Recent content by NameIwish

  1. NameIwish

    5 Week Old Chicks - Do They Still Need a Heating Plate?

    For what it is worth, old electric griddles can be used to heat coops and such. Get a temperature controller off Amazon that has a remote sensor, set the griddle to 'just barely' and mount it where you will. It is basically an aluminum plate with a heating element and thermostat built in to the...
  2. NameIwish

    5 Week Old Chicks - Do They Still Need a Heating Plate?

    Wow! Expensive keeping a house at seventy degrees all Winter.
  3. NameIwish

    5 Week Old Chicks - Do They Still Need a Heating Plate?

    "Some are staying away from the heat" Well, not invoking memories of the Scopes Trial, the chicks above were demonstrating natural selection. You know, like we do when things get too hot - I move to a cooler spot, too! So, keep your chicks in a larger container so they might 'naturally'...
  4. NameIwish

    Chicken Banana Skin Feed

    I feed my hens banana skins - they absolutely love it. And I get to eat all the banana part myself! Today, slicing up a couple of skins, I found myself wondering about the economics of feeding banana skins to my seventeen hens and a rooster. So, I grabbed a banana and weighed it. Then I peeled...
  5. NameIwish

    Hurricane flipped coop, now chickens wont sleep in nesting area at night.

    chickens live in trees at night here (Western, NC Foothills) They're designed for life al fresco. 'Don't,' you should pardon the phrase, 'sweat it.'
  6. NameIwish

    UPDATE: bought the 'automatic' feeders/waterers

    I installed one - replacing a cup type. The treads on these little red things are tapered like pipe thread - a bit smaller diameter at the one end than at the body of the water'er. They fit nicely into the holes made for the cups. The cups 'self-start' if you will as soon as the water level...
  7. NameIwish

    Designing and 3D printing feeders & accessories

    See if you can find a club or group in your area - check with the local middle, high school or college and look for community college introductory classes. That way, you get to play with the printers and learn from folks who have owned one or two, Any investment in classes is likely to save...
  8. NameIwish

    I need your opinions on Coops! What do you think of prefab coops?

    Chicken S--t is the issue. Shavings help absorb the moisture content and dry it out a bit quicker than otherwise. But a 1/2" mesh 'floor' would let most of it pass trough to the run (ground) to slowing become one with the earth again. Key is to have a pan that can be removed - slid out and...
  9. NameIwish

    I need your opinions on Coops! What do you think of prefab coops?

    Form still follows function. Opinions are like ana orifices. Why not visit folks who have been raising chickens for a number of years and see their operations. Some folks are raising a few birds (no roosters) in a 'neighborhood' and other are 'out in the country' with acres to spare and a...
  10. NameIwish

    UPDATE: bought the 'automatic' feeders/waterers

    Thanks for the link - going to try them out. Good news, they'll fit in the old holes!
  11. NameIwish

    Designing and 3D printing feeders & accessories

    I was imagining my portal feeders in the 5G bucket and thinking of putting some mesh inside the bucket under the portal opening
  12. NameIwish

    Designing and 3D printing feeders & accessories

    Hey there, how about making something up for me? I saw this thing you did and realized it was almost 'just what I was looking for.' If, that is, the walls were even and the opening were simply a flat surface. The commercial versions are two piece affairs where the lip/flange 'trim' piece fits...
  13. NameIwish

    Designing and 3D printing feeders & accessories

    1/4" wire mesh? maybe even 1/2" wire mesh would serve better. Now how to attach it.
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