Watermelon rings are scary

On May 31, 2019May 28, 2019 By CarynIn chickens

So I really thought that hanging a ring of watermelon rind would be great fun for the chicks. Nope. Apparently it is a great scary thing.

At first the chicks were in a different run (I haven’t made the doors yet, although the poultry wire is now up). I put the watermelon ring up, but all the chicks stared at it from the other run. Then I helped one a little, she grabbed a piece, started it swinging, and scared everyone off. I missed getting video of another having a try and leaping three feet in the air when it moved.

Here is a video of a chick walking up on the poultry wire to avoid the ring. I don’t know why she didn’t cross to the other side. The paths chickens take have long been a quandary.

The chicks eventually figured out how to deal with the swinging ring, because a couple hours later the watermelon was cleaned out!

Poop catcher

On May 30, 2019May 29, 2019 By CarynIn Coop

Here is the rest of the new roost! My local hardware store had heavy-duty cotton drop cloths on clearance, so I cut up one to make the poop catcher underneath the new roost. I have read that the most droppings occur when they roost, so the idea is that this will make it easier to clean the coop. We’ll see!

I sewed pockets on each side for the small diameter PVC pipe, and one hem (I used the salvage edge on the other side).

Getting the PVC pipe and cloth through the channels that I made with larger PVC pipe was a little more difficult than I hoped, but not unworkable. And if the cotton turns out too absorbent, it will be easy to change material.

The chicks have not yet gone back up on the roost, so we’ll see how long it takes them to adjust.

New roost with poop catcher system

P.S. It took a few days before the chicks were willing to jump back up on the roost, but they eventually did it!

And there was poop in the poop catcher! As an added bonus, my muck bucket fits under perfectly, so I can just scrape the droppings straight into the bucket. Win.

Chicken swings

On May 29, 2019May 25, 2019 By CarynIn Coop

After making the new roost, the old roost, which was the old food and water hanger, needed a new purpose. So I unscrewed the two screws holding them together and made two roost swings! Yay, repurposing.

Fold down seat

On May 28, 2019July 27, 2019 By CarynIn Craft

Oh the quandary! To be able to sit with the chicks, but not have the seat covered in chicken droppings.

I had an idea for a fold down seat. I used scrap 5/4″ decking for one seat, and 2x4s for the other, chain, connectors, eye screws and bolts, and heavy duty strap hinges. To keep the seat in the upright position, I used a carabiner to hook it to the poultry netting. All the hardware is rated for a load of at least 320 pounds, so it should hold up to people sitting on it.

I set the first one a little high, but both my eldest and husband are taller than I am, so that is probably OK. I set the second one a little lower for my youngest and I. The poultry wire back is surprisingly comfortable.

Seats folded down

Update:

The carabiners were not holding the benches upright enough, and the chickens were roosting on them, so I replaced the carabiners with gate hooks that catch the eyes I used for the chain. Much better!