New to this forum but not new to chickens!

I'm new here but have been keeping chickens, rabbits and ducks for about ten years.  I'd like to share some of my ideas and also gain some knowledge and ideas myself.

I'm English but live in Umbria, Italy.  We bought an old villa about twelve years ago and have restored it to create a B&B with swimming pool.  Over the last year we have converted the stables into a two-bedroom apartment for our daughter and her husband who have joined us in our business, www.laportaverde.com.  Kate is about to hatch any day now!

First up I'd like to share my latest idea for a water feeder.

There are simply three parts; a stainless steel dog or cat bowl, a plastic bottle with (or without cap, but better with), and a piece of plastic pipe, the sort usually used for toilet drains.

The pipe in this case has an inside diameter of 10cm (4").  The hole in the neck of the bottle is about 1cm from the base of the bowl and can be really tiny as the water will trickle out to top up when the bird is not drinking.  The bowl could be plastic but I find rabbits can gnaw that.  And yes, the bottle acts as a vacuum and no more water can come out once the level has been reached.  I hope that helps.

I've tried to find advice on storing and rotating eggs here, but can't.  So, here is my method.  We have a separate fridge for drinks and eggs in our larder.  In fact it's a fridge-freezer along with two more freezers so plenty of space for chicken and rabbit meat too.  In the bottom of the fridge are two plastic trays.  I put a piece of soft pipe insulation in each - one green and one red.  My wife is under instruction to only take from the green one.  I fill the red one.  When the green one is empty I move the red ones into the green so the oldest are on top.  It works like a dream.

Arrrgh!  I just realised I got those photos the wrong way round!  Sorry, it should be red to green.

How do you clean your eggs?

I have a stainless steel scouring pad and give them a scrub under the tap in the utility room.  I then put them in a cardboard egg tray to dry and take the previous day's eggs out to put in the fridge.