Consolidated Kansas

[HEChicken]

danz no we don't have a pneumatic anything. I have tried over time to get my DH to buy one of those, but he has resisted. Do you have to have electricity to run that? He's working a long ways from any electrical source.

Yeah, pneumatic would require power, in the form of an air compressor. Is he within 100' of a power source? If so, you could use a 100' extension cord to power it?

Hechicken, what is water buffalo? I'm interested in getting rain barrels hooked up to the gutter so I can use the rain water for the birds and maybe even gill a small duck pond. You sure have put in lots of hard labor to can those tomato sauce. I'm not sure I've that kind of patience. I was just thinking of having a couple of milk goats for their milk. Now that I've read your goat story, I'm not so sure. The last thing I need is yo goats running around eating my veggies and other stuff. Maybe DH is right, maybe we should get a moo cow.

. Oh, glad that your mower is back in commission. I really like my grass cut low. Long grass to me means chances of snake encounter. And it seems like your chickens are great at getting snake!

Water buffaloes are big 300 or so gallon plastic containers that are contained within a metal frame. Usually they start life carrying chemicals or other liquids but are then recycled as water barrels, if they are safe for that. We got one at a farm auction for a few dollars but I've also seen them on Craigslist for around $30-60. You want to be sure to get one that was never used for poisonous chemicals, because I'd never trust the residue not to still be there. But at that price they are a bargain compared to buying a water barrel new from Lowes or Home Depot. I've seen water barrels there for anywhere from $45 to over $100 for a 50 gallon container.

Well, I got the mowing finished. It is such a relief as it really was looking untidy around here. Now I can focus on some of the many other items on my to-do list.

 

[chicken danz]

HEChicken I had never heard those called Water buffaloes. We always just called them totes at work. Now I'll know another term to search for them. I do have a couple places I could set one up for the other birds but I always worried about the chemicals leaching from the roofing materials into the water. What is your roof made of? I don't remember.
It seems I only got the bare minimum done yesterday. Between the heat and humidity and having a sinus infection I just couldn't function well yesterday. I drained the duck pond to clean it and forgot about it until almost dark so finishing that and re-filling it is first on my list today. I also forgot to put my turkeys up and they were roosting in the trees. I hope I don't make that mistake again. That was a mess to try to get them down to come into the pen. Normally I just take the feed bucket and call them and they come but they were settled in pretty well already.
Tweety I always envision a beautiful tidy and well kept garden. I used to have one but I had more time then and freely watered. I also had a spouse that helped with it. None of those conditions apply now. Gardening is like birds to my DH. He has no interest and could care less about learning the different plants and types or working toward them. He is a picky eater and certainly doesn't want to do any work to get food. If I weren't in his life his entire menu would be take out and frozen dinners.
I, on the other hand could live on fresh fruits and veggies and seafood and chicken. None of which really appeals that much to him.
Trish we have long extenson cords but we also have a generator we can use for really far out power to run a little portable compressor. I use my pneumatic stapler and nailer for gobs of stuff. It saves so much time and energy. Those little pancake air compressors are really handy for remote jobs and they don't cost much to buy. Your initial expense for staplers and stuff is an additional outlay but you will swear it pays for itself on the first use.
I'm hoping to get my building estimates today. I am anxious to be able to figure out if I can actually afford to put this building in. I need the estimates to even begin to figure out other expenses. It's going to be winter and I'm still not going to be ready for it.
I'm going to try to move the two halves of my hoop coop frame today by myself. Not sure I can do it. If I can, that means I can finish it up and start moving some more birds. The heat and humidity may prevent me from doing much though.

 

[HEChicken]

HEChicken I had never heard those called Water buffaloes. We always just called them totes at work. Now I'll know another term to search for them. I do have a couple places I could set one up for the other birds but I always worried about the chemicals leaching from the roofing materials into the water. What is your roof made of? I don't remember.

My roof is metal so I don't worry too much about what runs off it. I'm sure dust gets on it and runs into the water and the occasional wild bird flying over poops on it as well but other than that I don't think there is much risk. It always looks surprisingly clean when I pop the lid of the barrel and look in there.

 

[chicken danz]

I wonder if I put a gutter on my peafowl lean to and a 55 gallon catch barrel if I could hook to my water system for the peafowl in winter using gravity to flow to the outlets. You have me curious now. I would probably have to put a stock tank heater in the barrel but it would sure beat dragging hoses. Right now I use heated water bowls and drag a hose. Not real convenient. The only down side would be the expense of running the stock tank heater as well. I'll have to figure out costs to run that thing and see what I come up with. This is the year to try to make things easier for winter although I feel like I should have started last winter to get it all done.

