The Front Porch Swing

[bruceha2000]

We've recently spent more time chasing chickens than I like ...

Yeah, they always seem to give trouble when you least need it! The auto door on my coop is a Pullet-shut. The "programming" is simple and simplistic:
You connect it to the battery then open it with the magnet at the time you want it to open every morning then the same day close it at the time you want it to close. If you want to change it, you disconnect the battery for a few seconds and start over from scratch. You can "force" it to open or close using the magnet, this does not cancel the programming.

Well, one day a few weeks ago I had the doors on both ends of the barn open and the wind was really strong blowing a connector from the door off the battery (*). I reconnected it and closed the door after I put the girls away then the next day set the opening time. Given the current (soon to change!) housing situation, I've been leaving the farm house at 6 PM so I set it to close then. But it is now light much later and the girls are NOT ready to go in at 6 PM. Thus I have to lock the girls in the coop before I go. I would close the chicken door and throw scratch in the coop through the people door, most of the girls would go in after it, most of the others enticed with another toss of scratch. All except Fae (Cubalaya). She figured she could get some hand feeding and wouldn't go in. I would open the door to try to get her in and OF COURSE 3 more would run out thinking they were missing something. And the cycle repeats and repeats with various birds going in or coming out. What should take a minute takes 15! Day after day after day. Her 'sister' Peep is the one that lets me know "NOW is the time to give us BOSS" (morning) or scratch (evening) if I'm not fast enough for her. Squark, squark, squark! Moochers, cuuutttteeee, but MOOCHERS!

I finally ordered the light sensor (it was cheap, I should have just gotten it when I got the door) and hooked it up yesterday. Since I stayed here last night I waited until they went to roost to make sure the door didn't close first. They were all up on the roosts about 7:30 and the door was still open because it gets dark in the coop inside the barn some 10' from a window before it is dark outside. I PRESUME it closed when it got dark outside, should have checked. I got up about 5:15 because I am kind of like a chicken, wake with the light. I went down at 5:30 and the door was open but it was still dark in the coop and the girls were all on the roosts (except Clemence who was in a nest and I think is going broody AGAIN! Stupid Faverolles). So now I can go back to just shutting them in the barn when I want to, knowing that the girls will be in the coop when the door closes. Plus, it won't need "programming" as the amount of light changes through the seasons.

(*) The NORMAL battery one would use comes from the Pullet-shut people and the push on connectors would NOT have come off in the wind. But there was no power at the barn last summer due to the house re-construction so I couldn't use the AC charger version and I wasn't SURE I had enough sunlight every day (most likely do) to use the solar charger version so I connected two 6V lantern batteries in series to get 12V and just pushed the connectors on to the spiral wire on top of the batteries. Kinda loosey goosey but it works, well until 2 weeks ago. I modified my setup by making 2 little jumpers that had the proper male connector to match the female on the wire that goes to the door on one end and an alligator clip on the other so the connections are tight now. I could have gotten either of the "official" batteries and chargers when I ordered the light sensor but that would be an additional $45-$50 plus $10 more for shipping and I had just gotten the NEW 6Vs so I figure I don't need to spend the money at this time. This door doesn't use much juice. The first pair of batteries (not even new, took them out of a 4 battery fluorescent lantern) lasted from May to November, the second set (from the same 4) until mid April.

Bruce

 

[bruceha2000]

Careful with those artificial sweeteners though. I've heard aspartame can wreak havoc with your immune system.

Or for my older daughter and me - wicked migraines. Don't even need to OD on it, any amount is instant "go to bed, stay in the dark and quiet, worthless for the next 24 hours or more". I'm sure we are not alone in this.

Bruce

 

[TexasLisa]

WELCOME HOME BLOOIE!! Here is your bucket! Come take a rest and sit a while.



Lisa

 

[LBejaran]

You could go ahead and just ferment your feed, get more benefit from it in that way and also save on feed. You can have a single trough for feeding all the birds so you just have a single dip out each day and one waterer for all. Birds of all sizes can eat from a feed trough. A nipple bucket can serve for all ages as well with some adjustment to the area below it.

All ways of making it more simple and efficient and so someone else can do it easily in your absence.

I don't know why but the two times I've attempted to ferment feed, it has a really awful smell to it a day after I place everything in the bucket. I know the feed doesn't have fish or meat by-products (some people said that could cause the smell to be off-putting) but it does start to reek after more than a day. There is none of that sweet sourdough-y smell that I've heard about. On the first day, when the feed didn't smell so bad, I fed it to the birds and it was fine, but I didn't feel comfortable giving them the rotten-smelling feed, so I didn't. They got it anyway, though, because when spilling it out, I was flown at by the birds. They were quite happy with it, but I've seen birds quite happy to eat trash.

I have water buckets all over the yard and just fill as needed. I need to have them out there, anyway, because the birds share water with the dogs. It gets so hot down here; I'd be crazy not to have plenty of water buckets out for the animals. I guess that's also another reason I don't use the water-nipple system. It just seems like an extra thing to do when I already have to fill up the buckets.

Am I turning stubborn? Maybe that's why I'm not really interested in change, haha! When Dad and I went to go pick up those Muscovy hatching eggs in Natalia, TX, we saw the water-nipple system they had for the chicks (elevated bucket that connected to a PVC pipe that went through all the small cages that were lined up. A single pipe watered at least ten feet of cages), he was so impressed and wanted to put it in all the coops. I admitted it was good but not so much for the main coop where no one really hung out. But then again, Dad does things without even telling me, so we'll see how it goes. I personally just don't see it being of any use for the larger birds considering they are almost never locked up in the coop other than at night.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Everybody's avatar is a photo. Ibejaran's avatar is a MOVING photo! How can I get out of that generic BYC avatar?

 

[KrazyKooKooKim]

Settings & change your pic, You can upload pics to your profile

Hello Front Porch Swingers

........New to the feed & a Beginner Chick Lover or Beginner Chick Momma

, we've had ours for about 2 months now. They are so much fun to watch

 

[LBejaran]

Settings & change your pic, You can upload pics to your profile

Hello Front Porch Swingers

........New to the feed & a Beginner Chick Lover or Beginner Chick Momma

, we've had ours for about 2 months now. They are so much fun to watch

Woot! Glad to have you here at the Front Porch! Pull up a chair and share a story with us. I love it when chicks are in that cute stage, but I'll be honest: that time when they lose their fluff and start getting feathers is my favorite time to watch them hop around and try to create their own little pecking order. It's so adorable and that's when you see which chicks will probably be your favorites.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

Settings & change your pic, You can upload pics to your profile

Hello Front Porch Swingers ........New to the feed & a Beginner Chick Lover or Beginner Chick Momma , we've had ours for about 2 months now. They are so much fun to watch

Thank you so much! I feel like Pinocchio turned into a real boy! And welcome!

 

[Blooie]

WELCOME HOME BLOOIE!! Here is your bucket! Come take a rest and sit a while.



Lisa

Thanks....that's the first belly laugh I've had in over a week!

 

[Searsmom]

I've missed everything. I did, however, get most of my garden planted, shared some pots with my daughter, moved every peep-n-quacker out of the house and took DH to the hospital yesterday for appendicitis. He's home now and sleeping continually, which is good. Hope all is well on the porch! I will most likely be sporadic this summer - no way can I keep up with you guys. Last I read was page 548 and here we are in the 700s....Be well and say something nice to a stranger next chance you get.