Arizona Chickens

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
We give ours carrot peels, banana peels, apples that have gone mealy, and slightly old potatoes. Of course we wash them well first and we buy mostly organic anyway.
What else, Gallo?

Greens/lettuce , but no Iceburg! I gave mine extra squash blossoms this summer after they closed, they love them! lol..
Watermelon rind, carott and potato peelings. Just about any fruit or veggie that will provide moisture and nutrition.

 

[The Critter Place]

Bob's Henhouse :

Mikey, can I borrow a couple of pounds of ambition, 5 gallons of talent, and a truckload of energy? Very impressive work on the coop, feeder, etc.

I love it! I could use some of the energy!

I hope the rest of your move goes smooth Bob!​

 

[Mikey D]

OK guys - lemme know when you get sick of this...

I'm a tad bit concerned over the beaking out feed thing. My changing the material thickness and putting that extra angle in the lip insert will bring the feed very close to the opening. What I'm proposing is to install an interior "rear deflector shield" (think Star Trek)

A strip that will go across the underside of the lip insert and only allow the feed to rise up to about 1-1/2" from the top.

Please attack...

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
Well, not every little bit of vegetable/fruit matter that you put in there is consumed. Over time it builds up and makes it harder to collect worms. I used to only clean it out once or twice a year. Now I'm trying something new: I'm feeding on a bit of newspaper and then every few days I just pick that up and compost it. I learned that from someone over on the mealworm farming thread and I think it's a good thing. It really isn't that bad of a chore. Eventually, the substrate has to be cleaned out, but honestly, you can go years without cleaning that.

ok, really, i'm not a dodo, but what is a substrate? it already sounds creepy and gross and i HATE things that are creepy and gross. VERY WEAK GAG REFLEX. that really was not a joke.

when my twins were babies and they came home from the hospital, i was supposed to use that bulb thingy to suck out their noses, yeah, i couldn't do it for about a week. fireman did it.

You can do this Pastrymama!

The substrate, is like a bedding I guess you could say. where is Gallo? LOL!
I use dry oatmeal and wheat bran. Just put about an inch in the tank. It's where they burrow in and hang out. It stays dry, but does break down over time. They do eat some of it.

Oh.. Your not alone on the "bulb thingy"!!

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
Walter (DS #4) just got a Salvador Monitor and I think we need to start a colony too. I've a 10 gal tank w/ a screen lid that might work...

Have you seen Gallo's page? That is what he is using!

 

[The Critter Place]

Quote:
I'd love to but today (yesterday actually but I didn't get to see her) is my mom's birthday - not possible.

Happy Birthday to Mom!

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Mikey, I just realized that the drawing I have for my revised plans is the wrong one!!! I don't know what happened, but I'm going to have to fix it.

Do you see were the front lip is 1" wide? It should be 1 1/2". So, on the first image, I think that might equate to a 3" cut out, rather than a 4" cut out (smaller is better to prevent them from billing out feed). As for the rear deflector shield, I'm thinking of a gap that is closer to 1" wide to allow food to flow through (I'm not sure how wide that entire span is there where the shield is to be placed). That gap should help regulate how much food can accumulate in the bottom feeding area.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

pastrymama, don't get too freaked out about the substrate! As Critter said, it's just wheat bran.

Maybe you have a kid that's old enough to care for the colony? I think that once you get them, you'll realize that the creep factor really is pretty low. Just don't go overboard and name them like TT! did.

 

[The Critter Place]

Yes,
No Names!

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

pastrymama
I used to hate touching mealworms. EEEwww! Use them when DH and I go fishing. He always baited my hook for me. But when I got my girls, I got over my fear of the little varmints. They are not in your hand very long with greedy, treat loving chickens. DH started up a mealworm tank for me thanks to Gallo and his link.