Chicken coop: feeder take two

My first attempt at a custom chicken feeder didn’t work so well — the feed tended to not make it far enough past the 90° elbow to reach the holes where the chicks eat.

So I modified it to use a 45° connector instead (which Jenn kindly picked up on the way home from work). I didn’t want it quite that steep, so I joined the parts with some duct tape:

The new angle works much better; the food freely flows down to fill the tube, but doesn’t overflow:

Having four hole heights means chickens of all sizes can reach the food without a platform, too.

Hopefully this will work reliably; time will tell.

Chicken coop: feeder & waterer

One project for the chicken coop that I deferred until after they had moved in was a custom feeder and waterer for them.

I made them out of 2″ PVC piping, and other bits. Firstly I drilled and filed holes in one piece of pipe, for the feeder:

I then assembled other pipe bits for both:

Here’s the waterer, in two pieces (so it could be inserted through the center wall hardware cloth). It uses drinker cups that dispense water when the chickens nudge the yellow tab:

Building a stand for both dispeners:

Both installed. The height is set for adult chickens, so I added a temporary platform so the chicks would be able to reach them:

Closeup of the feeder; I hope it works properly — I have a concern that the feed might not make it down the tube all that well, but we’ll see:

The waterer cups:

The feed and water bottles (only partially filled for now, just in case):

Five chicks on my lap

I have a folding chair in the storage side of the new coop, which I bring in to sit on when spending some time with the chicks. I also have a towel that I put on my lap, to protect it from the inevitable poop.

They seem to appreciate that; I had up to five chicks on my lap at once. And they all let me pet them. I guess we did a good job of socializing them.

Of cource, once they’re fully grown my lap won’t fit more than one or two.

Chicks: move-in day!

Now that the chicken coop is basically finished, it’s time to move in the chicks! They are almost two months old now, so not a moment too soon.

We transported the chicks from the house in a plastic container (that has a vent in the lid, used in the past as a baby chick brooder). Here’s the first of three batches:

The second group:

And the last arrivals:

Exploring:

The aftermath upstairs, after the crates were removed; a thick layer of dust from the bedding material over everything:

Merida:

More exploring:

Domino on my arm:

Merida & Domino:

A sleepy pile:

Curious chicken on my lap (actually probably considering if she can get onto my shoulder):

Video

Chicks released from the crate

The chicks are still upstairs, though will be moving into their new coop in a few days. Each morning I let them out of their crate for half an hour or so, while I spend time with them and change their food & water. There’s always an explosion of activity when I open the door.

Video

Video: chicks have been introduced to mealworms

Chicks: 5 weeks old

Who is sick of chick pictures? If so, you’ve come to the wrong blog!

Chicks: doubled crate

The chicks are getting bigger fast, and their new home isn’t quite ready yet, so I added a second large dog crate to their temporary home upstairs. They seem happier to have more space, even if the expansion process itself was “the worst thing they’d ever experienced”.