Author: Anna & Mark

Our starplate chicken
coop is currently about a third to halfway completed, so I thought
I’d sum up my thoughts on this first phase of the construction
process.  As you’ll recall, I was looking for several
functional features in our newest chicken coop, and Mark
really wanted to build something that would look
aesthetically-pleasing in the landscape.  Is the starplate
system the best solution?

Ease
of building. 
Having taught myself to build using conventional methods the hard
way (the internet combined with lots of trial and error), I have
to admit that the starplate system is easier to figure out…if
you’ve never built anything before.  However, if you already
know a bit about building (as we now do), the starplate system is
annoying because you have to learn a new method, which is just as
un-intuitive as the more mainstream way was at first.  If you
don’t know how to build in either manner, though, I suspect the
starplate system would be easier to pick up.  Plus, we
discovered you can build a starplate coop flat on a sloped
hillside without leveling the ground first, a method that would be
extremely difficult with a stick-built coop.  So this one is
a tossup, leaning toward the starplate as a winner.

Cost.  The starplate
system definitely costs more.  Sure, the structural integrity
of the triangles means you use less framing lumber, but I’m pretty
sure you use more of just about everything else, and you have to
cut it all at an angle too.  Plus, you end up adding extra
framing pieces back into the middle of the triangles to match up
the cut ends when filling in every other wall (unless you take out
one piece and overlap the rest, as is shown in the photo
above).  Total cost for the framing lumber and the wall
in-fill materials has been $534.43, the kit cost $117.99, and
we’ve yet to figure out the roof.

Aesthetics.  Here, the
starplate system is a definite winner.  At each stage of the
building process, our new coop has looked so pretty, I’d peer out
the window just to take it in.  I can hardly wait to see it
in all its finished glory.



If you want to read
the step-by-step building process, check out Mark’s posts on the
subject:

• Framing,
  day 1
• Finishing
  the frame.  My additional tips: If you’re going to
  use one of the optional modifications that allow you to create a
  barn door on the front, you’ll need to brace those corners until
  you get the frame all the way together.  Also, the
  directions don’t tell you whether to start with the roof or the
  walls — start with the walls.
• Filling
  in the walls.  My additional tips: The best way to do
  this seems to be starting at the bottom of one wall, then
  carefully lining up each board so you can get it centered on
  that wall.  Then it’s easy to draw a line on each end of
  the board to mark what to cut off.  The more precisely you
  center the boards, the easier it will be to cobble the end
  pieces back together to make the next wall.  A much easier
  method would have been to follow the instructions and cut each
  wall out of plywood, but it’s tough to get 8-foot sheets of
  plywood into our farm, so we went for the boards instead.
• Continuing
  with the walls
• Trouble
  matching pieces

Stay tuned to our homesteading blog for day-to-day updates,
and I’ll post another sum-up here when we’ve made some more
progress.

I learned a lot about
silkworm
management during weeks 1.5 to 2.5 of our first batch’s
life.  In fact, the information is enough for two or three
posts, but my mother helped me see that not everyone thinks
caterpillars are as adorable and fascinating as I do, so I won’t
turn this into the silkworm blog.

The big news is that
I accidentally killed off two-thirds of my colony through
mismanagement.  I’m not quite sure what did it, but the
possibilities include:

1. Heat.  The
   silkworms fared well the first day when the temperatures in our
   trailer got up into the 80s, but the dieoff occurred on the
   second hot day.  So maybe it was just a delayed
   reaction?  (In case heat was the culprit, I moved our
   silkworms to the cool of the barn the next day.)
2. Tough leaves.  I’ve
   been very carefully picking only the mulberry leaves that are
   still pale green and slightly crinkly from youth, but I thought
   our caterpillars might be old enough to try slightly tougher
   leaves.  It’s quite possible the old leaves were hard to
   eat, the heat dried them up prematurely, and our silkworms
   dehydrated as a result.
3. Cat flea medicine. 
   I put that scary
   flea medicine on our cats right before picking mulberry
   leaves on the morning of the die-off.  However, I’m 95%
   sure I didn’t get any of the chemical on my hands, and I think I
   washed my hands after applying the flea medicine and before
   picking the mulberry leaves.  But the reaction of our
   caterpillars was so extreme, I suspect this might have been the
   problem.

No matter what the
cause, the silkworms stopped eating and even started running away
from the mulberry leaves in search of better digs.  Here’s
where the sawdust
on the bottom of the bin became problematic — it was
awfully tough to pick tiny caterpillars off the sawdust, and the
sawdust tended to cling to their bodies even after I put them back
on the leaves.  Probably sawdust isn’t the greatest idea for
the bottom of a silkworm bin.  (In retrospect, I don’t think
any sort of bedding is necessary.)

In more-pleasant
caterpillar news, I ran a taste test to see whether our silkworms
prefer our Illinois everbearing mulberry leaves or some paper
mulberry leaves my mom brought over when she came to
visit.  I alternated each type of leaf, then came back a
couple of hours later to see which ones the caterpillars had moved
onto.  It was a nearly unanimous vote for the Illinois
everbearing, although, again, the reason is a bit uncertain. 
Even though I picked the youngest, least-wilted leaves from Mom’s
supply, the paper mulberries had been off the tree for hours while
the Illinois everbearing were fresh-picked.  Plus, I think
it’s possible silkworms could learn a certain variety of mulberry
and want to stick with it — aren’t all youngsters picky eaters
who want what’s familiar?  I’ll run another taste test with
homegrown paper-mulberry leaves at some point, but for now will
stick to our Illinois everbearing mulberry.

In a way, it was a
blessing in disguise that we lost so many of our silkworms during
the great dieoff because our one mulberry tree was running itself
ragged trying to keep up with the caterpillars’ appetites.  A
week later, even the smaller population of silkworms was starting
to eat us out of house and home.  So I decided it was time to
prepare for the
chicken taste test suggested by one of our readers by
freezing a dozen silkworms every couple of days.  Next week
at this time, I might have results to share with you, so stay
tuned!