Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[scottcaddy]

My hubby is pretty good with electrical stuff and I think next year he'll run an underground extension cord. It's a pretty good distance to the chicken coop from the house. I'm terrible with estimating distances (like, really bad) but I'd say it's probably about 40 yards or so.

For this year, I *think* I'm going to end up visiting the coop twice a day and alternating your standard 1 gallon waterers. I'd like to get some kind of nipple system in eventually. The coop is pretty far from our hose faucet, but I think I can stretch the hose all the way out there, which would make filling it easier.

Maybe a rain barrel?

I just started adding ACV to the water because I hear that helps cut down on the green slime. All summer, I've needed to scrub the waterer pretty often in order to keep it clean.

Plus I want to get the waterer up off the ground...the chickens are kicking sand into it.

Solar power...lol...that would be fantastic. We have a lot of sun, too. $$$$$$$

Good idea, Pig, on slanting the top of the nest boxes. We don't want poop in our eggs. We slanted the top of our gravity feeder, and raised it slightly, and that has eliminated all poop in the food, as well as food scratched all over the place.

Slowly, but surely, we're getting there!!! We've come a long way since June, when we had 8 newly hatched chicks sitting in a brood box in our living room.

Then get some 12 gauge wire from Lowes or such store and just run it along the fence line to your coop. It will work for the winter and not cost much. Make sure to have a plug on the house end like Deb said!


Scott

 

[ozexpat]

Then get some 12 gauge wire from Lowes or such store and just run it along the fence line to your coop. It will work for the winter and not cost much. Make sure to have a plug on the house end like Deb said!


Scott

yeup

and 'tatch it with zip ties n duct tape

(bailing wire was made redundant when god invented zip ties)

seriously the 12g along the fence is fine for a season - if there is a plug on the end that attaches to your house then its not a code violation.

The direct bury stuff - UF-B Underground Feeder Cable, 12/3 AWG, 250 ft - is about $150 for 250 feet

The inside stuff - Romex Cable with Ground, Yellow, 12/2 Awg, 250ft - - is about $100 for 250 feet

I would get the direct bury and just dig the trench when i could

 

[piglett]

yeup

and 'tatch it with zip ties n duct tape

(bailing wire was made redundant when god invented zip ties)

seriously the 12g along the fence is fine for a season - if there is a plug on the end that attaches to your house then its not a code violation.

The direct bury stuff - UF-B Underground Feeder Cable, 12/3 AWG, 250 ft - is about $150 for 250 feet

The inside stuff - Romex Cable with Ground, Yellow, 12/2 Awg, 250ft - - is about $100 for 250 feet

I would get the direct bury and just dig the trench when i could

we ran a 12ga 100 foot cord to our main coop last year
we put a bucket heater inside our 5 gallon water bucket which has 4 nipples in the bottom
looking to get a backhoe for the farm tractor next year
an underground line back to the coop is then on the list



piglett

 

[piglett]

Slowly, but surely, we're getting there!!! We've come a long way since June, when we had 8 newly hatched chicks sitting in a brood box in our living room.

we found out that having either ducks or turkeys in the bathroom quickly makes the house smell like a barn
for some reason baby chicks are not too bad for a couple weeks
then they head to the woodshed brooder
i don't care about a little feather dust out there<img alt=":

 

[perchie.girl]

For what its worth to people unfamiliar with Zip ties there are a few things to know.

They dont last forever. At best one season because they deteriorate in UV.

They have a limit to how much they can support. I use them for temporary enclosures for broodies, travel cage construction, or as a second pair of hands while constructing stuff.

For permanent construction of Cages use Hog clips
For permanent construction of Coop wire Staples are your friend.
For affixing wire to wood if you know there is going to be something heavy trying to get in the best way is Deck screws with washers. Those suckers will withstand constant rubbing from Goats.

I grew up with bailing wire and miss it terribly it had its drawbacks but all was outweighed by the fact that it was free with the hay. Those Baling Twine strings serve many of the same purposes but they too disintegrated in the UV. Though they will last longer than zip ties.

Bailing wire was sixteen gauge and you can find rolls of sixteen gauge galvanized wire in the Heardware store. Look for the stuff that people use to hang Dropped Ceilings. I have several rolls for back up projects. It has the same limitations that Baling Wire has.... It rusts and has to be doubled up for strength in some applications. Like making a simple wire gate.

Part of the wire fence fastened on one side to the fence post then a board for the other side gets stapled on and a wire loop at the bottom and top of the place where you close the gate. Stretch the bottom of the gate to slide into the bottom loop then pull the top loop over the top of the gate. Sounds complicated but they are the most simple gate you can make that will still contain horses and goats.

deb

 

[ozexpat]

For what its worth to people unfamiliar with Zip ties there are a few things to know.

They dont last forever. At best one season because they deteriorate in UV.

They have a limit to how much they can support. I use them for temporary enclosures for broodies, travel cage construction, or as a second pair of hands while constructing stuff.

For permanent construction of Cages use Hog clips
For permanent construction of Coop wire Staples are your friend.
For affixing wire to wood if you know there is going to be something heavy trying to get in the best way is Deck screws with washers. Those suckers will withstand constant rubbing from Goats.

I grew up with bailing wire and miss it terribly it had its drawbacks but all was outweighed by the fact that it was free with the hay. Those Baling Twine strings serve many of the same purposes but they too disintegrated in the UV. Though they will last longer than zip ties.

Bailing wire was sixteen gauge and you can find rolls of sixteen gauge galvanized wire in the Heardware store. Look for the stuff that people use to hang Dropped Ceilings. I have several rolls for back up projects. It has the same limitations that Baling Wire has.... It rusts and has to be doubled up for strength in some applications. Like making a simple wire gate.

Part of the wire fence fastened on one side to the fence post then a board for the other side gets stapled on and a wire loop at the bottom and top of the place where you close the gate. Stretch the bottom of the gate to slide into the bottom loop then pull the top loop over the top of the gate. Sounds complicated but they are the most simple gate you can make that will still contain horses and goats.

deb

baling wire wont last a year where we live and zip ties are definitely not for long term outdoor projects

i guess that leaves duct tape.......................

 

[Sweetpea3829]

Quote:


Yeah, um...our chicks hatched the first week of June and we didn't get them outside to their coop until August.

It.Was.Not.Fun!

What we'll probably do is have the neighbor dig the trench for us with his handy dandy farm thing. It'll have to cut across the property...can't follow the fence line because of the way our property is set up.

We partitioned our coop so that the chickens have 2/3 of the space and the other 1/3 is cut off from them. We keep the extra feed in that side...plus the brood box, the pooper scooper (we're using sand, lol) and the poop pail. Next time we have chicks, they'll likely stay in that brood box outside. Should have electricity run to them by then.

Hoping to add a few BCM to our flock next year.

 

[piglett]

baling wire wont last a year where we live and zip ties are definitely not for long term outdoor projects

i guess that leaves duct tape.......................

 

[lindz8504]

I have an Australope cockerel learning how to crow.... He sounds like a dying turkey.

 

[Bens-Hens]

Hahahahaha

That video is funnier than my rooster learning an egg song!