I'm Lazy - Low maintenance ideas

[Arielle]

Hens really do prefer a nestbox that is quiet and dark. At least mine search for the darkest places to lay!

I'm willing to try pads at this point instead of straw and shavings. QUicker and easier to clean after a hen has poo'ed.

We use a sliding pop door that locks into place: unlock, lift up and place against wall. I check on the girls before locking up-- all in, no one still lingering out side.

Roosts: the wider the boards the better. 3 1/2 inches across usually the preferred roosts. A few go for the 3/4" supports. Go figure!


No set up is perfect; do what works for you and be willing to alter it if necessary. GL

 

[steinway]

Quote:
Your nesting box comment - I saw some people put the inexpensive plastic dish pans in the boxes. I was thinking about doing something like that. My horse stall has built in wood boxes that I assumed was for feed - I was thinking about using those for the nesting boxes and putting the dish pans in there if I can find one the same size. Not sure if it will work for you or I.

Timer - I do have electricity so I am thinking about the timer to try to make the laying season last longer (14 hours of light I thought I read somewhere).

Rain barrel - there were a couple of good ones - this is one of them https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=290206&p=2

Thanks for responding

 

[SteveBaz]

Put your pellet feeder in a pan. No loss, No Clean-up, No loss.

 

[Patricia Jane]

Quote:
Do you need poop boards AND DLM? Seems like the DLM would solve that problem.

Yes I do both. For me it helps keep the coop cleaner, have no smell and keeps the flys away. It only takes a few min to clean. Some people prefer to use them some don't.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Quote:
Great idea Steve! First time I've seen this. How come I couldn't think of this? LOL

 

[Ole rooster]

Lazy huh? Must be the government schools now a days. I would say stay away from being a chicken tender. I think your chickens would be in for a very hard life which is hard enough in good times with working folks. Chickens are not low maintance creatures. Not if they are cooped up.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
Great idea Steve! First time I've seen this. How come I couldn't think of this? LOL

What about when it rains?

It can come down without warning around here!

I try not to fill my feeder too full.. That way I lose very little, if at all. They will usually eat what gets wet within the same day.

 

[canesisters]

Quote:
Like you, I'm not planning to get my first hens till spring. Hoping to work on things and be ready for them by then. You might want to do a search under the feeding and watering your flock section. There have been some pretty amazing things built with PVC.
Be sure that you wrap the inside of that stall with ratwire/hardware cloth. I have 2 spare stalls that I briefly considered using as a coop. It would've solved a lot of problems but I've seen too many signs of predators out there. I'm planning to set up a small coop and run near the house, inside the fenced yard. That way, when the girls are out in their yard, the dogs are also out - I feel this will deter MOST walking chicken eaters (coons, rats, foxes, etc.)

 

[TN_BIRD]

Quote:
1. I simply lay some newspaper on the ground below their roost. Seems chickens will sleep/roost in the same place each night and >80% of the poop falls in the same place (on the newspaper).
2. We have a store bought hanging waterer. The hardest part is deciding if I want to fill it all the way up and lift a heavy waterer once a week or fill it up about half way and lift a lighter waterer twice a week.

The rain barrel idea could be even less labor intensive during the warm months, but would require some effort on the front end.
3. Feeders are simpler than waterers because the feeders don't need to be water tight. As with the waterer, I'd recommend hanging the feeder.
4. For weeks, my chickens didn't have anything in their nesting boxes. One of our birds likes to lay eggs in the sand in the corner of the hen house, so maybe sand would work?
5. I like having a small feeding door so I don't have to walk in to the coop to feed the birds (sorta like the inmates at the state prison

).

 

[Kaitie09]

Quote:
Check out a treadle feeder like the one in my sig below. It wasn't that hard to make, and I fill it with about 20kg of feed and it lasts ages and stays bug and rodent free.

I made one of these, except about 3 times as big. It can hold 50lbs of feed at one time. I only have to refill it about once ever 2 weeks. I used scap wood we had lying around, so it was free!