2.05.2010

Tour of the Ashevillage Institute Demonstration Site Part 7

The chicken roost is inside the greenhouse. The chickens provide heat and carbon dioxide to the greenhouse. The drawer on the bottom slides out to remove the manure. Ammonia could build up to toxic levels for plants if large amounts of manure collect on the drawer.
The drawer can be left out allowing the manure to fall into the pond when necessary. Ponds are usually fertilized when the water temperature is above 68 degrees. This will stimulate phytoplankton growth creating a basis for a fish and aquatic food web. Manuring stops when dissolved oxygen reaches low levels.
From the outside the coop has two lower cabinet style doors with laying boxes on top. One of the doors has greenhouse plastic cut in slits to allow the chickens outside access without letting too much heat out.
The other door give access to the automatic waterer for cleaning. The entire floor slides out to empty collected manure. The coop holds 9-12 hens if you let them out during the day or 4 if you don't. The chickens have about 600 square feet of yard that will be partitioned into smaller forage areas.

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