My NEW Breeding Pens

[DMRippy]

This is the new roof. we had a really wet summer and they just would not get dry so we had to do something. this roof cost me a car we would have junked 2 hens and about $300 in roofing fencing nails and gas.

we moved the gutters to the front of the runs and should be able to collect lots more rain now. I almost didn't have enough through the summer even with all the rain.

this is the bucket the rain water will empty into for the final filtering. the gutter guard had a fine mesh under the plastic so we didn't fell like we needed tons more filtering.

this is what is in the bottom of the bucket. we wrapped screen around some wire for strength.

this is the new down spout

this is the front of the barrel with a shut off valve. we needed that to work on the line or drain for the coldest weather.

this is a BAD pic of the line. the white pipe is the line. the chickens started playing with their new toys right off. lol

 

[DMRippy]

well I think that is clear after 14 tries on a phone lol. if you are wondering about the foam insulation.....well we are going to build a house for the barrels to try and prevent freezing. usually it is not really cold here and when it is it does not last long. we will see if it works.

oh yeah....there is the same set up on the other side so there are 2 55Gal barrels feeding the nipples. I want to have an over flow barrel on both sides mostly for the summer but that would give me 220 gal of rain water.

 

[Wasson6Pack]

Wao i picked up some from a garbage on my way home today

Around here we can pick them up at the local landfill for free too, you could try that? Sellers of a 4-wheeler or motorcycle or snow mobile (snow machine) or even a hardware store that sells lawn mowers, power washers (pressure washers) or air compressors should have have crate or pallet type things.

 

[DMRippy]

I would like to add that my water filer thingamajig didn't work very well. I think we are going to have a 55 gal barrel and that is going to catch all the rain and that way all the debris can settle and we can put the clean water in the waterers barrels. now we have to build a way to keep it from freezing for the free night we get really cold. we don't have electricity back there so we will have to improvise with candles are something.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

I loved reading this thread! So many great ideas. Where did you get the black plastic stuff (i saw it at the beginning of the thread) I think it would be very helpful in a project I have going on right now? Congrats on all the progress you made, it looks awesome!

 

[DMRippy]

I loved reading this thread! So many great ideas. Where did you get the black plastic stuff (i saw it at the beginning of the thread) I think it would be very helpful in a project I have going on right now? Congrats on all the progress you made, it looks awesome!

HUM..... I don't remember. I should have gotten something thicker..... not sure that would have helped tons but it needed to be thicker. I am replacing it 6mil plastic and they are scratching through that too AHHHHH.

I know you can get black or clear plastic at HD or other hardware stores. They have it in all different widths. I have bought the 10 feet wide and 20 feet wide. I think you can get it in 10 or 15 ft, 25 ft, 50 ft, and 100 ft lengths. They also have some that are used on foundations it is like 12-18 wide. I have used that to keep the roos from seeing each other.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

HUM..... I don't remember. I should have gotten something thicker..... not sure that would have helped tons but it needed to be thicker. I am replacing it 6mil plastic and they are scratching through that too AHHHHH.

I know you can get black or clear plastic at HD or other hardware stores. They have it in all different widths. I have bought the 10 feet wide and 20 feet wide. I think you can get it in 10 or 15 ft, 25 ft, 50 ft, and 100 ft lengths. They also have some that are used on foundations it is like 12-18 wide. I have used that to keep the roos from seeing each other.

O, I will lookk for some next time I go to the hard ware store. I wonder if like a tarp would work better, then you can cover it with sand or litter? So haow many of these breeder pens do you have? I love the idea. Thanks for anwsering my question

 

[DMRippy]

10 like the ones here. I have 4 larger pens and lots of small one. I will be building more soon I hope. I think they will be for pairs and trios and bantams maybe.

 

[CCCCCCCCHICKENS]

10 like the ones here. I have 4 larger pens and lots of small one. I will be building more soon I hope. I think they will be for pairs and trios and bantams maybe.

Sounds like you have got a lot of projects planned. I have a habit of having too many projects going on at once

 

[ChickenCanoe]

10 like the ones here. I have 4 larger pens and lots of small one. I will be building more soon I hope. I think they will be for pairs and trios and bantams maybe.

I have similar water setups. I considered using rainwater but didn't yet for fear of getting too much debris and having stuff growing in the water.
How do you filter the rainwater to keep it clean?
My buildings are all under trees so the gutters are always full of sticks, leaves and wild bird feces.