Full screen door

On September 3, 2019 By CarynIn Coop

When the chickens were little, I put in a “screen” (it is covered in poultry mesh) door on the back doorway of the coop so I had a way to block them from following me out and to let a breeze go through the coop. I only made it half as tall as the door: they were little! But it didn’t take long for them to be big enough to eye ball that short door and I could see them judging the distance of the jump. So the solid door stayed closed for several months. I finally got around to making a top portion of the screen door!

There is another reason I finally tackled this, aside from that it is cooling down (slightly) and I can get more done outside. My youngest is still very wary of the chickens. Her interaction with them has lately been by Facetime (when I am in the coop, she calls my phone from her iPad). When the chickens eventually get around to laying eggs, I wanted to make a way for my youngest to look for eggs without going fully into the coop. So I rehinged the screen door, and I am planning on putting a nesting box on the wall near the opening. The idea is that she will be able to use the screen door as a block to protect her from the chickens. That is the theory anyway.

Use for metal roofing scraps

On September 2, 2019 By CarynIn Coop

I’m using an unconventional thermometer out in the coop runs. It was designed to go on a fridge inside, but I needed it outside more than I needed it inside. Well, we had a big rain, and the thermometer doesn’t work well wet. So I needed a protective place to put it. It has a magnet on the back, and I have several pieces of scrap metal roofing left over from when my husband made the coop, so… voila! I drilled some holes so I could use screws to mount it on the wall of the coop, as as long as I was messing about, I also drilled holes for hooks. I also sanded the rough edges. Now I have a cute little board for a little organizing. Yay.

Gardening break

On September 1, 2019 By CarynIn Garden

I’m trying to grow some vining nasturtiums around the coop runs. Not only should the vines help shade the runs if I can get them trained up the wire, nasturtiums are edible and pretty.

I chose one of the cooler days this week, and worked in the morning, but it was still hot. I found something to distract myself while taking a break from hoeing up grass: catching grasshoppers and feeding them to the chickens. The chickens were appreciative, once they figured out what I was offering (a couple hoppers escaped before they caught on).

Now here is something interesting, when the chicken goes in for the grab, they have a third eyelid that covers and protects their eye. The picture isn’t clear because she is moving so fast, but you can definitely see that her eye looks different.

Nictitating membrane (sorry, blurry pic)

The chickens liked the grasshoppers, but were still put out when I rustled the plastic bag of seeds and no meal worms were thrown their way.

Don’t eat that!

On August 31, 2019August 30, 2019 By CarynIn Coop

My DIY AC unit in the coop is attracting unwanted attention. The chickens have decided that styrofoam is yummy. Even though I have the cooler in a plastic bin, they can still reach in and pick out styrofoam. I put a piece of scrap board across the styrofoam cooler, but the long necked things just reached in further. They are even so bold as to sneak a pellet when I am changing out the ice. So a redesign was in order.

I discarded the old styrofoam lid, and cut a new output hole in the side of the cooler. Instead of a vacuum extension, I cut the top and bottom off a plastic bottle to make a tube, and fit that in the cooler. I cut an access port through the plastic tote as well. (It worked best to drill holes all along my cut line on the plastic bin, then cut.)

I cut a fan hole in a new styrofoam lid and fit the whole thing in the plastic tote. The back of the fan still prevented the lid from closing, so I cut out some of the lid to fit around it.

I hope this will keep the chickens from eating styrofoam!!! We are starting to cool down, but the highs will still be in the 90s for awhile.

Happy Friday!

On August 30, 2019 By CarynIn chickens, meme

Here is a little something for all of us that made it through the week. ‘Cause chickens are funny looking straight on, especially with a beard and muffs.