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

[EastmanEggs]

I have give or take 100 birds, they go through between 5-10 gallons a day depending on the temps and water wasted, the drum will only last about 5 to 7 days between fills... Either way it will work for smaller flocks as well, it will just last longer, since it's mostly sealed the water stays fresh enough...

I have 45 and also use a 55g drum with nipples. I call it the Smurf Hut... (See pic)

 

[Beekissed]

I remember a time when we used to mow 6 acres of lawn with push mowers. They were cheaper and there were lots of youngin's to push them around. Then it was just Mom and Dad and they still mowed with push mowers. Those folks with riding mowers "had more money than sense and they were missing out on all the good exercise". Now, with Dad gone, we have a riding mower and couldn't imagine being without one, though could still go back to it without too much difficulty, and only have 3 acres to mow now. We pull carts with it, skin deer with it, give grandbabies rides on it

, and even run over to the back of the property on it. Can't imagine being without it now.

I could see a riding vacuum.....I could sweep up grass clippings, leaves, twigs, bugs, you name it....then shoot it all into the coop. Sign me up!

 

[bruceha2000]

Oops. Sorry. Apparently what was meant as a joke wasn't taken that way. My apologies.

You know Blooie, none of us ever really thought you had even the SLIGHTEST bit of humor in you

And right now Ken is gearing up to the do the holiday baking. I don't bake - I hate it. He makes everything from the cookies the kids decorate to his amazing peanut brittle, for which he usually has a long waiting list. Last year he made and mailed out 60 pounds to folks all over the country, in addition to what he hands out locally and to family. I love to cook, he loves to bake. I couldn't take care of granddaughter Kendra without his help.

My wife doesn't cook, never has. 25th anniversary coming up in 3 weeks. She will bake but cook dinner? HAH!

Ok, I will readily admit I am stereotypically described in this conversation.

Raised in a typical Italian household, only son with 3 sisters, I am useless when it comes to typical housework.

I have 3 grown children and have never changed a diaper...

Alone now, don't say it, I know I deserve it.

House is a mess, but I am learning...

Miss Blooie, I laughed also with your comment. You hit the mark describing me...

Necessity is the mother of invention, now designing and building an iRobot Roomba on steroids

Only son, always my mother's FAVORITE son (for obvious reasons), 2 sisters. Parents divorced when I was 11, dad remarried 2 years later and I gained 2 step sisters. Even the dogs and cats were mostly female.

Got married, have 2 "kidult" daughters. Took leave from work and stayed home with the first one from age 1 to 2 when the second was born. Changed, washed, dried and folded LOTS of diapers. Leave policies changed at work so wife went permanent part time when kid 2 was a year old. She went in to work at 5, I dropped the girls at the preschool, she picked them up at noon. I did the grocery shopping on the way home from work and then, well, see the prior post

I was reading the latest Consumer Reports "gifts" article to wife and DD1 the other day. Some are just too far out there. Like the $450 robot vacuum. Wife thinks she wants one to vacuum the kitchen

I'm thinking NOT! Maybe Ron can send me a beta version of his iRR

We will fully test it on bare floors (some so old a drunken sailor would think s/he was walking on level ground) and lots of cat and people fur of various lengths.

BTW, wife came with a jigsaw, but generally speaking, yes, I do all the power tool work. Did manage to convince DD2 that she could mow the lawn. She was OK with that because pushing a pedal while steering and listening to music on her iPod wasn't exactly a lot of work. Said it was easier than the push reel mower at the prior house (see response to Bee below to see just how taxing THAT was). Now if ANY of my "girls" wanted to learn to use the power tools, I'd be just fine with that. But I've not seen a line at the shop door, other than inquisitive chickens.

I remember a time when we used to mow 6 acres of lawn with push mowers. They were cheaper and there were lots of youngin's to push them around. Then it was just Mom and Dad and they still mowed with push mowers. Those folks with riding mowers "had more money than sense and they were missing out on all the good exercise". Now, with Dad gone, we have a riding mower and couldn't imagine being without one, though could still go back to it without too much difficulty, and only have 3 acres to mow now. We pull carts with it, skin deer with it, give grandbabies rides on it

, and even run over to the back of the property on it. Can't imagine being without it now.

