Hi guys, been so busy lately I haven't had much time to get over here. My ideal solution for the geese (or ducks) would be for them to have separate quarters. Removing the food and water overnight is also a way of managing the mess. I did think of a solution, a compromise, that I think would work, but I doubt we will get it implemented for this winter. My idea is to build a sort of secure mini-run just outside the goose pop-hole. Really secure... even rodent-proof. It would have a gate to the larger run and a divided leather or canvas curtain over the pop-hole to cut the drafts. I would roof it too to help keep the snow out. The geese could then go out for food or water - they don't mind the dark - and whatever critters are in the other half of the building (rabbits this year) would not be subjected to so much dampness indoors. I have a buyer for my five mixed-breed young geese who will be ready for them in about a month. So I will only have four in there this winter, but even four can spray a lot of water around. I will have to monitor the situation closely to make sure the rabbits are not suffering respiratory problems as a result. No Suzie, a roost hood is NOT a nightcap for roosters. LOL. I can just see the chickens lined up on the roost with matching knitted toques. Red, with pom-poms would be nice, I think. Sheila, I am going to post a link for you. It is for a range brooder, not a roost hood, but the construction would be similar and the purpose - keeping birds warm - is the same. You would need more of a long rectangle than a square and hung over the roost rather than over the ground, but I think the picture will give you the idea. And it's an interesting site anyway. Nice to be back here. I missed you guys! Here is a link that might be useful: Range brooder to modify as a roost hood.

Some of mine does this from time to time and honestly I ended up throwing them away then they do it. I think I've had 4 to do this so far - bill moragne, penang peach, kimo, & now key west red. I don't know how they get it or where it comes from. I call it some sort of scab fungus that scrapes off. :/

I had some thatching ants try to move into my new raised beds the first year I had the garden. Those things build massive mounds (there's one at the property edge that's probably more than 2 feet tall, maybe getting close to 3') and they seem to bite. I just kept watering that really well every day and they moved along. I see them in the garden, but they haven't tried to build there again. We just leave that big mound alone and don't go near it. I always sort of wonder if they bother the person who lives on the other side of the privacy fence -it's not near our living space, but it is somewhat near theirs. Even though they bite and have huge mounds, they're not like fire ants. Fire ants are horrible.

Couldn't any attorney serve as long as he had a standby construction expert who could testify to the shoddy workmanship and its consequences. I have looked at the thread but been too busy to attempt any real advise. But to answer your question as far as I can tell from the thread it is a fairly decent sized builder, this means that the builder will have an attorney on retainer who is intimately familiar with their business and probably a contract skewed toward the builder. Although any attorney who has done contract work can probably take a swing at it, you run the risk of destroying any savings in fees and increase the chance of losing exponentially. A good local realtor or real estate/construction attorneys are really his best options.