So I put this in the Colorado forum already as that's where I live but wanted to share this with the great community.
I love my flock and I enjoy them so much but my life and schedule is so crazy that anything that can be automated, should. I say this after realizing that life is a one way trip and that if I can enjoy something like my own chickens without burdening my life so much that it takes time away from, say, playing with my daughter or having a romantic evening with my wife, I'm all for it. So, automation is the key to my flocks success.
My coop isn't big. I have 8 birds of two different ages. The older ladies have the top of the coop and the young guns have the bottom run, which this coop was designed to have a top and bottom run only. However after building it, I realized my chickens were born free, perhaps as free as the wind blows, which it does so readily here in Colorado. Initially, I added a bucket for water and a PVC pipe to contain their food, which worked great except that every time I wanted to refill either I had to perform no fewer than the seven basic ballet moves and dislocate joints to be able to get myself in and out of the run part of the coop. One day I had this moment where I spoke softly to myself and said, "you're ****** nuts," and I was. And it occurred to me that I wasn't using the squishy gray matter between my ears when it dawned on me. Cut holes in the floor of the coop and slide the feeders in and then suspend them from the floor into the run below thus allowing me to fill the feeders from outside the coop. No rain gets on it and it's as easy as lifting a lid and pouring. So this is what I came up with.
The caps on top keep the mice out and this method of hanging the feeders puts the feeders higher which has reduced waste as well. I use three three inch pipe feeders which lasts my flock straight through a whole week and then some.
I also automated the door, bc frankly, what a pain to have to open and close it constantly, especially when it snows.
The door has a light sensor attached as well as a battery that is fed by a solar panel. Such simplicity....aaaaah.
Finally, the water. I have a suspended bucket with nipples on the bottom that is refilled nightly by a line from my garden irrigation system. Five gallons is delivered nightly!
The only thing I haven't automated yet is egg collection but then my three year old comes pretty close to that.
Hoe you like my ideas!
I love my flock and I enjoy them so much but my life and schedule is so crazy that anything that can be automated, should. I say this after realizing that life is a one way trip and that if I can enjoy something like my own chickens without burdening my life so much that it takes time away from, say, playing with my daughter or having a romantic evening with my wife, I'm all for it. So, automation is the key to my flocks success.
My coop isn't big. I have 8 birds of two different ages. The older ladies have the top of the coop and the young guns have the bottom run, which this coop was designed to have a top and bottom run only. However after building it, I realized my chickens were born free, perhaps as free as the wind blows, which it does so readily here in Colorado. Initially, I added a bucket for water and a PVC pipe to contain their food, which worked great except that every time I wanted to refill either I had to perform no fewer than the seven basic ballet moves and dislocate joints to be able to get myself in and out of the run part of the coop. One day I had this moment where I spoke softly to myself and said, "you're ****** nuts," and I was. And it occurred to me that I wasn't using the squishy gray matter between my ears when it dawned on me. Cut holes in the floor of the coop and slide the feeders in and then suspend them from the floor into the run below thus allowing me to fill the feeders from outside the coop. No rain gets on it and it's as easy as lifting a lid and pouring. So this is what I came up with.
The caps on top keep the mice out and this method of hanging the feeders puts the feeders higher which has reduced waste as well. I use three three inch pipe feeders which lasts my flock straight through a whole week and then some.
I also automated the door, bc frankly, what a pain to have to open and close it constantly, especially when it snows.
The door has a light sensor attached as well as a battery that is fed by a solar panel. Such simplicity....aaaaah.
Finally, the water. I have a suspended bucket with nipples on the bottom that is refilled nightly by a line from my garden irrigation system. Five gallons is delivered nightly!
The only thing I haven't automated yet is egg collection but then my three year old comes pretty close to that.
Hoe you like my ideas!
