@ Matt: Yeah, I really like that feeder a lot! There's the double sided option too, if that makes sense for you. I really like the net fencing. It keeps the goats in even when the electric is down. I'm also running about 2600' of intelli-rope now, grazing at a couple different sites for people off my property and the little jerk goats are all over the place. We haven't had any rain in over a month here and if I don't water the ground rods twice a day the fence goes down and the goats push right through it. My little buck will stick his nose right on it and test it. So yeah, I much prefer the netting to the rope for that aspect, though I can set up the rope super quick through some pretty gnarly terrain, so it would work well if we had more precipitation.
@Silver: Thanks for the nod of approval. It never ceases to amaze me when I hear how people used to do things the right way and the new way doesn't make any sense. Why don't all these farm buildings incorporate free energy?
@Guy: I get it, Guy, and thanks for sharing that. I really want to be able to shovel the floors and I can see the gravel leading to some issues. I'm already getting some jeers from my environmental friends about not using more friendly building materials and I think I might get strung up if I tried to put concrete in there (not to mention I can't afford it). I found a couple videos on youtube that explain that bottle technique that you mention and I think I can combine that with the information on floors provided in "The Hand Sculpted House" to make something that will work. I'm not too worried about insulation for the critters at this point but I think some sealed clay might be just the ticket. The building my chickens have survived the last decade in had planked walls with many holes and a big window that was just a screen, no glass; not even a drop of insulation. They're gonna think this new place is the high life!