thistlebloom
Herd Master
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2019
- Messages
- 2,037
- Reaction score
- 7,613
- Points
- 383
- Location
- Idaho panhandle 48th parallel
Toolbox with a lock, or at least some mild current running to the lid!
Mystang's Homesteading Circus
- Thread starter mystang89
- Start date
Toolbox with a lock, or at least some mild current running to the lid!
Bruce
Herd Master
I do know where my tape measures are since I use them with some frequency. Not so much the chalk line. And the reasons I couldn't find the chalk line are:
- I'm not Mike, I don't have "a place for everything"
- I had to pack up all the stuff at the old house where I actually had a pretty good idea where most things were and bring them to this house. Now there are all sorts of "hard to categorize" things in various boxes in the barn workshop. Which is a MESS. Need to take some days and sort some of it out ... and make it so the work table actually is a surface one could work on.
"Not Me"
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Remember a year or 2 ago when I organized the tool shed? DS2 decided to make his own chest of drawers. His work hours are long and his time is short. The partially constructed chest of drawers is now in my tool shed OVER A YEAR, along with the solar panels from the barn roof. We had to remove them to replace the roof which the wind took off. OVER A YEAR AGO! When I question them about these items, they assure me they will get to it soon. I finally insisted that DS2 remove the dresser portion to the lower shed. The drawers, finishing lumber and moldings are still stacked in the tool shed. His tools are scattered over the table we put up as a work bench. The solar panels and attachments are stacked on my counters. 
It is about time for another assault on the tool shed. Tthis time I need to attach a hasp and padlock to the door!
It is about time for another assault on the tool shed. Tthis time I need to attach a hasp and padlock to the door!
Bruce
Herd Master
Better make sure they don't have bolt cutters in their shed!
Ridgetop
Herd Master
Bolt cutters will be in the shed. Behind the door with the hasp and padlock. I just need to have several spare keys. Of cirse, DS1 and DS2 both keep some tools in their bedrooms so could remove the hasp.
Bruce
Herd Master
You have to get the kind of hasp that closes over the screws (and frequently check under their beds and in their underwear drawers for their bolt cutters.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
LOL 
- Thread starter
- #738
mystang89
True BYH Addict
We bought ducks a few weeks ago and they've been under a heat lamp with a few chickens. The ducks grow like weeds, much faster than I thought they would. This made me start to look up the best ways to feed and water them.
After a bit of research it turns out they are very messy eaters and that is exactly what I saw in the heater box. Their water was disgusting and their food was all wet all the time. We had to change it constantly.
Lots of googling later I found a self cleaning feeder so I put one together.
I took a few pictures and videos of my set up for anyone looking for something.
That hoes comes from my garden waterer set up which can be seen in further pictures.
At the back of it you can see a discharge valve and pipe. This helps to enable it to clean itself. By turning the release valve to open, the water flow out taking food and dirt with it.
In this picture is seen the discharge pipe on the left and the hose on the right.
A few videos incoming showing how it works.
That one should be it filling up.
That should be emptying. Not the greatest of quality sorry. There's a reason I'm not on the film making business lol.
This is a pic of my rain barrels in the garden which are hooked up to the duck Waters.
Yes, still needs some TLC. I'll get to that sometime haha. Right now I'm in the "work with what you got" phase.
And finally a few pics of their new house.
It was an old playhouse that the children never used so we decided to repurpose it. The windows are all framed over with hardware cloth which you can see in one of the pictures. It also had about 5 inches of saw dust as bedding which is what I've used for the chickens. Turns into great compost!
The next picture is how I've secured it. The duck house is in my lean to which is fairly protected as is but I've learned to not take chances.
The windows are simply secured by the eye hook latches but, again, behind them is the hardware cloth wire frames. The door is locked by a turn style nob which then had the latch you see on it. It takes 4 different operations to open so I'm hoping a raccoon gets lazy after the 2nd or 3rd time.
I'll update later on with other happenings.
After a bit of research it turns out they are very messy eaters and that is exactly what I saw in the heater box. Their water was disgusting and their food was all wet all the time. We had to change it constantly.
