Building a farm from what you have. Sounds like a from the ground-up type of project don’t you think? It is!

When we first bought the property there was the house and a rickety shed. On our little property — what we now call Point 6 Acre — every structure had to earn its place. 

While we worked on the inside of the house, we decided to start with a small flock of chickens — three to be exact.

But where to house them?

A garden wagon, gifted to us, became the first Chick-Wagon. We built a small mobile coop with a drop-down door at the front and another at the handle end that opened to two nest boxes. Inside were low perches where the birds could roost.

We could pull this mobile coop all over Point 6 Acre, letting the chickens scratch and forage as they went.

It took two years before we mustered the courage to suit ourselves up like a hazmat crew and get to work on the shed. We removed moldy dry-wall, ancient pink insulation, and rotten boards. For our safety, and that of any animals we hoped to house in the “barn”, we had the materials tested for asbestos. Thankfully, there was none.

You can see the slide-show of before and after HERE. We are pleased with how a small tumble-down shed can be turned into a barn.

We bought the property in 2015. Progress came in fits and starts. In 2017 I broke both bones in my left wrist and was forced to slow down for several months. It turned out to be an unexpected gift. Sitting on the porch through the summer, I could watch how the sun moved across the property and where the light lingered longest. That quiet observation helped us decide where the vegetable gardens would eventually go. The land has full southern exposure, something we’ve come to appreciate more each year.

Our next project was turning the shell of a 3’ × 5’ dog house into the original duck house.

We placed 1/4” hardware cloth on the floor beneath 1/2” plywood. The vent windows, which had plywood hinged covers, were also protected with hardware cloth, as were the two vents at the front and back.

A large hinged door at the rear allowed us to swing it open and pull out the soiled bedding with a pitchfork — a huge time saver.

The main entrance was a smaller door at the front that could be securely latched at night.

The priority: safe birds.

As often happens with farm projects, the frame of a carport was offered to us — 12’ × 24’, I think. This became the duck shelter and has worked like a charm.

We love the idea of repurposing things. We save money and things stay out of the landfill. To be honest, the animals don’t care!

Building a farm this way takes patience. Nothing appears all at once. One small structure leads to another, and over time the pieces begin to fit together. On Point 6 Acre, every coop, shelter, and fence has come from working with what we already had and slowly adding what was needed.

In our next video we’ll take a little tour of the shelters on the farm — duck houses, rabbit hutches, and the repurposed Chick-Wagons.

Warmly,

Brin



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Brin writes about the quieter lessons of small farm life – ducks in the morning, goats in the barn, and the slow work of tending a small piece of land. Between animal chores, soap making, and reflexology work, she reflects on what it means to live well, live simply, and discover what “enough” really looks like.

Enough.

What a word.

How much is enough? Enough land, enough animals, enough living space, enough infrastructure, enough fencing, enough feed, enough water.

At some point you realize that enough is enough.

With the proper layout, .6 acre is enough.

In the beginning there was the house and a rickety shed. We turned the shed into a small barn with enough space for the initial chicken area and stalls for the goats. The shed had a lean-to. We framed the rabbit barn and enclosed it in 1/4″ hardware cloth so mink and other predators could not reach the rabbit hutches.

We reused and repurposed as much as we could – that’s part of our ethos.

Someone gave us an old carport frame. We tarped it and it became the duck shelter. The first duck house was a large repurposed dog house. We still use it from time to time. We built mobile chicken wagons on old garden carts. Those little chick-mobiles were big enough to hold five chickens comfortably.

.6 acre: enough for a small flock of ducks, a handful of chickens, a trio of rabbits, and a couple of goats.

We gave serious thought to how many animals are enough. There is too few, enough, and there is too many. It means looking at the layout of the land, deciding which animals you want, then reading and learning about their needs. Husbandry books and Codes of Practice explain how many animals can comfortably live in a run, paddock, or hutch. That knowledge helps determine how much space is enough.

We learned that our small property could comfortably sustain five chickens, a flock of nine to twelve ducks, a trio of rabbits, and two medium-sized goats – knowing we would sell any extras from breeding. The goal was always to rotate animals and regenerate the land as much as possible.

Over time things shifted. We let go of the chickens and kept ducks instead. Occasionally we raise a batch of meat birds, moving them around the grassy area in a chicken tractor. The rabbit hutches are still here, waiting for the day we raise rabbits again. Goat numbers move between two and four and back again.

Just enough.

Enough animals. Enough space for them to flourish. Enough hours in the week to care for them properly.

And enough for this tiny patch of land to feel spacious.

We have enough.

On a small farm, the question of enough shows up everywhere – in space, in time, and in the number of animals we care for. Sometimes it quietly shapes the harder decisions as well.

I’ll share a bit more about that soon in a story about two of our goats and the quiet math behind small farm choices.

Warmly,

Brin



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Brin writes about the quieter lessons of small farm life – ducks in the morning, goats in the barn, and the slow work of tending a small piece of land. Between animal chores, soap making, and reflexology work, she reflects on what it means to live well, live simply, and discover what “enough” really looks like.