I could see a riding vacuum.....I could sweep up grass clippings, leaves, twigs, bugs, you name it....then shoot it all into the coop. Sign me up!

Are you talking reel mowers or gasoline powered push mowers? Because if it is the former, I bow deeply to the power of your genetics! Prior house had a strip of grass between the fence and the road, 5' of grass one each side of the house and a 20'x30' back yard. A power mower would just be stupid. But no letting the grass get tall, reel mowers don't do "tall" or "seed stalks" real well. I can't imagine mowing 3 to 5 acres with a human powered reel mower.

 

[Beekissed]

We've used those before!!!

But, no, mostly gas powered push mowers. No superior genes here, just homesteading on the cheap and a lot of kids to keep busy.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Anyone who knows Blooie's writing at all knows how clever and nuanced she is, and how that shows up in her sense of humor. To me the joke about the riding vacuum pokes gentle fun at both sides of the stereotype.

Around here I like to say "Dad hasn't figured out where we keep the water yet." In reality, he does all the dishes and I am the more mechanical one. Neither of us vacuums much.

One of the things I like the most about having the chickens is figuring out how to set things up around the coop and building things. That's why I like this thread.

 

[LittleLakePhil]

Well, since I am a Navy wife I think in 26 years I managed to figure out that the typical (back then) role playing had no place in our lives.  I had to be able to change a diaper and change the oil - usually in the same hour.  I had to be able to either troubleshoot appliances or get royally shafted by repair people who had no issue taking advantage of knowing I was stuck without a man around to oversee.  I can put dinner in the crock pot before dawn, grab my .50 cal muzzle loader and head up on top of the Big Horns for a day of hunting - alone. I can find it, I can shoot it, I can tag it, I can gut it, I can drag it, I can load it, I can hang it, I can skin it, I can butcher it, I can cook it, I can eat it and I can do the dishes afterwards.  I had to teach our son the rudiments of baseball so he could try out for a team, and be able to drop everything and take him fishing.  

It was a joke.  No more, no less.  But a lot more is being read into it than is necessary.  If I could delete it I would.

Hey Blooie your alright with me....I'm getting ready to go deer hunting I could really use some help with all that stuff that comes after shooting....lol....stay yourself...Phil

 

[Teila]

@Blooie Yep, please stay yourself .. I love reading your posts and totally get your sense of humour

 

[Beekissed]

Placed a diversion tunnel on the back pop door today to keep out the new pup...been stealing all my eggs. Used the top half of an large, old cat carrier and reduced the pop door hole as well.







I'll extend the tunnel or place another corner in it if this doesn't work....he'll have to do some real squirming to get into the coop in this but I wouldn't put anything past him. He's pretty snaky still at 4 mo. of age.

 

[woody1]

I remember a time when we used to mow 6 acres of lawn with push mowers. They were cheaper and there were lots of youngin's to push them around. Then it was just Mom and Dad and they still mowed with push mowers. Those folks with riding mowers "had more money than sense and they were missing out on all the good exercise". Now, with Dad gone, we have a riding mower and couldn't imagine being without one, though could still go back to it without too much difficulty, and only have 3 acres to mow now. We pull carts with it, skin deer with it, give grandbabies rides on it

, and even run over to the back of the property on it. Can't imagine being without it now.

I could see a riding vacuum.....I could sweep up grass clippings, leaves, twigs, bugs, you name it....then shoot it all into the coop. Sign me up!

If I may be so bold as to inquire, what kind of riding mower do you have? We have one but I don't like it much. Hydrostatic drive doesn't do much for me, it's too low to be much use in a pasture type situation. Although it's supposed to cut up to 6" it actually tops out at about 2 + it doesn't seem to have much power. Regards, Woody

 

[Beekissed]

If I may be so bold as to inquire, what kind of riding mower do you have? We have one but I don't like it much. Hydrostatic drive doesn't do much for me, it's too low to be much use in a pasture type situation. Although it's supposed to cut up to 6" it actually tops out at about 2 + it doesn't seem to have much power. Regards, Woody

Just a mid-sized Troy Bilt mower, the Bronco, from Lowe's...no big thing but Mom sure likes it...she does most of the mowing around here, as she just loves to mow. A bit too loud, though...you'd think they could put a better muffler on those things.