Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[Shadrach]

Strange day today. Last night the auto pop door on the coop malfunctioned; nothing broken, either a voltage drop or a software problem. I took the cover off, cleaned the battery terminals, reasembled and it worked as usual.
Once a piece of equipment malfunctions, or worse breaks my confidence level in it's future performance drops to 50%.

Another topic which I've mentioned a few times on this thread is making sure the chickens get something to eat in the morning. I've been putting random amounts of feed in a tray in the coop extension (open to rats and birds) and assuming the chickens got some of it. It's surprising how much a few crows that are brave enough to go into the extension can eat.
The wild birds are up and active at pre dawn and so are the foxes while the chickens aren't let out untill full daylight this gives the wild birds an easy hour to eat before the pop door opens.

Between worrying that the pop door wouldn't open and curiosity about the feed, I decided to go to the allotments as soon as my bus pass is valid and that's at 9am. The pop door had opened and out of the three hundredish grams of feed I had left overnight there was still about 100 grams in the tray and it was now 10am. The chickens are out at eight currently so they've had a couple of hours to eat in.

Went back this afternoon. We got out for an hour and then the rain arrived.

 

[BDutch]

Last night the auto pop door on the coop malfunctioned;

Strange, mine malfunctioned too several times (over 8 years) but there was always a reason for it. Most times it something with the cord.

I've been putting random amounts of feed in a tray in the coop extension (open to rats and birds)

Isn't it possible to block the openings in a way rats and birds cant come into the extension? Or buy a treadle feeder?

 

[Ladies-Eight]

Ex Batts good afternoon one and all!

Tea is ready.

Temperature is in the 50s with rain.

Have a great day!

 

[Sally PB]

My neighbor has one of those automatic doors. There have been 3 times (in less than a year) that I know of that it has not opened in the morning.

If I installed one, I know myself well enough that I would have to go look to be certain it had opened/closed. And then, what's the point?

 

[fluffycrow]

I too, don't trust those doors. I find them to be too small in the first place, and I'd be really worried of having it stay open during the night. Not opening in the morning isn't as grave, but it will build some frustration in the group. I'm also sure that most of my birds will not get in the coop before the door closes, the teenagers especially. The price for these things is another thing to consider; some cost too much for what they're worth.

That being said, all this is coming from someone who other than a phone and basic computer tasks, doesn't trust himself with technology. Best believe that if I bought one of these I would need to redo it at least three times

 

[Shadrach]

Strange, mine malfunctioned too several times (over 8 years) but there was always a reason for it. Most times it something with the cord.


Isn't it possible to block the openings in a way rats and birds cant come into the extension? Or buy a treadle feeder?

it worked okay today.
If birds and rats can't get in then the chickens can't get out.
Treadle feeder isn't on the options list currently. Too many problems in the set up I'm dealing with.

 

[Shadrach]

Two and a half hours today. Okayish weather, dry, around 9C.
Apologies for the picture quality. I haven't got around to finding out exactly what setting I accidentally changed yet..

Had some allotment politics to discuss with a couple of people which we did while the chickens were out and about. Trying to finish off an article on UK/European alternatives to some of the medications one often sees mentioned on BYC that are available in the USA. I've read quite a few 'where can I get, I'm in the UK/Europe' so I'm hoping having an article to link to might save a bit of typing.

 

[fluffycrow]

Trying to finish off an article on UK/European alternatives to some of the medications one often sees mentioned on BYC that are available in the US

That would be excellent!

 

[BDutch]

My neighbor has one of those automatic doors. There have been 3 times (in less than a year) that I know of that it has not opened in the morning.

If I installed one, I know myself well enough that I would have to go look to be certain it had opened/closed. And then, what's the point?

I suppose it depends on how your setup and situation is.
Mine malfunctioned too a few times, but the coop is big enough to spend a day inside in emergencies. The chickens choose to stay in there themselves when there was a lot of snow. So it’s okay if it doesn’t open in the morning. With a check once a day.

If it doesn’t close in the evening they are a bit less safe but stil reasonably protected in the run with strong netting on top. I don’t let the chickens free range automatically.
It works great for about 364 days a year. And very handy on vacations.

 

[MrsNorthie]

My neighbor has one of those automatic doors. There have been 3 times (in less than a year) that I know of that it has not opened in the morning.

If I installed one, I know myself well enough that I would have to go look to be certain it had opened/closed. And then, what's the point?

Me too. I am lucky though, I work from home and my husband is retired, so we are always here to open the coop in the morning and tuck our babies in at night. This also gives us the luxury of searching the area for predators, and checking everyone before they go to roost and in the morning as they come out.