 

[HEChicken]

I wonder if I put a gutter on my peafowl lean to and a 55 gallon catch barrel if I could hook to my water system for the peafowl in winter using gravity to flow to the outlets. You have me curious now. I would probably have to put a stock tank heater in the barrel but it would sure beat dragging hoses. Right now I use heated water bowls and drag a hose. Not real convenient. The only down side would be the expense of running the stock tank heater as well. I'll have to figure out costs to run that thing and see what I come up with. This is the year to try to make things easier for winter although I feel like I should have started last winter to get it all done.

I'll be curious to see what you come up with. I built a platform for my water barrel using cinder blocks to raise it up and that provides quite a bit of pressure.As you can see, I could go another layer of bricks higher and get even more pressure but this height is perfect for me to still be able to easily reach the lid to get it on and off.

 

[Trish44]

All of this talk about guttering & rain barrels reminded me that I really need some guttering on the back of my breeder coop. The roof slants down that way & my people doors are back there & the doors have been getting wet when it rains, it's going to eventually ruin them. I'm going to have to check into putting some up back there soon. I got paint to paint the building but am waiting for it to cool off more before I start painting, it's just too hot out there to be out there for hours doing that.

danz it's way more than 100 feet from the garage where there would be any electrical outlet to where we're putting in the fence & it will cover an acre so there is no way we could power something out that far. We don't have a generator either, I have thought at times we should have one, but that's just another thing to buy. We have other things on the list that are more of a priority right now.

tweety, I'm sorry about your bird, it does sound like she got too hot, I hope she recovers. Just keep her cool & hydrated. I had one that did that a couple of years ago & I didn't think she was going to make it but she did recover & I still have her. She is an Ancona so she is mostly black & it was one of those summers where it was super hot. She had been trying to make it to the coop I guess because I found her inbetween the main coop run & my pen next to it. I brought her in & wet her down in the bathtub & just kept doing that at intervals leaving her lay in there till she could get up again. I watched her carefully for awhile after she went back out & she did fine. I have some other all black birds I worry about when it gets really hot out. We have some more 100 degree days coming this week so I will have to make sure I keep all of the bowls out around the yard full. I have some at different places so they don't have to go too far for water when it's really hot. Most of them hang out under a bush by the garage or in the woods area where there is lots of shade.

 

[chicken danz]

Happy
Birthday
Trish!!!

 

[chicken danz]

I was trying to work outside but it's too hot and humid. I just can't stand being out there very long. I am sure it's the humidity that is killing me because I stand hot weather pretty good if it's not humid. I did get the pond cleaned and filled and watered the geese. I tried to move the two sections of the hoop coop but the panels kept bending on me. I was really thinking this was a perfect time to get up in place and move birds but I guess I need more support and I don't feel like standing out in the sun building stuff. If I could find my stupid water misters today would be a day the chickens would really benefit from them. There is no wind and it's chicken killing weather. I guess I'll just cool off a while then try to go back out and work some more.

 

[Trish44]

Be careful out there danz, that humidity is a killer. I went out to feed this evening & was just dying before I got halfway through. I had to go douse myself at the hydrant. I have no desire to go out & work out there on anything right now that I don't have to, it's just too darned hot. I did get the handle put on my crank out window in the main coop this evening, but that was it.

 

[tweetybaby2005]

I found the 275 gallon water tote on CL. I think the guy was asking for $30 each if buying 2 or more. If buying 1 it's $40. I will have to see I can put it. At the mean time, I'm trying to see if I can put some unused rubbermaid totes under the gutters to catch some rain.

Hechicken, I really like your rain barrel setup. It sure looks neat and tidy plus functional as a gravity fed system.

Danz, I hope you get a good quote on the building. I know it will cost some pretty pennies but it'll make your life so much easier. As for veggie garden, I'll see what I can come up with again. I don't give very easily. Hopefully I'll find out what works best for us.

Trish, the chicken is still not doing too well. I sure hope she will get better.

I've a hen went broody. She is sitting in a plastic tote inside the fertilizer spreader my DH put in the barn. She has been sitting there for at least a week. DH finally felt pity and gave her a handful of eggs to sit on.

Last night we had 1/2" of rain. It was nice to have the moisture but sure added to the humidity today. I just wish it'll cool down soon.