Recent content by sillybirds

I finally got around to installing the oyster shell dispenser I made. Chickens took to it easily. Thanks for the inspiration!

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to make one this weekend.

I would imagine optimal distance would be similar if roosts are arranged in the same (horizontal) plane, or at a greater pitch. It depends somewhat on how much room you have to utilize and the size of you birds. You'll have to estimate based on your circumstances. Main concepts as far as I'm...

I would place the roosts 12 inches away from wall to which they are parallel, unless you want a lot of poop on the wall. And space roosts maybe 18 inches apart, so birds aren't as likely to mess with each other.

I've often wished I could feed snails to my chickens, but have been concerned about possibility of them carrying parasites. Once I boiled a pot but that stunk up the kitchen. I wonder if the snails soaking in your beer traps would kill parasites they might potentially be harboring?

I don't use the deep litter method myself, but my understanding is that for that method to be used, it has to be on the ground, in order for composting of the lower part of the litter to occur. Is the floor of your coop elevated off of the ground? My coop is elevated. I covered it's wooden...

I believe the generally recommended minimum is 10 sq ft of run per chicken. The listed dimensions of the Heather Bullard coop/run are 11 x 4 ft = 44 sq ft, which would be sufficient for maximum of 4 chickens. In general, the larger the run the better, within reason.

I like the Heather Bullard design, except I would add a droppings board/tray under the roost, so you don't have to fully replace coop litter as frequently. Additionally, I think it would be better to have larger run.

I'm using ACV in my nipple waterer. I've only had it for a month so can't comment on long term affects, however I feel that it's worth it. I don't believe that the weak strength that I'm using will cause problems. Even if it does, it wouldn't be hard to change out nipples. I do strain the ACV...

The 12 inch linear actuator I chose closes very slowly. It takes over 30 seconds to open or close, so I believe it is safe. Also, I have it set to close 1/2 hour after sunset, so by that time all of my chickens are in the coop roosting long before door closes...

I recently converted my coop's pop door to function automatically by timer to keep rodents out at night. My design was based on Sow Edible's design, also utilized by Red Tool House, who has a good video on YouTube. It uses a linear actuator, which is ideal in my opinion, because it functions to...

The one's I've had similar to that have been fine.

I recently upgraded my feeder and waterer, building ones similar to designs posted by others here and on YouTube. The feeder uses 3 inch PVC elbows placed through holes cut into a 5 gallon bucket. The waterer is a 2 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples set inside a larger (? 5 gallon) bucket...

I use that type of material on the top of my run. It successfully keeps out hawks.

Oats didn't work well when I once tried them. Wheat bran flakes (not to be confused with breakfast cereal) works best for me. As far as fruits/vegetables, many things will work. You can be creative... Last couple years I've successfully used zucchini (those whales that get hugh before you find...