Improved Egg-mobile

If you have read through my blog you will see a few posts on cheap but effective ways to raise animals on your own small property. One of the posts talked about an egg mobile.

Egg-Mobile 1.0

This contraption that I built I will call Egg Mobile 1.0. It was modified from it’s original design according to the material I had on hand. I used a lot of wood which made it heavier than desired. Though its design made it relatively easy to pull along the grass for myself, it was a little more difficult for my wife.

I recently tore it down to the pressure treated base frame. I went to tractor supply and bought 2 cattle panels that were 16′ long and about 3.5′ wide. They were $20 each. I attached the bottom of one to the inside side rail, then flexed the other end over to the other side rail board and attached it also, forming a sort of hoop house shape. I made sure that the bottom edges were attached just above the bottom edge of the boards so as to not catch on the dirt and grass while being drug. You can attach the panels in whatever way works best; large staples, screws screwed in on an angle, nails bent over…etc.

Cattle panels attached.

Then I attached the next panel right next to the first and joined the two in the middle with zipties about every other square to firm up the panels. Then on either end I added chicken wire, also along the sides because the panel holes are large enough for the chickens to get out if they wanted.

For a door, I had saved the one from the previous build (Egg Mobile 1.0). However,

I didn’t want to add more wood for installing the door. My wife had a great idea! She asked if I just couldn’t hinge the door sideways, on the bottom, on the wooden rail. So thats what I did. I really like the way it has turned out. The only issue is that with the door turned sideways, it is difficult to get the waterer and feeder in with ease as they are taller than the opening, and heavy when full.

I then put a tarp over the top, slightly favoring one side (the west), and slid small lengths of wood across the inside corners for perching.

Egg Mobile 2.0

Egg Mobile 2.0 

 

Do you make use of roadside produce/farm stands?

 

Food, Inc.

Food, Inc

I have recently again been captivated by what I eat, and what my family eats. I am slowly getting an education on the food we buy and consume. What is really in it? Or not in it? Does the little picture of the farm on the packaging make you feel more secure about eating it? Is it REALLY cheaper?

 

Low Mileage Food

Grilled Venison

Take a look at your dinner table right before you dig in. Look at those veggies in the bowl…where did they come from? That barbecued chicken, steak, or even the sausage  on that pizza in front of you…where did it come from?  Now, I don’t expect you to say “The ground”, “A pig”, “A cow”, or anything sarcastic like that. What I want you to think about, is WHERE did it come from?I remember last year being shocked to look on a bag of frozen vegetables and reading “Product of China” !! Anymore we are mostly used to our food being shipped from Central or even South America.

So much of the food in grocery stores today