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Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts

20181125

HEATED PIGEON OR CHICKEN NEST


HEATED PIGEON OR CHICKEN NEST for use in Outdoor aviary. Radiant floor heating for birds ~:<)
Will keep nest 10 to 15 deg F above ambient down to minus 30 deg. . .Made from ordinary 10" Pine boards.
15 watt Coffee cup heater Electric costs just pennies per year.
.
This is what I made, used for 15 years in Minnesota in the draft free unheated flight aviary.
Sometimes the Pigeons sleep outside the nest anyway even at minus 25 deg ... but they do lay their eggs and sit in the nest area, If set up at eye level, you can easily see the Pigeons in the nest ( I use net-cams).
. . Works fine for Pigeons, but may NOT be warm enough for Chickens at minus 25 deg F. For Chickens, there are other easy solutions to keep Nest area ABOVE freezing
. . My Chicken coop which is attached to the outdoor aviary, uses the same principle but stays ABOVE freezing even at minus 30 degrees with the door OPEN to the unheated aviary, no need to heat water, no frozen eggs. The aviary is Solar so it's almost free heat, ..$5 per YEAR electric for small 100% VERY safe plastic dog house heater, timers, lights, vent fans, 35 net-cams. Extremely efficient for operating cost AND ridiculously easy Chicken maintenance (seconds, not minutes). For you critics, if elec goes out, it still stays at about 20 deg F above zero with no electric.
.

20160516

160516 Chicken herding Ducks.

160516 Chicken herding Ducks.
 . . . . . . . . . . .(Video here )
Dog herding Sheep ?? ... NO ... Chicken herding Ducks.
(ignore the conversation, something different).
Gooney Guinea Hen trying to round up the Ducks to send them to bed for the night... Where my daughter lives... Les Woody's place, ... apparently this is a regular occurrence ~:<)
Video 160515b FL Gooney Guinea herding Ducks.MP4
FB link https://www.facebook.com/BertTheMensaChicken/videos/10154050768920295/

20160131

The Absurd Adventures of Simon Pigeon... Chickens and coops too.

Simon Pigeon and Tuna Cat watch TV with me every night.

Solar powered Aviary and Coop

The Solar Chicken Coop-Aviary (for Pigeons too) sometimes gets up to 80+ degrees, works good even on cloudy days.. free heat. The surplus heat is drawn into the coop to keep it above freezing at all times. At minus 20 degrees at night, the radiant floor heat is sometimes needed in the coop, ... cost less than $5 for the entire winter. No frozen water, no frozen eggs, no frozen Chickens. Exceedingly easy to clean, everything mostly automatic, .. bright, clean and sanitary. Many internet cams.  Can be left unattended for up to a month. Ordinary costs to construct.
. . With foil panels in summer, the aviary the coolest place the Chickens can be.

Simon Pigeon LOVES to be loved and massaged.

Simon was anxious to open his Christmas presents (a leaded glass crystal food bowl)


Simon gets excited when going to the cabin... or anywhere else too. He loves to ride in the car.

In winter, when Simon comes in from outside, he heads for the fireplace.

  Or if the fireplace isn't going, he finds other ways to warm his feet.

Whenever I yawn, Simon yawns too.


Henry loves Simon too, just like I do.

















     They let me know when they want to come in the house.
 
 But, sometimes Simon can't make up his mind.

Simon was upset when discovered that the hiking trail was for foot travel only. 


At the campground, Simon likes to hang around the food.

At Grand Marais MN, Simon pretends to be a seagull.
 
 It was the first time in his life that Simon ever saw a wave. He went running from the water swearing all the way.

At our Wisconsin cabin, Simon admires the mushrooms.


Simon like to be included at play time.
 
and knocked down all the blocks.

Simon often visits Senior homes too, to make the residents smile.
Everyday the Pigeons come to the door for permission to come inside.

Velcro and 2.5 love to take baths together. They are madly in love.


CHICKENS - This is Bert.
 
Bert is not too fond of the spin cycle. 

Cat ?? ... What cat ? 

 NASA apologized to Bert for improperly naming this the Eagle Nebula.

                           Bert loves holidays.

Truffles loves to sing Opera ... very LOUD and off-key. At stop signs, other drivers stare at her, then roll up their windows.  She only knows one Opera, "La traviata". 

Truffles is also know as my "Chicken Helper"

Shmoo is a Silkie breed of Chicken

Alice is a Polish Silver Lace.
               Beep Beep is a Polish Golden Lace.
Sophia Newton Chicken cannot see or fly without a headband.

but with it, she can fly.

My classes, "The Art of Keeping Chickens", are designed to make it as easy and efficient as possible to keep Chickens.
How to conform to city ordinances,
How to keep the neighbors (and the city) and the Chickens happy,
Chicken comfort, safety and sanitation.
Techniques for ease of maintenance (it's SO easy).
Chicken poop is one of the three best compost materials, 
And many other Chicken related topics.  

END

20160129

Truffles sings Opera in the car.

My Polish Golden Lace, Truffles, would drive me crazy singing Opera SO LOUD, and off-key. At stop signs people would stare, then roll up their windows.
Worse thing was she only knew "La Traviata" and sang it over and over, but ... she did do a good job of acting it out ~:<)

20160111

Funny Confused Chickens - Chicken station

160111 - Yahoo 360=feb 16, 2006
Funny Confused Chickens.

