Oldmama - I hope you are safe and just having internet issues. Your are in my prayers.
Perchie - I like the new layout of the chicken coop. Is the storage area going to be all solid walls?
I sent you a pm...
thanks about the layout. There will only be the Ell shaped counter top And feed bins where I can blend my own feeds therefore nothing will be overhead storage. I will be in a wheelchair eventually so the feed bins will be filled by a leaf blower mechanism. I hope to build them large enough to hold a months worth of mixed feed if necessary. With Gravity dispensing through a hopper below.
I am still working on the feed bins but they will be parked under the hopper for filling and rolled over to a feed station where the chickens will be able to reach through to eat. All feed will be dispensed without having to open the coop partition.
The ONLY time I will go into a coop partition will be to add or remove rice hulls And I should be able to do that task with a good sized shop vac for removal and a leaf blower for adding.
If I go to Fermented feed I would use the same hoppers to fill the FF container. I can even devise a portion control for the dispenser. It shouldnt be too difficult to do.
Lifting and carrying are my hurdles... I am strong enough to unload bags of feed but not actually walk around with them. same goes for hay.
When I am at home to feed and care for my horse I feed her a whole bale at a time. California hay is baled in three strand bales... which means a bale of Bermuda is approximately 110 lbs per bale. I have a hay hook that is extended so that I can hook a string and drag the bale to its destination. I have a hay ramp of sorts made of pallets so the hay doesnt drag through dirt. Then the Feeder is infront of a pipe corral gate door. I open the door drag the bale up then stand the bale on end and give it a stout push to tip it over into the feeder. My horse's feeder is an Avocado crate made of heavy duty plastic. The bale just fits if you shove it in .... I dont even have to cut the strings. When they come loose the loop spins itself into a single strand.
It takes Katee three days to eat a single bale of bermuda what this does for her is remove the worry about "feeding scheduals" Anyone who has horses knows they have to be fed on time. It also gives her a similar benefit that horses on pasture have... a steady nibble.... Horses were meant for browsing all day. Oh yeh she probably wastes a good five percent of it... but still its only costing me around six dollars per day to feed a 2000 lb horse.
The other benefit is for me... I dont have to be home "On Time" or Get up at the crack of dawn... to feed.
deb
Wow.. that's all ~ just wow.
