Automatic Feed, Water, Grit, Coop Door and Ventilation

[DavioSanchez]

These 12 week old girls have just moved to automatic feed, water and grit. The black feeder angles outside the run a bit higher up so that I can fill it without going into the run. They took right to th red water jug's two nipples in a very few minutes. Like everything else, when one figures it out, all the rest follow suit almost immediately. They also have a small 3/4" PVC grit gravity dispenser made much like the black one. Everything is readily available and stays dry... and keeps the mess down, too.

Annie the Schnoodle dog loves to tend her flock. They are so used to her since they have seen her since they were 2 days old.

The automatic door is the best thing of all. No more getting up at the crack of dawn, etc.

The solar ventilation of the coop only works on the hot, sunny days but that is just perfect.

 

[snow5164]

Yikes you have nothing left to do ,
I like feeding my hens and giving them attention , sounds way to commercial for this country girl ,

If al I had to do was scoop poop I wouldn’t want to go outside ,

Enjoy your set up though,
To each their own

 

[Kiki]

You might want to put 1/2 inch hardware cloth around the bottom few feet of your run so no predator hands reach in an grab one of your birds.

 

[snow5164]

But there’s a guard dog on duty , seriously though that’s true even cats can reach in and grab a sleeping bird

 

[Trux]

I agree with the previous posts, you need hardware cloth on lower part of run panels. Mine has 3 foot up from bottom of panels.

 

[OhZark Biddies]

Nicely done.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

If those nice buckets are meant to stay there, they need to be covered so that sunlight doesn't ruin them.

Very nice setup btw. I'd like to see a close-up of the door if ever convenient.

 

[DavioSanchez]

Yikes you have nothing left to do ,
I like feeding my hens and giving them attention , sounds way to commercial for this country girl ,

If al I had to do was scoop poop I wouldn’t want to go outside ,

Enjoy your set up though,
To each their own

Commercial? With 6 hens? LOL Even chicken math can't resolve that this is a labor of love and not about the eggs or meat. The idea is to take care of their basic needs as efficiently and cleanly as possible so that there is more time for small batches of growing fodder and fermenting feed, raising mealworms, etc.

We tend to not scoop poop. I don't even have a scoop! I rotate / layer product in the coop then it gets raked out to the run. The run gets raked / turned weekly on the way to deep litter.

 

[Kiki]

Commercial? With 6 hens? LOL Even chicken math can't resolve that this is a labor of love and not about the eggs or meat. The idea is to take care of their basic needs as efficiently and cleanly as possible so that there is more time for small batches of growing fodder and fermenting feed, raising mealworms, etc.

We tend to not scoop poop. I don't even have a scoop! I rotate / layer product in the coop then it gets raked out to the run. The run gets raked / turned weekly on the way to deep litter.

Deep litter is the best, imo.

 

[DavioSanchez]

You might want to put 1/2 inch hardware cloth around the bottom few feet of your run so no predator hands reach in an grab one of your birds.

I understand your concern, but from the ground a squirrel or a snake would be the only possible predator here. No coons, opossum, weasels, etc. Overhead, hawks would be an issue but the run has a full top on it.