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

[Minflick]

LindaB,

It's not so much that it's open, as it's beneath an old oak tree to the north, and next too a small cluster of redwoods to the south, and there's very little that grows right where the coop and run are, which is WHY they're where they are. Nothing needed to be moved. Our lot is just under 0.25 acre! Our fenced in back yard is tiny... And outside the fence is vertical hillside down to a creek. Unless I a) planted RIGHTNEXT to the neighbors house (they built ON the lot line), or b) dug up and moved a lot of plantings in my yard, or c) put the coop on the cement pad where my laundry lines are now - I pretty much put the coop in the only open ground I had left!

Melinda

 

[LindaB220]

LindaB,

It's not so much that it's open, as it's beneath an old oak tree to the north, and next too a small cluster of redwoods to the south, and there's very little that grows right where the coop and run are, which is WHY they're where they are. Nothing needed to be moved. Our lot is just under 0.25 acre! Our fenced in back yard is tiny... And outside the fence is vertical hillside down to a creek. Unless I a) planted RIGHTNEXT to the neighbors house (they built ON the lot line), or b) dug up and moved a lot of plantings in my yard, or c) put the coop on the cement pad where my laundry lines are now - I pretty much put the coop in the only open ground I had left!

Melinda

"Nevah the less."

It may be in a small place but it looks great and your birds will love it.

 

[Minflick]

Thenk youuuuu, thenk you verrry mush!

 

[PrimroseMom1]

 

Better post a photo!  

Here's the sign I made from Deb's drawing.

 

[bruceha2000]

Or then I could find the time to pick it apart and see what the problem is.

Felix - what you will find is that IT IS A DEADLY PIECE OF CRAJUNK!

My advice is to SCRAP that Finn killing piece of Chinese junk! The Chinese make good food. They make good clothes. They make CHEAP but acceptable tools as long as they are not motorized and you don't need "that" tool often enough to buy one of good quality. I wouldn't trust that chainsaw not to take you from this earth. Cheap parts put together fast.

PLEASE do not risk your appendages and/or life with it. I will thank you and so will your lovely wife!

 

[vehve]

Bruce, you might be right.

I don't know if this falls within the range of DIY inventions, but here's one use for corrugated plastic:









I also put in the water heater today. Hasn't been cold enough to need it yet, so I can't report on how it's working, but it seems pretty handy. It's a self regulating water pipe frost guard cable thingy.

My phone ran out of juice before I had it installed, so no pics of the finished product, but someone with a handy way of thinking probably gets the general idea. I sunk the cable into the waterer, where it will hopefully be enough to keep both the water and the horizontal nipples from freezing. I'm not a big fan of the horizontal nipples, but I thought they would be better if the water does freeze, as they are installed in the same direction as the pulling motion to get the ice out would be.

 

[bruceha2000]

Bruce, you might be right.

I don't know if this falls within the range of DIY inventions, but here's one use for corrugated plastic:









I also put in the water heater today. Hasn't been cold enough to need it yet, so I can't report on how it's working, but it seems pretty handy. It's a self regulating water pipe frost guard cable thingy.

My phone ran out of juice before I had it installed, so no pics of the finished product, but someone with a handy way of thinking probably gets the general idea. I sunk the cable into the waterer, where it will hopefully be enough to keep both the water and the horizontal nipples from freezing. I'm not a big fan of the horizontal nipples, but I thought they would be better if the water does freeze, as they are installed in the same direction as the pulling motion to get the ice out would be.

I bet the chickens like their wind free sunlit run!

I have my snow rail parts, They will 24' (7.3m) long made up from 8' (2.4 m) joined sections. Got the 1/4" air ratchet from Amazon yesterday and the chicken ladder (*) a couple of weeks ago. Now I need to get whatever socket and hex bit I need to install the clamps. Then get myself (and gumption) up on the roof. I have to have two sets, one 4.5' (137 cm) higher than the lower one over the bearing wall. Going to be interesting making sure they are nice and straight so the pipes run through. My roof is the same color as yours. Maybe I should paint the rails and brackets to match because yours look nice. Mine are shiny aluminum at the moment.

