underneath a pallet. The boards on top are cut to size and nailed onto the strips.

I finally found some time to carry on with this project today.

After the storm 3 days ago ripped the back wall apart I fixed it today and reattached it to the floor.

Three posts where added to the front. The left area is for 2 nesting boxes whilst the right side will be the door.

The posts are cut at an angle for the roof structure to sit on. Haven't got roof material yet, but I will surely find something...

The strips of wood will hold the roof. I think I will clad it in wood first to insulate it, then add waterproof material.

The left side is on, next I need to cut the boards to the right lengths.

The door frame is in. I hope the weather is going to hold up so that I can carry on building tomorrow.

Two days later and finally the sky has changed from black to grey and I can carry on. The right hand side is now screwed onto the frame and the left side cut down.

After cutting the right wall down to size I placed timber onto the roof and screwed it together with two strips of wood. This will help insulate the roof.

To prevent drafts and help with waterproofing I cut open two empty bags of layers pellets and nailed them onto the roof. The overhang at the back will be nailed onto the back wall.

After adding a couple of hinges the roof is nearly ready. Next I am going to make the flap for the nesting boxes at the front in much the same way I built the roof.

At this point I had to rush back to the house to see to kids, dogs, chickens, quails and hatching eggs. More in a wee while...

Straw bales

2010-04-01T21:14:00.000+01:00

Ann has gone to England for 19 days and with the arrival of the pigs I am as busy as ever.
The weather has been dreadful and some of the less feathered laying hens are not coping too well. So far we have lost two of them and I am thinking of new ways of constructing a hen house whilst the hens have temporarily moved into the garage, roosting and pooping all over my bike, tools and of course the floor.

Straw bales are fairly cheap and insulate extremely well. They are also environmentally friendly as they compost at the end of their life. With some waterproof roofing they should be fine for a few years without external render.

I am trying to work out a design with egg boxes, door and enough light for the hens to stay indoors if the weather is really bad.
The one thing I am wondering about is the wind. As straw bales aren't as heavy as timber they might get taken by the wind.
Looks like I have lots to think about. Any suggestions?

The pig shelter

2010-03-27T19:52:00.022Z

We are finally working on the pig shelter now the snow has melted. Here is a picture of the floor. The pallets sit on old roof beams. The floor area is 8ft x 8ft (2.4m x 2.4m) which will give the pigs plenty of room to sleep.

The walls are going up. Securely screwed to the floor and screwed to each other, they should be strong enough to cope with pigs rubbing their backs. Fingers crossed!

The gaps between the pallets are filled with cut down strips of pallets. The quad in the picture is a useful work horse, pulling a trailer to move pallets, tools, roof beams and sheets. Amazing what a kids quad with a tow bar can do.

Great day to be working on the pig shelter. Walls are up now. Roof will hopefully be tackled tomorrow. Just hoping the weather stays dry until the roof is on.

Some old roof beams that were collected for firewood seem sound enough to make a roof structure. I also found some pieces of old corrugated metal sheets that should cover the roof.

Beams spaced out and at different height to facilitate water runoff. I might even add some recycled guttering to collect rain water for the pigs. Any ideas? Empty squash bottles spring to mind.

The sheets I found were different colours, so we'll end up with a striped roof. Green and blue. I am going to screw them directly onto the beams.

A little silicone will prevent rainwater from seeping through the hole that I drilled for the wood screw.

The roof is finally on although I didn't have enough sheets for the overhang by the door. If I get another sheet sometime I will add it to the roof. For now the roof is finished and keeps the rain out.

Next I am building a ramp for the pigs to get in and out easily. I have cut down a pallet to the width of the entrance. Next I need to add some counter battens as the ramp will be slippy in wet conditions.

The battens are screwed onto the ramp and then cut to size. A job less to worry about. Our first volunteers have joined the project and are enjoying a light breeze (28mph) and a lightly scattered sky (rain every 5 minutes).

Nevertheless they quickly get to work and help me finish the pig shelter as the pigs are arriving today, unexpected but most welcomed. Just a few gaps to close. Will these fit?

Maybe I leave it to daddy, he seems to know what he is doing, I could maybe manage the electric screwdriver but I certainly can't stand like that at the same time, so best to leave such jobs to professionals.

The gaps are just overlapped with whatever wood is lying around. Once cut to length it's screwed on top and bottom.

Nearly finished. Now we just need to add some boards where the roof is higher to make the rainwater run off to make it nice and cosy inside.

There, all done. What a good team effort. Thank you very much, neighbours!

The doors are still missing but they can be built after the pigs have moved in. There will be two doors, one at the top to keep the rain out and let me in, and one at the bottom to keep little piglets in and daddy out, if we ever get any.

