Why all the hacks?

[igorsMistress]

Hi Mia. Welcome to BYC!

You've asked a great question. We made PVC feeders to keep pigeons from eating the chicken feed, otherwise we would've just kept using feed bowls. Also, one hack I used on my coop is to keep wild birds out but let my chickens enter and exit as they please.

Sometimes hacks can be a good thing for the chickens like water that doesn't freeze or run out if a keeper has to be away for a period of time. We're all different and have different situations.

Enjoy!

 

[Willowspirit]

I have not gone through winter with chickens yet so i know heated water is coming!

 

[Criticalicious]

When it comes to backyard chicken keeping, everyone's situation is different (as described above) and as we design better feeders and waterers, those darn chickens get smarter and figure out how to waste it! Some of the better products in stores or online cost too much for what they are, like $100 for a PVC feeder that you can make yourself for $20 or $50 for a $3 five-gal bucket with $5 worth of nipples on it. Sometimes you don't want to or can't to go to the store or don't have a nearby store, and you need something that works.

 

[so lucky]

No commercial waterers would do what I wanted them to do. I wanted a waterer that would keep the chickens in water for over a week and not have the water freeze when it's -22 degrees F. My solution was a 10 gallon tote with lid, horizontal nipples and a stock tank deicer. None of the commercial waterers I looked into held more than 5 gallons of water.

I'm in my late 60s. I have COPD. I just can't get out when there is 2 feet of snow and ice outside as I am afraid I might fall down and break something. I pay someone to come once a week to tend to the birds. With the large waterer and large feeders the birds do just fine in winter. Have not lost a bird during the winter. I am grateful that they lay very little during the winter months so I do not have to worry about collecting eggs.

Do you have an automatic pop door opener, or are you able to leave their coop door open all the time?

 

[Criticalicious]

An automatic door opener is a lifesaver. Worth every penny to me.

 

[wamtazlady]

Do you have an automatic pop door opener, or are you able to leave their coop door open all the time?

I leave the door open all the time. There is an apron around the coop and run. In the past I have had the coop surrounded by electric poultry netting. A buck got his antlers caught up in my netting and ruined it. I decided not to replace the netting although it worked great. So instead I just got done fencing in the backyard with 5 foot welded wire fencing. If anything breaches that there is the option of adding electric to the top and bottom of the new fence.

Living where I live you can only do so much to protect the chickens from predators. The fox has a den no more than 200 yards from here on State Park land. We are on the edge of a cougar's territory and it comes by once or twice a year. Also get bear in the fall looking to fill up on the apples from the old orchard. Have trapped and eliminated 2 skunks so far this spring. I try to protect the chickens but I don't make it like Fort Knox.

 

[alexisrambles]

Well for me I started out DIY-ing because I hate buying plastic and wanted a biodegradable option.
It biodegraded all right. All over my brooder floor. XD

Then I bought one to use, and my chicks outgrew it! I don't have much space to store things that aren't currently in use, so I'm trying to come up with an option my chicks can use from now until adulthood right now. And most commercial options are too big for my brooder or get filthy within minutes. Or cost over $100!

 

[jreardon1918]

Mostly i am cheap. But i also wanted the water to stay liquid and last a week. I use a stock tank heater to keep it liquid in the coldest months. The feed to last a week and be somewhat mess free. Here is what I came up with. Every few days I bring out a gallon pitcher of either feed or water. So no heavy lifting. We currently have 6 laying hens.