Lots of googling later I found a self cleaning feeder so I put one together.
I took a few pictures and videos of my set up for anyone looking for something.
That hoes comes from my garden waterer set up which can be seen in further pictures.
At the back of it you can see a discharge valve and pipe. This helps to enable it to clean itself. By turning the release valve to open, the water flow out taking food and dirt with it.
In this picture is seen the discharge pipe on the left and the hose on the right.
A few videos incoming showing how it works.
That one should be it filling up.
That should be emptying. Not the greatest of quality sorry. There's a reason I'm not on the film making business lol.
This is a pic of my rain barrels in the garden which are hooked up to the duck Waters.
Yes, still needs some TLC. I'll get to that sometime haha. Right now I'm in the "work with what you got" phase.
And finally a few pics of their new house.
It was an old playhouse that the children never used so we decided to repurpose it. The windows are all framed over with hardware cloth which you can see in one of the pictures. It also had about 5 inches of saw dust as bedding which is what I've used for the chickens. Turns into great compost!
The next picture is how I've secured it. The duck house is in my lean to which is fairly protected as is but I've learned to not take chances.
The windows are simply secured by the eye hook latches but, again, behind them is the hardware cloth wire frames. The door is locked by a turn style nob which then had the latch you see on it. It takes 4 different operations to open so I'm hoping a raccoon gets lazy after the 2nd or 3rd time.
I'll update later on with other happenings.
Ridgetop
Herd Master
The reason ducks' water is so dirty is that all waterfowl need to wash their food down by submerging their heads and beaks in water. This also washes some of their food into their drinking water. Without water they can't eat.
I like your self cleaning waterer. Can you hook the drain line up so it eventually flows into their pond? If you use some kind of filter, or larger tubes and pipes, can you use the water to water fruit trees in the duck yard? Traditionally, orchards were weeded by geese that actually graze the grass under the trees. The ducks eat slugs and snails. In an established garden, ducks usually won't eat the plants, unlike chickens that can decimate the garden by pecking plants and scratching them out. I won't vouch for the safety of strawberries though. It would be nice if you could salvage the water runoff into a watering system for an orchard.
Here in southern California I always think of water. Rabbits are sensitive to the heat so we used misters on the outside to lower the temperatures in the barn. It saved the lives of our rabbits often. Once I saw misters on the outside of a rabbit barn with berry bushes planted on the outside of the barn under the misters. The misters watered the berries. Sadly our rabbit barn had asphalt on 2 sides and the goat pen on the other.
I like your self cleaning waterer. Can you hook the drain line up so it eventually flows into their pond? If you use some kind of filter, or larger tubes and pipes, can you use the water to water fruit trees in the duck yard? Traditionally, orchards were weeded by geese that actually graze the grass under the trees. The ducks eat slugs and snails. In an established garden, ducks usually won't eat the plants, unlike chickens that can decimate the garden by pecking plants and scratching them out. I won't vouch for the safety of strawberries though. It would be nice if you could salvage the water runoff into a watering system for an orchard.
Here in southern California I always think of water. Rabbits are sensitive to the heat so we used misters on the outside to lower the temperatures in the barn. It saved the lives of our rabbits often. Once I saw misters on the outside of a rabbit barn with berry bushes planted on the outside of the barn under the misters. The misters watered the berries. Sadly our rabbit barn had asphalt on 2 sides and the goat pen on the other.
CntryBoy777
Herd Master
We had 12 we brooded and cleaned their area twice a day for 3wks before we put them outside in their pen....we used rubbermaid containers with the lids cut on 2 corners...the water was kept in a plastic tub, the food was outside the tub....
..
They can sure be messy, but it is worth it....they grow extremely fast and the mess is much less when they get outside....any water they can reach they will muck it up quickly....ducks can't climb steep angles so put other waterers higher than they can reach....a kiddie pool is a necessity....
..They can sure be messy, but it is worth it....they grow extremely fast and the mess is much less when they get outside....any water they can reach they will muck it up quickly....ducks can't climb steep angles so put other waterers higher than they can reach....a kiddie pool is a necessity....