Looks warm and dry. Totally irresistible, to a pig, not me. And here they are, nameless and nameless, a fine pair of rescued black kune kune pigs. Any suggestions for names?

Willow Plant Pots

2010-03-25T18:32:00.000Z

Rather than planting some of the willow straight outside in March we have 50 cuttings in water that are rooting nicely. They are inside so need to go into soil soon as the roots are getting long. It's too cold outside so we are making plant pots from newspaper to sit them on the window sills until April or May.

For instructions on how to make plant pots look here (youtube video). Ann is making small ones and bigger ones to sit the smaller inside the bigger one. This will make it stronger as willows like a lot of water.

The pots are placed into one of the recycled cardboard boxes that we pick up when we go shopping, instead of plastic carrier bags. An old fed bag, compost bag or bin bag goes into the box to form a waterproof tray.

The pots are lined up and individually filled with compost to get the willows off to a good start before they are planted out.

The trays can now sit on the window sill in a cool room until April and then go outside until they are planted at the end of April or in May, depending on the weather.

Winter in Halkirk

2010-03-22T19:57:00.002Z

Can you spot the two dogs in one of the pictures?

Laying hens

2010-03-21T11:28:00.000Z

Our local egg producer is clearing out one of his free range chicken sheds to make room for fresh stock.. We have decided to get some of the hens and Ann is frantically building a larger hen house, as the one we have is just about big enough for the three chickens we have.

We are picking the girls up on Saturday and there will be 20 of them. So I have to get transport boxes ready and sort out some extra feeders and drinkers.

After making the walls Ann is now preparing the base for the new hen house. The timber from the top of the pallet is taken off and then nailed back on with the same nails, leaving no gaps for the chickens to fall through or vermin to enter.

The walls have been screwed onto the base, now the gaps at the sides are filled and the door assembled.

~~Men~~ Ann at work... looks more like a five star hotel.

...or a very oversized planter. Could fit loads of willow in there...no, only joking.

Door fitted now, which leaves roof construction and internal perches and nest boxes to be done. With 2 days to spare we are on time and will have it all ready for the girls when they arrive.

Roof construction under way. Again, all timber taken from pallets.The only problem left is how to waterproof the roof as the timber leaves enough room for rain to seep through and get the poor girls wet. In good old recycling style we are considering feed bags. Well, we have to sort it tomorrow so will see what we decide in the heat of the moment.

Raining today so I have been doing paperwork / phone calls and sourcing rare breed hatching eggs instead.

In good old recycling fashion Ann is waterproofing the roof with feed bags and an old trellis that was falling apart. The trellis was taken apart to use the timber for edging and the feed bags cut open and turned inside out to make a waterproof layer. I hope the hens will appreciate Ann's hard work.

The hen house is ready. Just in time. Inside Ann has fitted some perches for the girls to sit on. We have also added some nice eco friendly recycled bedding. We make our own bird bedding from junk mail and any paper that would otherwise be thrown away. We haven't added nest boxes as the girls aren't used to using them anyway. The bedding should be comfy enough to lay some nice eggs for us.

Now all there is left to do is to fetch the girls and get them into their cosy new home. I am sure they will appreciate the nice warm bedding as they will, no doubt, be bald from living in a shed with a few thousand other girls.

The girls are here. A little flighty and feather pecked but otherwise they seem happy enough.

After the first night in their new home they have already been busy filling their crops and laying eggs. I found 7 at 8:15 this morning, scattered all over the floor.

Amazing how they still lay after the stress of being chucked into the back of a trailer and left to wake up in a brand new home. Egg sizes are a bit variable this morning but that was to be expected. I shall go now and have my first fresh egg of the year.

The girls are very shy and have hardly been outside. Having bare bums and heads doesn't help in this weather. I have started to feed them outside to encourage them to leave the shelter of the hen house.for at least a short time every day.

The lack of food and water inside the hen house has convinced the hens that it's quite a good idea to see what's happening outside. However, their droppings look a bit like paper mache and the bedding is getting less and less... not sure if that is good for them but maybe they will stop this habit when they start enjoying being outdoors.

They seemed fine with the dogs but haven't ventured to the grass yet. It is still early days, I am sure they will peck at the green stuff in no time.

It's one week in and the hens have started to adapt to the "normal" life of a chicken. Every morning there is a rush to get out the door.

First they make a run for the feeders filling their crops like there is no tomorrow.

Then they realize there is a dog looking at them and decide to get scared. (You have to click on this picture and look at it full size to see one of the hens in mid air!).

Shortly after that all goes back to normal, crops are filled, water sipped and the the garden scratched up in the never ending hunt for that one worm.

