FREE chicken feed

[dmoffett]

I'm new to raising chickens but I know that they like to eat bugs. The more bugs they have the less feed you have to buy.
I've found a way to collect free chicken food.
You take a squirrel cage blower, a light, and a stocking or tight weave burlap bag.
Attach the stocking or bag on the exhaust of the blower and place the light near the intake of the blower. At dusk turn on the light and blower. The next morning when you get up you will have a stocking full of bugs.
They are attracted by the light, sucked in by the blower and blown into the stocking. You could even put the light and blower on a censor that would turn on at dust and off at light.
FREE chicken food.
Has anyone tried it?

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Never tried it. Sounds like a good bug catcher! By the way, are you related to McGuyver?

 

[debid]

It's not really free if you're powering a blower and light all night (and what is a squirrel cage blower, anyway?) But yes, very clever.

I put my chicks in an outdoor brooder and they lived a semi-nocturnal life catching bugs that were attracted to the heat lamp. It made for some entertaining chick TV!

 

[dmoffett]

Quote:
Most people have an outside light on at night. Why not catch bugs with it. Still cheaper than buying feed.
Leann more about the squirrel cage blower here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_fan
You can buy them on ebay or amazon for less than $75.00.
Set up two and get double the FREE bugs.

 

[dmoffett]

Quote:
We Scottish are a creative people.

 

[kevinhannan]

lol!

I'm impressed! I think I'm going to do this as I have a spare fan somewhere in the attic!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Quote:
We Scottish are a creative people.

 

[dbcooper02]

Nothing new under the sun. Here's one in the 1977 Rodale's Build It Better Yourself book. It was a three page article. Anyone wanting a complete scan of all three pages, pm me with your email address and I'll send you a copy.
db

 

[dmoffett]

Quote:
Send a copy to:
[email protected]


Thank you

 

[curranchickens]

Awesome, I am going to try this!