Everybody's Happy

This is a multi post today about bed sheets and chickens... not to be used together of course.  My bestie Rhonda (who I used to live with) had the most wonderful fleece sheets she used to put on my bed. They were the coziest. It was like slipping into the clouds. And although I have seen many types of fleece sheets I was never quite sure which ones to buy. I could not tell how soft they were or how well they would hold up in the laundry. Not to mention that most of the time they can be pretty pricey!! So after talking and talking and not finding the exact ones she had... they showed up in the mail.  She had found them at Marshall's and sent them to me. HOW WONDERFUL!! The moment they arrived they went into the washer/dryer and straight onto the bed. I could not wait for bedtime to come so I could crawl in.  So this post is not only a big THANKS to Rhonda BUT I want to tell you guys what kind they are in case you have been shopping for some yourself.  They are from Berkshire Blanket and are the Microplush sheets. A picture of the package is below in case you see them in a store. Trust me, they are worth it.

Next on the agenda are the wonderful chickens. I wanted to write about a modification we did in the coop yesterday.  I have long been on the search for a cleaner and more efficient way to provide them with water with out spending a ton of money.  We do not have running water close to the coop so we have to haul it out to the coop.   Online I recently found this guy who sold red chicken nipples that could be attached to a five gallon bucket. his website is Avian Aqua Miser. You simply drill the appropriate size hole in the bucket and screw the nipple in. Keeping a lid on the bucket keeps the water clean. You can order as many nipples as you need and the appropriate drill bit if your local hardware store does note have it.

Picture courtesy of Avian Aqua Miser

So I went to Home Depot got a five gallon bucket and a lid, drilled the holes with an 11/32 drill bit and what do you know... I have a large capacity, very clean and efficient chicken waterer.

Originally had an orange snap on lid

Close up of installed nipple

After a day I realized the lid was a bit inconvenient to take on and off especially when you can't sit the bucket on the ground due to the nipples being on the bottom. So there are two solutions.  Most of you will want to purchase an extra five gallon bucket to sit the waterer in to keep the nipples from getting damaged while you are filling it.  OR if you can find an insert like below you can use it instead of a lid. It still keep the water clean but you can just lift the lid and fill the waterer.

Drilled holes in the bottom of the bowl
so it will drain into bucket.

Now all I have to do is take a bucket of water to the coop, lift the lid and fill. DONE!!  My 23 chickens go through about 1.5 gallons of water a day. I have two five gallon waterers (one for full size hens and one for Bantams) that should last approx. 6 days. 

Instructions came with the nipples on how to train your chickens to use the new system. It was really easy.

Now me and the chickens are happy campers. 

Last but not least we went ahead and made another feeder out of stuff we had laying around.  I originally saw the idea on Backyard Chickens which is an amazing resource.  We used a food grade 3 gallon bucket to hold the food and the bottom cut off an old 5 gallon bucket for the food to drain into. We drilled a hole in the center of both and bolted them together. 

The lid keeps the food clean and dry

It is truly amazing the things you can recycle around the house. Not to mention save a few dollars here and there just using your imagination.

*****UPDATE*****

I want to add something to this post I found today. It is another option for making a waterer. This one I have not personally ordered but it looks nice. 

www.chickenwaterer.com