Volunteer Accommodation

2010-03-17T22:13:00.002Z

Since many prospective volunteers have asked me about the kind of accommodation we can provide I thought I post some info on this.
Currently we have a motor home that is more of a static fixture as it doesn't start any more.

You can see the motor home location on google street view (check in the list on the right under "Information About Us).

The motor home is called "Nessie" and she is fully equipped with pots, pans, cutlery, plates, mugs etc. for cooking small meals. There is a 4 ring gas hob, so you can boil the kettle, make toast, boil eggs and fry sausages.... all at the same time.

There is running cold water in the kitchen and the bathroom, but unfortunately we can't convince the boiler to work, so there is no hot water. We haven't found anybody who would come out to Nessie and look at her boiler, but if you know somebody who can fix Truma Caravan Boilers or you are able to do such wonders yourself, please get in touch.

If you are brave you can drink the water from the taps but we don't recommend it as the water system is rather old. We flush the system out every winter and refill it with fresh water, but as we hate adding loads of chemicals to the water we recommend drinking the bottled water that we leave for you.

There is a comfortable seating area for 4 people. It will convert into a bed but as there are plenty more beds it is easier to keep the table up and use the other beds. There is a double bed above the cabin and 2 single bunk beds next to the bathroom. All beds have privacy curtains.

We provide bedding and extra sleeping bags. There are towels, a first aid kit and tinned food, biscuits, crisps and sweets to supply you with plenty of energy for all the jobs we may throw at you.

There are several storage cupboards and a fridge that doesn't work (as we don't have mains electricity). We use it for storage and are hoping to provide an eco friendly cooling box instead. Icey Tek make cool boxes that run with frozen gel pads only. No electricity, no gas, no pollution. Unfortunately they cost a small fortune but we are hoping to order one in May before it gets too warm to store perishable food without extra cooling.

Nessie is equipped with 3 small solar panels and some batteries which is plenty for charging phones, small laptops and other gadgets. We have several 12V chargers for mobile phones, but please check with us if you can't bring your own. If you need a 240V socket please discuss this with us first as there isn't normally one connected, as the inverter uses loads of the precious energy the solar panels produce.

Nessie was originally bought in 2007 to help us look for suitable land to start our new life. She took us for a fine ride over many thousands of miles around the country with just a couple of visits to the vehicle hospital until she found her retirement spot in April 2008. Although Nessie is an old lady (1988) she has done a fine job of giving us shelter since she retired and will do so for many years to come, so please, be nice to her.

Building Warrant

2010-03-16T12:05:00.000Z

Finally our building warrant has arrived! We are only a few weeks of paper work away from starting to build! Hurray!!!

Useful Links for Volunteers

2010-03-14T22:22:00.001Z

As we are having a few volunteers who are interested in helping us with our project I have added some links on the right hand side. There are links to travel providers and for overnight accommodation. I will add more as and when I can think of them... or let me know what you think I should add.

Virtually free animal bedding

2010-03-13T20:45:00.002Z

Since we have a fair few birds now it makes sense to produce our own bedding as buying saw dust is yet another cost we can avoid. At the same time we are doing our bit for the environment.
A £14.99 cross cut shredder bought in Tesco now shreds all our junk mail, envelopes and letters that would otherwise be thrown away.

The unit uses a modest 112W, compared to larger models (300-700W!) and does a fine job of shredding. Its amazing how much bedding you can make from a few sheets of junk.

Only 17 pages of A4 quickly turned into this:

The shredder will be located in the workshop area and run from a couple of batteries which are charged by solar panels. We can then make animal bedding whenever the batteries are full. Ideally I would want a 12V shredder but I can't find one. If anybody knows where to get one please let me know.

The trio

2010-03-10T09:46:00.000Z

Here is a picture of our little trio in the garden of our rented house. They are on top of the old coal bunker as one of our dogs loves to play "tick" with them. They eventually get fed up and wait for the dogs to go inside before they carry on scratching around for bugs and worms. (left to right: Lucky, Stevie, Rona)

Rabbits or deer?

2010-03-07T08:54:00.005Z

Checked the ground yesterday to find a suitable spot to build a shelter for our first pigs and found some droppings that could be rabbit poo. Any experts out there who can identify the droppings ?

The place to be

2010-03-06T22:39:00.000Z

25 acres pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Now the adventure can begin.

Time flies...

2010-03-01T19:37:00.005Z

It has been a long time since I last posted and a lot has happened. We have bought 24 acres of croft land at Shurrery in Caithness. We have obtained planning permission for our house and are now waiting for the building warrant.
In August 2009 we moved to Halkirk where we are renting a house. Our croft is only a 12 minute drive away and we hope to start building later this year.

I will be posting more often from now on and catch up with a few things from the last 3 years.

