What's been happening around Ayres Acre Advice: Little Land, Landing Big

I just wanted to touch base with all of you that are following me by either Google + or email, YouTube or what have you. The past few days I have been checking on my garden, pulling weeds, I ended up having to pull up my carrots because they just weren't growing properly so I went to Meijer's and for $1.37 a packet I bought some new seeds that are for August planting season. This will give me carrots around September 28th or so, which will be good because most of my canning will be completed by then and this will give me some time to can these new carrots. I will have a video on that coming soon to show you what I found when I went to check on them. I will be planting the new seeds next week and I will be adding that into my video that I've taken already. I have also been having some great luck with my chickens and the new coop that we built. I am averaging 3 to 4 eggs a day! The feed only cost me 13 bucks for 50 pounds and will last me for months. Considering eggs are around 3 dollars a dozen, looks like it's all going to be well worth it! I have also rearranged some landscaping bricks because my drip edge on my house isn't up tight against the house so it always washes out the dirt with a hard rain. So I laid those down one day and we had a hard rain the other day and...NO WASH OUT!! :) Now, my sunflowers are finally growing steady! Problem solved. However, I do need to get a ladder and tack that drip edge back up there right. But the landscaping bricks look nice and really added a nice touch. I also bought some late season cucumber seeds and planted those a few days ago as well. I have 4 new hills so lets cross our fingers because cucumbers is something that my family eats a lot of. Well that about sums it up, thank you all for your continuous support!! I love what I do and I hope that my tips and videos so far have helped you and your family save some money and helped you to find new ways to do things that perhaps you may not have thought of.

Below is a picture of my garden only a few weeks in and then a picture of it just taken the other day. Lookin good!!

Sara Ayres

Video: DIY Chicken Coop for Under ten bucks (No Music)

DIY Chicken Coop

 (No Music)

Thank you for the responses on my latest video of building your own chicken coop out of recycled materials. Some of you have expressed in certain countries that the video isn't available because of copyright pertaining to the video. So I have made one that is exactly the same as the original however, it doesn't contain any music. This should solve the problem. Thank you for the feedback and happy watching :) Just follow the link below. 

http://youtu.be/ta7jnUVACiw

Sara Ayres

Video: DIY Chicken Coop for under 10 bucks

DIY Chicken Coop

Cost: 10 Bucks
Time: 3 Hours

Today with the help of family members and a friend we were able to build this chicken coop in roughly three hours and around ten bucks. Most materials were either given to me or left over from previous projects. The money invested was to build the feeder and the latch for the gate which was around five bucks. This simple do it yourself chicken coop with proper ventilation, will provide a nice nesting place all year round, and food for the table. Thus, cutting my family's food bill. Below is a materials list and a link to the video to see how it's done on YouTube. If you like what you see don't forget to follow me on my blog and to subscribe to my channel on YouTube. All this is possible because of all of you. So thank you for your continuous support and I look forward to all your comments and questions either through blogging, YouTube or my email. 

Direct YouTube Link: http://youtu.be/X2eKY1rsb1I

Materials:

An existing shed

26' fencing

3- 10' wooden posts

2- Fence posts

3- Pallets (1 is for the gate)

Heavy duty wire

2- Floor vents (ventilation)

Handful of nails or screws

1- Gate latch

1- Bale of straw

Then of course your chickens, roost, nests, water, and feeder.

Extras but not necessary:

*I used 2- 2x4's screwed to the shed floor for extra stability of the fence but it wasn't necessarily needed. I also added 2 old wire sides of cages to the pallets on the end just to make sure the chickens couldn't get out but probably wasn't needed either. 

*Use materials you have on hand or barter with a neighbor, family member or friend. You can look on craigslist under the "free" sections too. You'd be amazed at what you'll find.

Tools:

Hammer or drill (depending on if you're using nails or screws)

Sawzall

Wire cutters
Tape Measure

Video: Chicken Feeder for Medium to Full Size Chickens

 Chicken Feeder

for 

Medium to Full Size Chickens

Today I created a video on how to make a chicken feeder for medium to full size chickens. The link is just before the step by step instructions. It is a simple project and will save you money. All it takes is your time (which took me roughly 20 minutes), and if you have the materials on hand (from previous projects or scouting), use those or you can purchase the items at any hardware store such as Menards, Lowe's, etc. I ended up purchasing the boards from Menards because I had already used what I had for something else. I walked out of Menards spending under 5 bucks and that included my water I bought :)

Materials:

1- 1x6 Base
1- 1x4 Sides
1- 1x1 1/2 spinning top
A hand full of nails (I used trim nails)


Tools:

Handsaw
Hammer
square
carpenters pencil

http://youtu.be/tbSN-5Z029k

Directions:

1. Cut the 1x6 in half so you have two 3 foot pieces and set one piece aside for later use.
2. Cut the 1x4 in half so you have two 3 foot pieces.
3. Nail both 1x4 pieces to each side of the 1x6 making sure it's flush on both ends.
4. Now take the 1x6 that you set aside and cut two pieces 8" long. These will be your side pieces.
5. Cut a notch in the ends of both 8" piece so a nail can freely spin inside it
6. Tap each 8" piece into the ends of the feeder and nail those on firmly.
7. Cut the 1x1 1/2 piece into 33 3/4" long and tap in a nail into both ends. Tap it in there firmly but not all the way.
8. Put the 1x1 1/2 piece with the nails in both ends into the notch that you cut in the 8" sides.

WOE LA you have your chicken feeder for medium to full sized chickens made. Congratulations!!!