Chicken Food Tower

[Kennas_Kritters]

Not sure if it will work or not but I might actually do something like this with some old dog cages we have. I have like 10 different sized cages so if I can use them that will be great! Might have to put some kind of wire over it or something since the holes are big. Unless I can get my soil thick enough to where it won't fall through so easy.... off to experiment with the manure pile I go!...

 

[Tashua]

I think I’d make a go at it also , have lots of wire around

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

I just finished the food tower no.5, which is made with:

Height: 1020 mm
Square: 50 x 100 mm (really too big )
Wire Ø: 2,2 mm

This one is in fact not so ideal compare with no.1~4, I will use this one in my vegetable patch but not for chicken.

As these towers are built to provide some fun and greens for chickens, i don't have too high standard , I understand clearly those materials used inside the tower will need time to decompost and not perfect like the finished compost, but i don't care, here is not the place I will take performance seriously.

Meanwhile, some improvements will make things happen in a better way, and I will dress them in a more detailed way in later posts.

Anyway, it's how tower no.5 looks like, a bit funny

As mentioned in earlier posts, whatever left on the ground will be used as filling, plus the soil from old pots. All chicken poo are in, as a source of nitrogen.

Earlier we also discussed if the compost will be too hot, here comes the evidence, it won't be too hot - the open structure and not so many green materials foresee such outcome. The temperature today is about 19 degree C, within the tower the temperature is only a little bit higher.

In such an open compost system, the decomposition is carried out under moderate temperatures by mesophilic microorganisms, it won't get a chance to enter thermophilic phase. In other words, eventually things will still decompost after a much longer time, but the low decompost temperature will not kill weed seeds.

This time only grass seeds from about 50cm height above, on the outer ring area.

On the very top, I directly sowed some mixed vegetable seeds, water them and then cover with a thin layer of compost.

Now, just wait and see what this one will turn into

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Not sure if it will work or not but I might actually do something like this with some old dog cages we have. I have like 10 different sized cages so if I can use them that will be great! Might have to put some kind of wire over it or something since the holes are big. Unless I can get my soil thick enough to where it won't fall through so easy.... off to experiment with the manure pile I go!...

Do you mean the metal cage? If yes, i believe it's worthy for a try! For the hole problem, I plan to use kraft paper as a temporary boundary, cardboard should function well, too - both will turn the vertical planter into a kind of raised bed. They will hold whatever we fill first, and decompost along the time.

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

Hmm... if you have other types of birds as well can you use manure from all of them or is that not safe? If I can use emu manure I basically have a endless supply!

 

[Kennas_Kritters]

Do you mean the metal cage? If yes, i believe it's worthy for a try! For the hole problem, I plan to use kraft paper as a temporary boundary, cardboard should function well, too - both will turn the vertical planter into a kind of raised bed. They will hold whatever we fill first, and decompost along the time.

Yep I have like 10 metal dog cages. They are just going to sit around and rust if I don't use them! I'm kinda wondering if I could make a mini chicken tower (a chick tower) to put out in the run for my younger birds! They are around 3 weeks old so I can also add some scratch feed. Obviously they would need different stuff to eat at that age but I'm sure I can figure something out! I also have earthworms in my compost so they will have extra fun!

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Hmm... if you have other types of birds as well can you use manure from all of them or is that not safe? If I can use emu manure I basically have a endless supply!

I don't have other types of birds, but I think, as long as not too much manure, should be ok. emu manure (means from cow, right?) the same, i guess.

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Yep I have like 10 metal dog cages. They are just going to sit around and rust if I don't use them! I'm kinda wondering if I could make a mini chicken tower (a chick tower) to put out in the run for my younger birds! They are around 3 weeks old so I can also add some scratch feed. Obviously they would need different stuff to eat at that age but I'm sure I can figure something out! I also have earthworms in my compost so they will have extra fun!

Sounds totally practical for me, maybe not a tower, you can arrange them like Lego and make something unique for your chicks to rest and play.

 

[Kyatesw]

Following so I can see how this turns out!

 

[Ascholten]

You might be able to stack one or two to make a tower like to keep dirt in to grow. Tie them together so they don't topple over.

Aaron