Month: May 2011

Getting rid of freeloaders

One of the greatest threats to the health of poultry is mites – bird mites.

If birds are allowed to enter and roam the chook run area it’s likely you will end with with a mite infestation, this is particularly so in the summer months. This is one of the reasons why I built a annex extension onto the chook run.

Fortunately chooks are programmed to get rid of their freeloaders – they dust.

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Speckles and Lilly, the new Pekins about 20 weeks old and been with us for about one month now. On the right is Misty and Ruby, they are Wyandotte’s about three years old.

We have had a lot of rain lately but they are able to still dust in dry soft dirt under the garden gazebo. This is one reason why I haven’t paved that area yet.

ALDI: Ceramic Fan Heater $19.99

Last winter we purchased a ceramic fan heater from Sam’s Warehouse that looked similar to the one below:

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Older kid was over one evening and spotted the heater, turned it on and checked it out. Nice heater…so she took it home. We do have central heating but sometimes you like a bit extra, we have other Tangi’s so not to worry.

Last week ALDI had heaters including a similar ceramic like the one we once owned.

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  • 1800W ceramic fan heater with oscillating function
  • Adjustable thermostat
  • Fan only setting
  • Safety tip over switch
  • Overheat protection

The latest offering of this type of heater all seem to have the oscillating feature, wonder what they will come up with for next year.

Anyway it works well, just need to hide it when not in use…

Cold miserable morning – sleep in

 

We have two dogs and three cats, now that winter is more or less here they are not that keen some mornings to get moving. Morning of Tuesday 24th of May was particularly quiet?

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Above: Pixie in the main bedroom.

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Above: Holly on one of the lounge chairs.

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Above: Milo and Phoenix on the other seat.

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And Luna all by herself on the balcony rocking chair.

Chook run – removing temporary divider

When we came home with the new Pekins (Speckles and Lilly) early in May I partitioned off one end of the main chook run to separate them from the older resident’s –  Misty and Ruby (Wyandotte’s).

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This gives them their own space for a few weeks  (with water, feed and their own sleeping quarters) to get used to their new surroundings and for the older ones to accept the newcomers.

Towards the end of the second week we started letting them out into the garden. Everyone seems to be getting along fine so it’s time to remove the chicken wire divider – below.

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Next and final stage…and the most difficult is to transition the new girls into the chook shed. I’ll leave their dog house there for a few days and hopefully they will find their own way into the coop with the others sometime in the next few evenings.

Another printer purchase

Had to purchase another printer!

The Canon MP640 which is not even 12 months old has a blocked print head. Tried all the usual things even used an ultrasonic cleaner – no go. So off to the market and purchased a Canon iP4850 for $98 bucks – not bad. This is a photo printer with 1pl droplets and without all the extra user stuff to keep the price down. No display of any kind, no card readers, copy or scan. It will do printable DVD/CD media and duplex.

So I got what I was after for less that $100, a printer that will print excellent 4 x 6 photos and has a 2-way paper feed, A4 in the tray and photo paper at the rear. I must remember to print something a couple of times to keep the nozzles flowing!

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I have been using this beast for a couple of week now and very happy with the purchase. Prints lovely photos on ALDI photo paper, and the prints come quickly. Paper handling is superb.

Housing new Pekins 2011 – continued

In the previous post I blogged about heating the dog kennel to keep the little Pekins warm until they feather out some more.

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I monitor the internal and external temps with a Projection Alarm Clock Temperature Station that I purchased from Bunnings for $10 – a clearance item.

 

 

Continue reading “Housing new Pekins 2011 – continued”

New Pekins – housing

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For housing new arrivals I make use of a timber dog kennel that I scrounged off a neighbours nature strip during a hard rubbish collection. I replaced the front with a piece of melamine, note the  smaller entry more suited for little chooks.

 

 

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For a small kennel it’s very sturdy, timber is a good insulator for those cold nights. The gable roof is hinged on the left, very convenient for cleaning. In summer I prop the right side up with a bit of timber for ventilation during hot weather.

 

Winter is here with temps already dropping below five degrees. I decided to heat the box to keep the new girls cosy. We are fortunate to have a reptile supplier in our area so off I went intending to purchase a ceramic heat lamp. Depending upon wattage prices were around the $70-80 mark – scrap that idea. I settled for a 75W Reptile One night heat lamp for $16 bucks. These lamps give of a blue light which is supposed to replicate natural moonlight which is fine for reptiles but what about chooks? I also purchased a ceramic lamp socket with lead and switch for $30 – ouch.

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I screwed a hook into the roof and secured the lamp lead with a cable tie. When I open the roof the lamp swings down and sits on the side, if the lamp is on and I don’t open the roof gently I’m likely to knock the lamp – and blow it.
I really need to support the lamp so it stays in the middle and not hit anything.

 

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So I fashioned a lamp support from some coat hanger wire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Now the lamp socket is held safely in the middle and the wire support provides some damping when the roof is opened and closed.

 

 

 

 

The first night after setting up the heat lamp I poked my head in there after dark and the chooks looked like they were at the disco LOL, too bright for them and they looked a bit unsettled. I need to cut back on the moonlight – but how?

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I rummaged through the workshop and found a dismantled bird cage which my older kid had previously used for rats. I trimmed the top to fit inside the roof and attached to this with cable ties a double layer of shade mesh.

That should cut down the moonlight!

 

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Screw down the “moon light shade” and wait for darkness – I’ll be back.

 

 

 

 

Yep…looks good; big reduction in disco lighting – chooks are happy and cosy.