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

[loveourbirds]

make the door latch when it closes, in a way that only a human can open it. you would still have to open it in the morning though.

 

[dennisthe]

I love this thread cool ideas

 

[bjones1128]

Phew! I just went through all 68 pages of this thread... let's keep those ideas coming!

 

[outdooraholic]

Ill be honest I've only gotten to page 43...but heres my feeder and waterer

Feeder (idea inspired from youtube)
- Free kitty litter bucket (friends/relatives/craigslist), have also been told you can go to any big box store/grocery store that has a bakery and they give away icing buckets for free as well. But the 3/4 lid on the litter bucket makes for easy filling without removal from the coop.
- 4" PVC elbow (trimmed to not be so "deep")
- 4" PVC collar
- wood screws (large rivets/bolts might be better, but the screws work just fine)
- water tight, and holds a months worth of food for my 2 hens
- total cost approx $10

Waterer
- 1gallon Gatorade jug (thick for durability, wide mouth to insert aquarium heater in winter, and clear to see water level)
- screw in chicken nipple (offset to allow setting it down on the edge of a table to fill)
- bailing wire to hang it
- aquarium heater (optional $15) plugged into thermocube ($10)
- total cost approx $8 w/o heater







(peanut container cut in half and screwed down for oyster shell) wetspot from temporary tilted waterer held up with zipties

 

[Stumpy]

Interesting feeder. I like that!

 

[renardsubtil]

Had anyone considered using an electromagnet on the roost to help keep the chickens warm at night?

I have a few cheapy lawn solar lights sitting around on my garage shelf and I recalled an old science experiment a long time ago that involved wrapping some cooper wire around a nail to use as a magnet - one of the side effects was that the combination tended to heat up. I was thinking about getting some insulated wire and wrapping it around the long nail I can find and then wiring this up to a solar light (it would turn on in the evening when the chickens go to roost and off during the day).

Is this a totally daft idea or would it be feasible?

 

[perchie.girl]

Had anyone considered using an electromagnet on the roost to help keep the chickens warm at night?

I have a few cheapy lawn solar lights sitting around on my garage shelf and I recalled an old science experiment a long time ago that involved wrapping some cooper wire around a nail to use as a magnet - one of the side effects was that the combination tended to heat up. I was thinking about getting some insulated wire and wrapping it around the long nail I can find and then wiring this up to a solar light (it would turn on in the evening when the chickens go to roost and off during the day).

Is this a totally daft idea or would it be feasible?

Feasible: Youd need to attach it to a Rheostat of some sort to control the voltage so it wouldnt get too hot. Also there are products out there already that would do the same function. though both would have to be covered so no bare feet on bare heater..... Even twelve volts can be dangerous.... That's what they use in a Tazer.

But in the long term I don't think it would be good for the chickens. Give them a nice wide perch to hunker down on at night so they can cover their feet with feathers. A solid hen house good ventilation they are good to several degrees below zero without having to have an artificial heat source. What this does for them is keep them adjusted to the climate where they live and keeps their immune system on the ball.

I have the opposite at my place where the climate is High desert. I dont have but two solid walls on my Coop the rest is wire. The roof is a tent structure designed to shed water (when it does rain and snow) My perches are 2 x 4 laid flat. It gets to be below freezing at night during the colder months. Everyone is healthy and happy. Though two of my Roos lost a tip on their combs to frost bite.

deb

 

[buzzer]

Ii make these scoops, got tired of buying and loosing or mowing them over

 

[Bens-Hens]

I make similar scoops from milk cartons, I learnt it from this very thread too!



Bedding, feed and I have another one I drilled holes into to use as a poop scoop in the coop. (We use sand under the roosts) Works a treat and is disposable once it has lived it's second life.

 

[buzzer]

I like your too, I use the Clorox bottles for dog food.....