DIY Thread - Let's see your "Inventions".

[tmarsh83]

My coop had an excess of nesting boxes but the design made sense. So to maximize efficiency and make life easier in the winter, I converted a spare nesting box into a gravity bunk feeder.

Working on plans to convert another to a waterer.

 

[bruceha2000]

My coop had an excess of nesting boxes but the design made sense. So to maximize efficiency and make life easier in the winter, I converted a spare nesting box into a gravity bunk feeder.

Working on plans to convert another to a waterer.

I'm guessing you don't have woodchucks (groundhogs) like I do! That gravity feeder would be empty in a day. I had to take to raising the hanging feeder way off the ground (no the chickens can't reach it either) if there was any food left from the night before. The girls can go outside any time they like after I open the barn door in the morning so they are out hunting vegetation and bugs all day anyway. Then the wild birds (who don't eat all that much) and the chucks would come clear out the feeder. So bizarre, the domesticated birds are all out foraging food the wild animals SHOULD be eating and the wild animals come into the barn to eat chicken feed.

 

[tmarsh83]

I'm guessing you don't have woodchucks (groundhogs) like I do! That gravity feeder would be empty in a day. I had to take to raising the hanging feeder way off the ground (no the chickens can't reach it either) if there was any food left from the night before. The girls can go outside any time they like after I open the barn door in the morning so they are out hunting vegetation and bugs all day anyway. Then the wild birds (who don't eat all that much) and the chucks would come clear out the feeder. So bizarre, the domesticated birds are all out foraging food the wild animals SHOULD be eating and the wild animals come into the barn to eat chicken feed.

Occasionally we have squirrels. I'm sure that we will get more critters visiting once they know chickens are here, but aside from the coyotes in the area, living here for five years, I've never seen a raccoon or a possum. Lucky, but I don't expect it to last.

 

[bruceha2000]

I've heard that people who think they don't have raccoons frequently learn otherwise once the "chicken restaurant" opens.

 

[BBQJOE]

This isn't really an invention, it's just what I came up with for a feeder using junk laying around. I call it R2-D2. The bottom part of the feeder is an old Caddy hub cap. The middle is a large piece of pvc, and the lid is and old wok. It's attached by a pulley so I can raise and lower it.
My problem is that no matter if I fill it with scratch, or crumbles the bees show up by the hundreds making it impossible for the chickens to eat.
I might take it down and make it into a perch/swing.

 

[majortaylor]

Ok, so this isn't a new invention, but I think I've made it a bit better (in my opinion!).
We picked up some Seramas this last week and with the cold nights coming in and they're so tiny, I had to think of a way to keep them warm. We don't have a barn or a garage so it has to be something in the coop. A heat lamp is too hot and I don't like it being exposed where the chicks could burn themselves by mistake.
Welcome the cookie jar ceramic heater!

I've seen these with flower pots, but you have to tape a base on and the wide mouth of the flower pot takes up too much room in the coop.
With this cookie jar ($2 from a thrift store) I took off the knob handle on the top and drilled out the hole for the plug to fit through.
I then threaded the light cord through and taped the top so the light bulb won't fall to the bottom. I am using a 25watt red bulb and it gets plenty warm without being too hot to touch.
The non tapered shape means it won't take up unnecessary space in the coop and the tall shape makes for a more even distribution of heat.
Also, being top loaded rather then the bulb being at the bottom means that where the hens rest up against is never the hottest part of the jar.
It's easy loading and checking of the bulb, rather then having to untape the base every time.

 

[Teila]

I'm guessing you don't have woodchucks (groundhogs) like I do! That gravity feeder would be empty in a day. I had to take to raising the hanging feeder way off the ground (no the chickens can't reach it either) if there was any food left from the night before. The girls can go outside any time they like after I open the barn door in the morning so they are out hunting vegetation and bugs all day anyway. Then the wild birds (who don't eat all that much) and the chucks would come clear out the feeder. So bizarre, the domesticated birds are all out foraging food the wild animals SHOULD be eating and the wild animals come into the barn to eat chicken feed.

Yep, same here .. while we do not have woodchucks, the Turtle Doves would quite happily wander into the coop while the girls are free ranging and steal food. Not to mention the Crows who have no qualms stealing eggs if they can get to them.

I put enough organic coarse grain layer mix and whatever the treat of the day is in the covered run in the morning and when the time comes for afternoon free range, have to remove any trace of food or it would be stolen.

I love the line “So bizarre, the domesticated birds are all out foraging food the wild animals SHOULD be eating and the wild animals come into the barn to eat chicken feed.”. So true, at 4pm here it is like a shift change, domesticated critters out, wild critters in

 

[bruceha2000]

This isn't really an invention, it's just what I came up with for a feeder using junk laying around. I call it R2-D2. The bottom part of the feeder is an old Caddy hub cap. The middle is a large piece of pvc, and the lid is and old wok. It's attached by a pulley so I can raise and lower it.
My problem is that no matter if I fill it with scratch, or crumbles the bees show up by the hundreds making it impossible for the chickens to eat.
I might take it down and make it into a perch/swing.

Love it! And yes it is an invention. You didn't buy it or get the plans from somewhere else. Great reuse and repurposing though that is one BIG piece of PVC, I don't suppose most of us would have something like that lying around

That hubcap looks like it was made for the purpose, nice deep trough all the way around.

How weird that the bees come to the chicken feed, I wouldn't have guessed there would be anything even remotely interesting about it to them.

 

[Chipper Chicken]

Yep, same here .. while we do not have woodchucks, the Turtle Doves would quite happily wander into the coop while the girls are free ranging and steal food. Not to mention the Crows who have no qualms stealing eggs if they can get to them. I put enough organic coarse grain layer mix and whatever the treat of the day is in the covered run in the morning and when the time comes for afternoon free range, have to remove any trace of food or it would be stolen. I love the line “So bizarre, the domesticated birds are all out foraging food the wild animals SHOULD be eating and the wild animals come into the barn to eat chicken feed. ”. So true, at 4pm here it is like a shift change, domesticated critters out, wild critters in

It just occurred to me that the plastic "curtains" that some people train their chickens to go through (pop door) to keep out the cold wind in winter might have a year round benefit of keeping out doves and crows etc? Just a thought....

 

[COChix]

I'm working on one!  Got to find a way to keep the horizontal nipples from freezing on the bucket this year.

Do you have a preference for the vertical nipples over horizontal? We used a K & H 250w bucket heater in 5 gallon plastic buckets with horizontal nipples. Didn't have any issues with freezing nipples, we have our waters in the enclosed run as there is not much room in the coop for water.