Search for land is proving to be painful

2007-07-14T15:21:00.000+01:00

Went to Scotland on holiday for 12 days and had a look around Caithness. It's the place to be and we found the dream land in the dream location at Roster, made an offer and lost it.
So we know we want to live in Caithness, but land prices seem to go up by the minute.
The land we made an offer on at Thrumster, before we even went to see it, was declined and the seller now wants offers over £60k instead of £40k. Ridiculous.
There is however freehold land of some 29 acres (12 hectare, 18 football pitches, 117334 sqm) at Mybster which is not on the open market.
We are waiting for a detailed plan as the land has some pylons and wires running above and below. If we can build a house 150m away from any wires we will consider buying it. There is a wind farm visible in close proximity with 21 turbines on one side and another one planned with 30 turbines slightly further away on the other side. The turbines don't bother us though.

House is sold

2007-06-21T12:50:00.000+01:00

Our house is sold, we have moved and Kingsmead is history. I think it will take us a year to sort through the mess though... unless we let Ann do it. She'll get a skip or two and get rid of it in 2 days...

Caithness and Sutherland

2007-05-10T10:16:00.000+01:00

House is going up for sale

2007-04-29T11:39:00.001+01:00

Our house is going up for sale. Foster Corley Crew are going to put in on the market this week. Let's see what happens.
Hopefully this will push the project forward.

Cooker

2007-04-25T20:19:00.000+01:00

We have decided on a cooker we like. It's this one, although we will probably have it in black. Much cheaper than Aga's and look even better. We like the idea of seeing the fire and seeing what is in the oven.

First estimates

2007-04-24T20:15:00.000+01:00

After putting together a budget for the project I have started to get quotes for certain things. The first numbers are rolling in via email. My guessed budget is currently £50.000 above our comfortable budget, so I am hoping that some suppliers will prove me wrong and bring the budget down.
So far we have prices in for a range cooker, sewage system, wood burner and boiler, all of which come in slightly under budget. So far so good.
I am awaiting quotes from log home suppliers and then I need to sort the electricity stuff out and get quotes.

Temporary Accommodation

2007-04-13T19:36:00.000+01:00

When the land is finally bought I will need some kind of temporary accommodation. Static caravans seem useful and comfortable, also spacious enough if other family members want to stay and are also cheap.
The only problem is the transport. There are companies who specialize in caravan transport, just need to get a quote for it.
Springfiel Caravan Sales, Skegness
Skegness Caravan Sales, Skegness

Drinking Water

2007-04-09T00:29:00.000+01:00

As we need water of drinking quality we have to think about where it is coming from. It is possible to collect rainwater, of which there is plenty in Scotland, and run it through a UV filter to sterilize it. Sounds like a good system to me, seems to make sense and not too expensive. Here is a picture of how the system could work.

On Site Storage

2007-04-05T08:47:00.000+01:00

We'll need some secure storage on site for tools and materials. The Container Man has a depot in Glasgow, sells used containers and can deliver. He is also on ebay.

Solid Fuel

2007-04-05T00:07:00.000+01:00

Solid fuel for heating and hot water makes sense. We are unlikely to buy a plot with adjoining woodland, so we need to create our own for the future. TreeShop.co.uk seem to have most trees we would look for, so we should keep them in mind and put planting a woodland on the very top of our to do list.
Fast growing trees are poplar, alder and willow, whilst beech, oak and elm are better firewoods. Beech and poplar are easiest to split.
A list of firewood properties can be found here and here.
Wreford Ltd. supply just about every tree possible up to 6m height. Otherwise a Google Search should do the trick.

Interesting Plots

2007-03-16T20:05:00.000Z

10.75 acres : O/O £125.000 : Black Isle
06.50 acres : O/O £22.000 : Spittal UNDER OFFER
21.00 acres : O/O £40.000 : Thrumster : map

Jobs

2007-03-12T12:25:00.000Z

So we are serious about moving to Scotland? Well then, Ann will need a job. I have started the link list on the right hand side. There is a section for jobs.

Planning a layout

2007-03-03T12:34:00.000Z

To maximize efficiency we need to build our house around the technologies we are using. I have started to search for a design that will fit but it seems difficult. I think we might have to design the layout ourself. I am thinking of a design where the main heat source is in the middle of the house. Living room, dining, and kitchen will be open plan. The front door needs to be shielded to keep the cold air out of the house, so a small hall with a door is needed. A fuel store would be handy and a little walk in closet for shoes and coats. We will need 4 bedrooms, an office area, a toilet/shower room and a main bathroom. Ideally we would have a guest room as well.
There are two options for the design, either a traditional one where the living space is downstairs and the bedrooms are upstairs or we keep the bedrooms downstairs of the corner of the house and just have a bathroom, office and guest room upstairs, or maybe a play room.