Handy items, tips etc.

Raising your own and being self sufficient.
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KimChick
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by KimChick » Thu Dec 29, 2016 11:00 pm

TomK wrote:QR_BBPOST But, but kimchick...that gets rid of all the vitamins... :running-chicken:
Thought I'd better clarify; wasn't sure how some would take that. Hehe.
You should have been around when we told some that we had a sick chicken in the house this past summer. You see him my posts. Really had to explain that one! Right now we have a sick chickie in the house.... in a cardboard box, with a mesh lid, tied down.
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Maximus
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by Maximus » Fri Dec 30, 2016 7:42 pm

I also used a headlamp. I still use one when I go out at night with the dogs. When I walk the dogs they also get one around their necks. Miss Ava is so black you can't see her so when she is out wandering on her own at night/dark I put a headlamp on her. She has been right in front of me before and I have tripped over her, she is that black. It sure gets black here at night, minus the red flashing runway affect bleeping bleep lights on the bleeping bleep turbines :doh:

Having ducks you learn they don't have a single thought process seen through from beginning to end UNLESS you have peas or Lavendar. All they know is until all those peas are gone they aren't finished. I swear Ducks redefine ADD! Peas or Lavendar in the plastic container shaking if you want them to come from miles around and you can train them to do anything with some peas; Trainable ducks happen when you have peas and Lavendar.

I have a pitchfork with a mesh across it which quickly became my best tool for the coops poop clean outs. It sifts the big clumps and let's the clean flax/woodchip/straw bedding fall back in, but the messy clumps were easily retracted with a scoop and a few shakes. (And a poop tarp! What an amazing concept that is!! Works sooooo well)

Towards the end of my flock keeping I had a bird bath with a solar powered pump that kept the water flowing with a little splash all day. The ducks couldn't get to it but the chickens learned very quickly (and the bees) that clean water was in the bird bath and all the pullets would sit up on the edge and have their drinks. We all know what ducks do to water in .5 seconds.

And I never do anything without my blue Nitrile gloves on and always a spare set in my pocket in case they rip.
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KimChick
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by KimChick » Mon Jan 02, 2017 3:31 pm

Here is a dish towel put to a different use:
I looked up "chicken straightjacket", wondering if there was such a thing and found it here:
There is no way I would use straight pins, so I sewed it. It works great! I would call it a [treatment] cloth cone (as opposed to the other kind of cone that is metal).
Last edited by KimChick on Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jaye
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by Jaye » Mon Jan 02, 2017 4:50 pm

Thanks, KimChick - very timely. I have a PITA hen that needs looking at, so will be putting one of these together asap.
I have been using something similar to what Ross uses - a ball thrower from Dollarama (because our dog, as it turns out, was not a "fetcher"). It works like a charm for scooping up eggs in places that are not easily accessible.
Also, I have a paint scraper at the ready for poop that proves to be resistant to removal from "wherever". Especially in the winter, when it gets frozen solid and immovable.
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RIP Scooby, AKA Awesome Dog. Too well loved to ever be forgotten. "Sometime in June", 2005 - January 24, 2017.
"Until one has loved an animal, part of one's soul remains unawakened" - Anatole France

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KimChick
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by KimChick » Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:12 am

Jaye wrote:QR_BBPOST Thanks, KimChick - very timely. I have a PITA hen that needs looking at, so will be putting one of these together asap.
I have been using something similar to what Ross uses - a ball thrower from Dollarama (because our dog, as it turns out, was not a "fetcher"). It works like a charm for scooping up eggs in places that are not easily accessible.
Also, I have a paint scraper at the ready for poop that proves to be resistant to removal from "wherever". Especially in the winter, when it gets frozen solid and immovable.
An old licence plate also works well as a frozen/dried up doodoo remover.
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WLLady
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by WLLady » Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:19 am

So does a tile glue application scraper tool. Some have pointy teeth that can pry frozen stuff off roosts etc too!!
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:giraffe: Pet quality wheaten/blue wheaten ameraucanas, welsummers, barred rocks, light brown leghorns; Projects on the go: rhodebars, welbars

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Happy
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Handy items, tips etc.

Post by Happy » Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:08 am

I use a dust pan and metal scraper daily. Poop gets scraped into dust pan then dumped into a bucket that gets dumped into compost once full.
Also not a "tool" but I put my Christmas tree in the pen when it exited the house and buried a couple suet blocks and whole cabbages in the branches so they weren't easy to get at. They are having a ball and keeping the boredom level down!
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Dominion Link
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Re: Handy items, tips etc.

Post by Dominion Link » Wed Dec 13, 2017 9:27 am

Electric paint stripper gun for thawing pipes etc. About $20, but priceless when you need it.
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The longer I keep chickens, the more I like ducks.

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ross
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Re: Handy items, tips etc.

Post by ross » Wed Dec 13, 2017 3:44 pm

Yep Dean & won' t cause fires like propane torches .
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ENJOY YOUR HUNTING / FISHING HERITAGE & the GREATNESS of CANADA

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thegawd
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Re: Handy items, tips etc.

Post by thegawd » Wed Dec 13, 2017 5:44 pm

Well Dean, Iv never heard of that tool, ill have a look into it! I recently found out that a laundry basket is perfect for carrying firewood to the wood stove, not to big or to heavy and if you need to set it down to open a door it dosent fall all over. it can be easily tipped over to fill up the spot.

CHEERS!
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