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

[Hawgon]

I think white would just be an algae garden after a short time. I read on different post about adding ACV to the water to help cut down on algae as well as adding ice cubes to it in the summer to help keep it cool....I will see how it works and adjust as necessary once the chickens are in there and the weather gets better here(Yeah right).....I will keep the thread updated as I make changes or adjust and I love this thread for its feedback and ideas....Awesome......Following is my nipple waterer for the brooder I made with some of the extra pvc and stuff around the garage.....Turned out better than planned and just need to clean it up so it looks nice now..Here are a few pics....The resevoir is a planter from Home Depot with a tray under it and on top to keep stuff out of it....Seems to hold over a gallon of water and used a bulkhead fitting to connect to the 3/4" pvc and no leaks...not even a drop.....Took chicks a day or 2 to figure it out but now they all are using it fine....I should have spread the nipples out farther as it is kinda tight for 2 or more chickens on it at once.....Love the nipples...First time trying em and very easy....Got tired of cleaning that waterer out all the time....Can you take the nipples out and reuse them? Thanks all.....

 

[SouthDakotan]

This is my rain-water collection system under construction.. This will feed my nipple watering system inside the coop. I plan on having removeable couplings so I can take it apart for cleaning and such. So far in testing it catches alot of water and I have several screens for filtering debris out and the water looks great. I wll post more pics as updated. Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated....

Nice idea! How big is that collection barrel?

 

[SouthDakotan]

This is the counter balance I built for my nest box lid. They get heavy if you shingle them. The white pvc pipe on the right is the weight and is filled with cement. I got lucky with my guess on size for this. When you lift the lid is stays where ever you put it!

Notice the cable that goes from the middle of the lid straight up to a pulley, then right to another pulley and then down to the large cement filled pvc weight. The weight is also on a guide wire the runs top to bottom on the right hand corner to keep it from swinging. If any one wants more detailed pics I have them.

With it being heavier, I could see how coons wouldn't be able to open it. Question with the lid having the counter balance, have you had any issue with critters opening it up? OR is it still heavy enough to prevent little fingers of critters getting it open (thinking of raccoons mainly)?

 

[Hawgon]

15 gal's....Thinking about building a cedar cover for it so it will match the rest of the coop and run.....waiting for it to quit raining and dry up a bit so I can glue the fittings together..lol.....Been doing lots of testing though with the grand-daughters wanting to watch the water come out of the pipes everyday....Anxious to see if the chickens will like it in a couple of weeks(They are only 4 weeks old now)...

 

[SouthDakotan]

This is one of my waterers. I put 12 nipples on the bottom of the tote. It is supported by heavy duty shelf brackets that also make it adjustable. It holds about 14 gallons of water. Right now I have two aquarium heaters on the bottom of the waterer to keep the water from freezing. By being on the bottom over the nipples, the heaters keep several nipples from freezing also. The plywood over the top is screwed on to the wall with hinges. The plywood cover keeps the birds from sitting on top of the waterer. I wasn't sure if this type of tote would be strong enough with the water inside, but it is working great. One nice thing, is that I don't have to take the lid off to check the water level. This is a pretty dusty coop, and the lid seals well enough, even with the cords coming out to keep the water nice and clean.

I love the idea! Question. You mention freezing. How cold are your winters? I'm in South Dakota and freezing for me is as in SOLID 55 gal barrel frozen, if the livestock heater starts to "give out" but is still warm. Same goes for using heated dog dishes. So I'm thinking a storage tank system with one or two livestock heaters (one floating and one sinking heater) might work. But I don't want the birds to be able to foul up the water. So a closed system with nipples like this might be a solution. Its given me some inspiration!

 

[Hawgon]

I love the idea! Question. You mention freezing. How cold are your winters? I'm in South Dakota and freezing for me is as in SOLID 55 gal barrel frozen, if the livestock heater starts to "give out" but is still warm. Same goes for using heated dog dishes. So I'm thinking a storage tank system with one or two livestock heaters (one floating and one sinking heater) might work. But I don't want the birds to be able to foul up the water. So a closed system with nipples like this might be a solution. Its given me some inspiration!

Cold here is 20's or so for more than 2 days...lol.......The tank is 15 gal's and I dont think it will get cold enough here to freeze it solid by any means...Not familiar with any type of livestock heaters so I will do some research on that, so thank you for the inspiration...Let me know what you come up with....

 

[Dukeofhawg]

Love your coop Hawgon! Great thinking!

 

[DadOfFour]

15 gal's....Thinking about building a cedar cover for it so it will match the rest of the coop and run.....waiting for it to quit raining and dry up a bit so I can glue the fittings together..lol.....Been doing lots of testing though with the grand-daughters wanting to watch the water come out of the pipes everyday....Anxious to see if the chickens will like it in a couple of weeks(They are only 4 weeks old now)...

Ok, maybe a dumb question, but how does the color of the barrel affect algae growth?

I would DEFINITELY build a cover over that barrel cause there's not enough ice in your freezer to keep the water cool enough to drink all summer lol

 

[Hawgon]

Ok, maybe a dumb question, but how does the color of the barrel affect algae growth?

I would DEFINITELY build a cover over that barrel cause there's not enough ice in your freezer to keep the water cool enough to drink all summer lol

Agreed on the ice..lol....I think it has to do with the amount of light that gets to the water.....

 

[DadOfFour]

Agreed on the ice..lol....I think it has to do with the amount of light that gets to the water.....

If that's the case, a silver reflective paint (while maybe not the most eye appealing) would fix the overheat issues as well as the algae issue. Or just build a "box" around the thing to keep the sun out of it, but a black barrel will get your water super hot if there's allot of sun exposure.