Consolidated Kansas

[Katy]

Quote:
I think we just call them booms.....what you tie down a load with?

 

[ChooksChick]

For all those asking about feed, I will likely need to make up more in about 2 weeks. I only kept about 300# for myself...

For anyone wanting it in bags, there's a surcharge of $2.20 per 100# (1.10 a bag) but they'll put it in bins or buckets or whatever you need. We filled a lot of these sake bins I use for storage and some folks have metal trash cans they use. If you bring something like that, it'll drop the price a bit and if you're splitting it up anyway, it's perfect.

We'll just split it according to cost, so I imagine it'll be around the same price, give or take.

I'll let everyone know before hand so we can add it to the order.

Ivywoods, I'm envious! I want a hopper!! Sake drums are awesome because of the handles, and because they're a size you can move when full, but it'd be nice to have one big unit rather than a bunch of drums.

 

[bnjmik]

My 28 broilers are now out of the brooder and into the chicken house. It's a little early to turn them out, but I'm getting more Sunday and need the brooder space.

They are doing fine eating and drinking and I put two heating lamps in there to keep them warm since they are not completely feathered out.

Chicken house is mostly done. I need to work on ventilation and get the electric door opener installed and wired up.

I have eight nesting boxes and a five-tier roost that is hinged to raise it out of the way for cleaning painted and installed.

The PLC (electronic controller) program is mostly complete. I keep changing my mind on some things and adding others.

The PLC will operate solenoid valves and float switches for watering, an optical sensor for feed level, a temperature sensor for heating and fan ventillation, and an alarm light and horn for fan failure, low feed level, and high or low temperature.

I am also going to use a wireless serial data transmitter to get data from the PLC in the chicken house up to our house then route that information into an Internet gateway that will feed the data to a webserver and SMS gateway to sent conditions and alarms to a website and my cell phone.

I went with the deep litter method instead of the sand mostly because it is impossible to get dry sand right now. I may still get some sand and dry it out myself.

I am also debating on a permanent watering method. I was thinking of using nipples mounted in pipe, but I don't have a reliable way to keep the water in the pipe from freezing in the winter when I get my laying hens. I may just mount nipples in 5-gallon buckets. The problem with this is it increases the number of float switches and solenoid valves I will need to refill the water buckets.

A couple of questions... Has anyone tried the spinning roof vents like you see on houses? Do they leak water? Also, how many watering nipples should you install on a 5-gallon bucket? I'm thinking 5, but with 50 birds that is a whole lot of buckets at 3 nipples per bird.

Thanks again everyone, will post pics when this site allows me to.

Mike

 

[bnjmik]

Okay pictures finally. Thanks for bearing with the bumper posts.

The chicken house exterior. Needs some work but not too bad for coming with the house. It has a concrete floor. 130 square feet of chicken space plus 50 square feet of storage and human space. A bisecting wall with doors add an additional layer of protection to the birds.

Chicks in the brooder on the back porch. 28 broilers. They are now in the chicken house. 20 more to come plus some laying hens.

Nesting boxes as built. 8 total, way more than needed but I was working off materials on hand.

Chicks in the chicken house. Painted nesting box to the right and hinged 5 tier roost to the left, both painted. Chicken door with garage door rails and rollers straight ahead. An electric opener and ramp to be added. Feeder less sensors shown. 5-gallon bucket with a hog feeder bolted to the bottom.

Roost in cleaning position. It is hinged at the wall and held to the ceiling with a chain and hook.

Roost in operational position prior to paint. 5 tiers, 10 feet long. Should roost 50+ birds.

That's it for now. More to come.

Mike

 

[bnjmik]

Missed one. This is a view of inside the chicken area looking at the bisecting wall. I took some door sections from another chicken house that I repurposed and used them to make a double door.

The two outer blue sections do not open. The two interior sections are hinged and open to allow someone to enter. The wire grid allows one to view the chickens without entering. The lower wall section is about 18" tall. I did this because I am using the deep litter method and salvaged the section from some shelving that I removed from the human house. You can't really tell, but there is a 5-foot section beyond these doors that will be used for storage of feed, supplies, and of course, my murdering weapons. Scalder, plucker, cones, etc.

Mike

 

[Ivywoods]

Great pictures Mike! Your brooder looks exactly like mine... an old stock tank. They work great. I have a welded wire cover over mine so the barn cats can't get at the chicks.

The coop looks great, and your electrical plans are over the top (and certainly over my head!) The only question I have is are the rungs on your roost far enough apart (on a horizontal plane) to keep the birds on the top from pooping on the ones below? Many times they sit on the roost backwards, then look out below!

 

[OzawkieBantams]

I still love those nest boxes Mike. You need to hurry on that plucker cause it wont be long before my eight broilers are ready to eat.

 

[1idwillie]

Quote:
Mike.... Call me after you get up and around

 

[Katy]

Mke....I tend to agree with ivywoods that they're going to be pooping on each other's heads.....if you can get them to even roost on the bottom rungs. I have a similar roost set up in one of my coops and they all crowd onto the top roost.

 

[tazcat70]

Quote:
Do you have a picture? Where did you get them from?