Recent content by Gatorfreak

  1. Gatorfreak

    Is there any ground cover vegetation that can grow where chickens hang out?

    I have an area about 500 sq ft that the chickens hang out in the most and it's just dirt. The rest of my yard has the typical grass lawn but this one area has been reduced to dirt. It's on a slope so I'd like to have something rooting in it to prevent erosion. Is there anything that could...
  2. Gatorfreak

    Simple and easy automatic watering

    I love the use of the toilet tank!
  3. Gatorfreak

    Simple and easy automatic watering

    I read a lot of posts on automatic watering and most were ideas rather than something that was actually done, tested, working. It seems everything was using a large container of water to gravity feed. Mine is connected to the water spigot so there is no tank of water and it never runs out. I...
  4. Gatorfreak

    Question about designing automated waterer

    Ah, that makes sense. It seems that most solutions use a holding container with a float valve. Instead of that, I think it would be "neater" to use a water pressure regulator. It sounds like I could just connect it inline and set the pressure to just below the pressure that causes the nipples...
  5. Gatorfreak

    Question about designing automated waterer

    I have a water spigot near my coop. If I run a hose to some PVC with poultry nipples and have the spigot barely turned on, would the nipples hold in the water until the chickens drink it or would it they constantly drip out? I know the nipples can hold in some pressure from the designs I've...
  6. Gatorfreak

    My coop idea: run under deck

    What did you end up doing? I have a similar situation. I've had 4 chickens for nearly a year. So far they free range but they do like to hang out under the deck often. It hasn't been a problem so far. I've been thinking to move the coop next to the deck and restrict them to the coop, run...
  7. Gatorfreak

    How do you store your eggs?

    We've been getting more eggs than we're eating lately. Storing them in egg cartons but my question is really about how do you store and organize them such that you're always eating the oldest eggs first? I've been trying to keep track and shuffling them between egg cartons each day but there's...
  8. Gatorfreak

    Feeder & water in both coop and run?

    My 4 week old chicks/pullets are going into the coop at night and coming out at sunrise on their own. So I was thinking to just leave the feeder and water outside in the run all the time. They don't seem to eat or drink at night anyway. I was just going to leave the door open so they can go...
  9. Gatorfreak

    They keep spilling out their food!

    My 3 and 4 week old chicks somehow keep getting most of their food out of the feeder and scattered all over (from scratching and pecking, it hasn't tipped over). Should I just keep filling it up or let them find it amongst the pine shavings?
  10. Gatorfreak

    Do you leave the heat lamp on at night?

    How do the chicks know it's night if the heat lamp is on? It's a red light but it's still light. I'm just having a hard time understanding how that doesn't throw off sleep patterns. If I just put a heated blanket over the cage and turn off the lights then they go right to sleep all night...
  11. Gatorfreak

    New chicks laying down, closing eyes (during hthe day)

    Thanks everyone! Just brought them home and my wife was freaking out. I figured maybe they're just taking naps.
  12. Gatorfreak

    New chicks laying down, closing eyes (during hthe day)

    Two week old chicks... is it normal for them to lay down and close their eyes during the day? Just wondering if that means they're too hot, too cold, etc? It's not in what I would think is a "normal" sleeping position. The head and neck are kinda extended out, laying on the bottom.
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