You will probably be OK with your heated water plan. How cold does it get? I think the problem I had with my nipples freezing was because I have the saddle nipples and there is a fair distance from where the pin exits the body of the device and the water pipe. Too much surface area for the frigid air to attack. Mine were OK to about 15F (-9.5C) air temp with the circulation water temp being 70F (21C). Plus the "quicky" 2 nipple pipe wasn't insulated at all so I'm sure the water cooled as it came down from the source. The insulated setup in the nest box floor worked fine the whole first winter. Only the pin and very tip of the body stick out under the plywood. I've replaced the failed nipples so hopefully I won't need to be having a heat lamp over a 1 gallon plastic waterer again this winter. Pretty expensive at 250W/hr.

(*) I have NO idea why it is called a chicken ladder, it has nothing to do with chickens whatsoever.

 

[vehve]

I have a bucket waterer, so no thin pipes to freeze. No circulation either though, so we'll see. Temperaturewise, it gets a bit colder here. I think -10 C is pretty much the norm, but we do jump between -20C and 0C. I see you're switching to metric, that's good. None of those evil imperial units

Those snow rails will make your roof safer, no snow falling on top of you when slamming a door shut behind you. I think painting them is a good idea, they blend in very nicely. Could you put the pipe in place while installing the holders? That way they would be straight. Just a thought.

 

[evemfoster]

I have a bucket waterer, so no thin pipes to freeze. No circulation either though, so we'll see. Temperaturewise, it gets a bit colder here. I think -10 C is pretty much the norm, but we do jump between -20C and 0C. I see you're switching to metric, that's good. None of those evil imperial units

Those snow rails will make your roof safer, no snow falling on top of you when slamming a door shut behind you. I think painting them is a good idea, they blend in very nicely. Could you put the pipe in place while installing the holders? That way they would be straight. Just a thought.

Your temperatures are are much like mine although normally the day time high stays below -20F -30C all the way through January.

I was speaking to a neighbor down the road about waterers in the winter and she said she hangs a Aquarium heater for a very small fish bowl and a tiny table fountain pump from the inside of the lid of her bucket. The fish bowl heater is 14 watts and the fountain pump is about 4 watts. Also you need to turn the heater down all the way so you use even less power.

She plugs them both into a temperature regulated plug that turns off when the air temperature rises. I bought this plug. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006U2HD2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bruceha2000]

No, you are warmer than we are. My uninsulated "emergency" system worked to about -9.5C, BELOW that, I had to have a heat lamp on the 1 gallon (3.8 L) waterer. -9.5C is a warm day in January and February here. In fact -8C would be the average for the month of January. Plenty of days at or below -17.7C, -23C not at all uncommon and -28C is usually seen at least once a winter (where I live). I expect your 19 liters of heated water will work well for your temps. You don't need a circulation system. But I would suggest you figure out a way to insulate the bucket if you haven't already done so. Remembering, of course, that chickens LOVE to peck at rigid insulation.

I try to include metric for those of you in countries more intelligent that the USA

I have to go to a conversion program to do it. We were SUPPOSED to convert way back in the '70s. No light at the end of that tunnel. We don't have the brains to have Single Payer health care like the rest of the civilized world either.

I'll have to see if I can get to the set screws that attach the brackets to the seams of the roof with the rails attached. The rails go through a separate bracket that bolts into the one that clamps to the seams. I can bolt those 2 together before I get up on the roof. At the very least, I think I'll have to set the whole thing up piece by piece with the set screws lightly tightened then put the rails in to get it all lined up. And I won't be able to reach more than a couple of brackets at a time. Though IF i can get to the set screws with even the upper rail attached, and figure out how to get it up on the roof in one piece, that would sure make it easier to get it all lined up. If that WOULD work, I have to see if the chicken ladder rungs are high enough to be over the rails.

I don't actually think it is going to be a lot of fun putting in those upper rails. The lower ones will be a lot easier since I can do them from a ladder on the deck. I asked if I could put in the lower rails first and use them for support when I put in the upper brackets. The answer was an unequivocal "No". Seemed like a good idea to me given how much weight they have to hold back. Oh well.