Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[TillyPeeps]

I've got a question for those of you who fancy yourselves as extension cord experts....or anybody with an opinion on the matter. I don't have electricity going to any of my three coops. For 3 seasons....not a problem......for winter time.....problem. I've got a bunch of those orange extension cords that everybody seems to have. I've got electricity down at the garage, the closest building with electricity. I had planned on buying heated water bowls (the kind that dhetzel has in his pic above) so they have been planned into the budget. My question is this. Would the orange extension cord be ok to run from the garage up to the coops? Both connections/ends of the cords would be under a roof. The rest of the cord would be in a very low traffic area. Thoughts?

I think the extension cord should work. We had it for outdoor insect killers for the entire summer. We also used a 100ft 12 gauge one for our snow blower last winter.

I plan to use this heater from amazon for our water bucket with nipples:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I just don't want chickens poop in water bowl.

 

[TillyPeeps]

Haha, is it worth firing up (or in your case, just replugging it back in

) the baton for a few eggs?
I use and iPad, and I love it. It does force you to jog read, but I feel that the software is better than Android. We like the Windows tablets around here too, but I understand no everyone does.

. Try not to get the cheapest one, that is the biggest mistake we see in our computer shop with people buying electronics.
Me too! I can't wait till I have room for a couple... Or a few....

Welcome to the fun!
The treatment is to buy a bigger property with more outdoor housing for livestock.

They're gorgeous! If only I had the room... What an ususual problem, to have too many pullets!

Yes, we always need more room. I just didn't know chicken math would get me so badly.

Look at those gorgeous birds, I feel I really need a few more, and more.

 

[Chaos18]

The orange cords come in different diameters, if yours is thick enough to handle the load you are putting on it, then no problem. I would use the thickest one you have that will do the entire length in a single run. If you can find the gauge on a label or etched into the plastic ends, you can lookup the wattage rating for that gauge and see if it is more than the sum of your bowls and lights.

If you use the "redneck method" (plug it all in while holding the cable to see if it feels too hot), keep in mind that the water bowls have thermostats and don't draw current until the water in the bowl gets pretty cold, so it might seem ok, then overload on a cold night when the heaters all kick on at the same time.

I will have to see if any of my cords have the gauge or wattage on them. It shouldn't be a problem making the run in a single cord to the first coop. Although I will need additional cords to reach the other coops. I don't have any lights for them. Do you know what the wattage of the bowls is offhand? I've always been a big fan of doing things the "redneck method" but if the bowls are thermostatically controlled it might be kinda hard.

I think the extension cord should work. We had it for outdoor insect killers for the entire summer. We also used a 100ft 12 gauge one for our snow blower last winter.

I plan to use this heater from amazon for our water bucket with nipples:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rue&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I just don't want chickens poop in water bowl.

Yea I might go with something like this as well as my one coop currently utilizes a nipple bucket.

 

[TillyPeeps]

I will have to see if any of my cords have the gauge or wattage on them. It shouldn't be a problem making the run in a single cord to the first coop. Although I will need additional cords to reach the other coops. I don't have any lights for them. Do you know what the wattage of the bowls is offhand? I've always been a big fan of doing things the "redneck method" but if the bowls are thermostatically controlled it might be kinda hard.

Yea I might go with something like this as well as my one coop currently utilizes a nipple bucket.

Our snow blower is 15-amp, so it should be 1650 Watt. The heater I mentioned is 250-Watt, and a water bowl is usually about 25-Watt. If you use a 12 gauge cord, it should be more than enough. The longer the cord, the lower gauge will be needed. If you only need 50ft cord, 14 gauge should be sufficient.

 

[dheltzel]

I will have to see if any of my cords have the gauge or wattage on them. It shouldn't be a problem making the run in a single cord to the first coop. Although I will need additional cords to reach the other coops. I don't have any lights for them. Do you know what the wattage of the bowls is offhand? I've always been a big fan of doing things the "redneck method" but if the bowls are thermostatically controlled it might be kinda hard.

Yea I might go with something like this as well as my one coop currently utilizes a nipple bucket.

My current favorite: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/farm-innovators-round-heated-pet-bowl-6-qt
says it is 60 watts.

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I've got a question for those of you who fancy yourselves as extension cord experts....or anybody with an opinion on the matter. I don't have electricity going to any of my three coops. For 3 seasons....not a problem......for winter time.....problem. I've got a bunch of those orange extension cords that everybody seems to have. I've got electricity down at the garage, the closest building with electricity. I had planned on buying heated water bowls (the kind that dhetzel has in his pic above) so they have been planned into the budget. My question is this. Would the orange extension cord be ok to run from the garage up to the coops? Both connections/ends of the cords would be under a roof. The rest of the cord would be in a very low traffic area. Thoughts?

We ran extension cords to our coop last year to run the heater in our nipple bucket. We used this heater http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...ulti-use-utility-deicer-250-watt?cm_vc=-10005
It only froze on us a couple times on the water nipples but never in the bucket. We used two orange extention cords connected in the middle and we wrapped the connection with electrical tape, plastic wrap and some more electrical tape lol. It was fine. We do have a light in the coop but we have a set of solar panels that power it.

 

[speney]

We ran extension cords to our coop last year to run the heater in our nipple bucket. We used this heater http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...ulti-use-utility-deicer-250-watt?cm_vc=-10005
It only froze on us a couple times on the water nipples but never in the bucket. We used two orange extention cords connected in the middle and we wrapped the connection with electrical tape, plastic wrap and some more electrical tape lol. It was fine. We do have a light in the coop but we have a set of solar panels that power it.

I did the same thing except with out the plastic rap just a whole lot of electrical tape it worked great over winter I didn't have any issues. Also I have a question will cat food hurt chickens and ducks. I have all my feed for all the animals out side in sealed containers but I must not have closed the cat food lid correctly and the ducks and chickens figured it out while I was inside and they ate quite a bit before I heard the ruckus on the back porch will they be ok?

 

[dheltzel]

I did the same thing except with out the plastic rap just a whole lot of electrical tape it worked great over winter I didn't have any issues. Also I have a question will cat food hurt chickens and ducks. I have all my feed for all the animals out side in sealed containers but I must not have closed the cat food lid correctly and the ducks and chickens figured it out while I was inside and they ate quite a bit before I heard the ruckus on the back porch will they be ok?

They are fine with cat food. It might be better for them (higher protein) than their regular feed. It's more expensive, so I wouldn't do it intentionally, but I have fed it to my chickens for a treat.

 

[SilkieSensation]

Missed about 1100 posts. MCC thought I dropped off the face of the earth so I figured I better stop by to let ya know I'm still alive. Things are just really busy around here trying to winterize coops & butcher birds. My freezer is slowly filling.

If anyone is looking to move to southeast Ohio, I'm looking for a roommate. PM me for details if interested.

 

[barbiegirl]

Looks like I will have to sell off half of my chicken flock. My arm isn't getting any better and it is getting harder for me to take care of everyone