They see me throw seed INSIDE the Chicken Rest Station (Pickup topper) and they go zoooooming inside.
> > > > > > > > >  BUT < < < < < < <
When I sprinkle seed ON TOP of the topper, 
they still go ZOOOoooming inside. They stop, look at each other confused, look at the ground, look at each other, turn around, look at me, look at each other, look at the gound....SOooo very confused.
They just didn't get it. - -
Then, with me being very obvious, I sprinkle more seed on TOP....but... .Zooom... inside they go again - - - more Mass confusion, looking at each other, turning around, pecking, Soooo confused ?????
It was a tough day for them.

PIC = L:\Personal PICS AND VIDS +2000\-B Pics 0209-0701\AA My Pictures from 020910  to 070101 - #lists\060214 2731 Chickens Topper
060214 2731 ChickensTopperdCropped.jpg
FB = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153745770865295&set=a.10151252769390295.516518.752165294&type=3



20150921

Very unusual 2-headed Chicken.

150921 Very unusual 2-headed Chicken.
Actually, Sebrights are excellent mothers. This chick is 1 month old and very soon should be on it's own.
This breed is small, 1-1/3 pound, about the same as a good sized Pigeon.
Pic =
FB link = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153542758885295&set=a.10151252769390295.516518.752165294&type=1

20150831

Automatic Chicken coop/aviary door

1508531 Aviary coop auto door

I FINALLY did it (low priority). ... Fully automatic door on the Chicken/Pigeon aviary. Opens at 8:30am, closes at 9:30pm... also can open/close it from the internet while watching it on a net-cam.
. . This way, if gone overnight, the Chickens/Pigeons can still be outside during the day instead of being confined to the aviary until we get back.
IN THE video, I am manually operating it from the house with a remote.
. . Closing the door at night is only to protect the birds from predators.
comments -
Made entirely from scrap parts including a coat hanger, some aluminum strap, two 110v timers, some limit switches, and a gear reduction motor mechanism. It has a spring so no animal will get trapped if in the way of the door closing. - PIC =

150831a 2731 Aviary coop automatic door.JPG
... I've been meaning to do this for 9 years, finally got around to it. . . It will be nice when we're on vacation, I can monitor on cam, count chickens, open/close when appropriate OR let the timers take control. They ALWAYS go in 1/2 hour before dusk so it's very safe to assume they're all in when door closes ... but I can count them on cam to make sure
... Those are reflectors on the door so door position is very visible on net-cam or from the house. The rotation was important so there is never down-thrust on the bottom of the sliding door.
. . . There ARE auto doors on the market but they're $300.
VIDEO = 150831b 2731 Aviary coop automatic door.MOV
FB LINK = https://www.facebook.com/BertTheMensaChicken/videos/10153493512505295/

20150819

Goose hit by car, 2nd baby Sebright Chick

Yesterday in the center of the driving lane we found a mature goose on it's back struggling to get up... hit by a car.  We stopped traffic as I scooped it up. I could find no physical signs of injury, no bleeding etc except there were many feathers on the road. It seemed to be mostly dazed. I held it on my lap as we headed for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center ... but... within minutes it died in my arms. It's not easy to have an animal looking into your eyes as it dies.  Very sad.

. . But the good news is  a 2nd Sebright baby chick, 24 hrs old. After it had a very bad start, looks like it will survive and thrive.
. . I discovered the baby yesterday morning, it was laying dying in the coop, not in the nest. At first I thought it was dead. I tucked it under Mom's wing. This morning it looked fairly healthy and seemed to be eating and drinking?
I think it will be ok?
Pic = 150819 2731 Chicken 2nd baby seabright chick
FB link = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153464384020295&set=a.10151252769390295.516518.752165294&type=1

20150805

150805 The Best Mom in the Chicken world?

150805 The Best Mom in the Chicken world?
Mom is so obsessed with her 1 mo old baby, best Mom ever.  Never more than inches apart. Little baby Wee is doing terrific, can even fly 6 foot high to a perch, mingles well with the other Chickens and Pigeons.
When I take the little chick in the house for bonding, Mom shrieks, yells, and hollers until I return the little chick.
 Today was the FIRST day outside for baby Wee. Couldn't find the baby when I tucked the Chickens into bed. Was right in front of me ~:<)
Pic = 150804c 2731 Chicken Sebright Mommy and 1mo baby.JPG
150804 d2731 Chicken Sebright Mommy and 1mo baby on perch
FB link = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153432478700295&set=a.10151252769390295.516518.752165294&type=1

20150718

150718 Hot dead heat stroke Chickens

150718 Hot dead heat stroke Chickens
It was very hot and muggy, 88deg with very high humidity.
I raced outside when I saw these 2 dead Chickens laying in the hot sun next to the cactus, ... Heat stroke?
NO... they were just sunbathing. The coop right next to them is very cool for them if they wanted to be cooler.
.. The aviary and coop are the coolest places they can be on an hot day (natural thermostatically controlled A/C, cool air is blown in thru ducts).
Pic = 150717a 2731 Chickens hot Barney Sophia Cheekie
FB link = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153390606885295&set=a.10151252769390295.516518.752165294&type=1

20141024

This was such a busy day - Chicken footprints

This was such a busy day, so many things to do. It seems I was on the move all day

20141017

Chicks with headbands




 Chicks with headbands... Olivia Newton Chicken, and Karen.
Sophia (Polish white) couldn't even see well enough to find food on the ground. Solution = Headband. It works, Now she even does some flying, and she can now find her way to the coop at night instead of bedding down where ever she happened to be at dusk.
. . Her feathers are so very very fine and brilliant white, unbelievably soft... you can't even tell when your hands are touching her feathers.