Category: Chicken Products

Heated bucket chicken waterer

September 24, 2012 Chicken Waterers 18 Comments

Lu Ann Shank did such a good job of describing her homemade, heated bucket waterer that I’m
just copying her email and photos below:

Our flock belongs to my 13-year old son, Christian. As part of his 4H project he raises and shows several breeds of large fowl. At one of the poultry shows an acquaintance gave him a few of your nipples to try. We went home and put a bucket waterer together and have been thrilled with
the result.

I saw your request for winter-waterers and thought I would share what has worked for us. As a disclaimer – we live in North Texas – I can hear those flock owners from up-north cackling already – we are fortunate to only get snaps of cold temperatures here that do not linger – So far this waterer has functioned for us without complaint. The idea is simple enough and could be easily modified by your creative readers in colder climates.


Reinforced bucket handleHere is what we used:

  • 2@ 5-gallon buckets
  • 1 @15’ pipe heating cable
  • 2 Fender Washers
  • Caulk
  • Epoxy


I started with our original bucket waterer. It is the black bucket in the photos. I chose black to discourage algae growth. Before I began to modify the bucket I reinforced the handles withHeat cable wrapped around bucket watererfender washers and epoxy to
compensate  for the additional weight.


Starting at the bottom of the black bucket, I wrapped the heat cable around the bottom third of the bucket. Make sure that the
cable lies flat and does not cross itself.

Hole in side out of outer bucket


Remove the handle from the second (white) bucket. Cut out the bottom of the bucket and drill a hole in the side of the bucket about two thirds of the way up from the bottom.

Heated chicken bucket waterer


As you slide the black bucket into the white bucket thread the plug and thermostat of the heat cable through the hole in the white bucket. Twist the black bucket as you slide it into place to take up any slack in the heat cable. Before you push the buckets into their final position – run a bead of caulk near the top of the black bucket. This will adhere the two buckets together.

 

 


Chicken nipples in a bucket watererFlip the buckets over. Run a
bead of caulk between the bottom of the black bucket and the inside lip of the white bucket to keep curious hens from pecking at the cable.


Let it dry and plug it in.



The “lip” created by the white bucket protects the nipples from the wind and – so far – has kept them from freezing. The added
benefit is that my son can now set the bucket flat on the ground to clean it without
damaging the nipples.

Modified bucket waterer lid 
The only other modification that I made was to add a PVC elbow to the lid making it easier for my son to fill without removing the lid. I also put a wire plant basket on top to keep the girls from perching on top.

We recommend these chicken nipples, this three foot length of pipe heating cable, and a layer of chicken-friendly insulation. In our experience, the waterer shown in this post is good down into the teens Fahrenheit.

 

Homemade heated chicken waterer

September 24, 2012 Chicken Waterers No Comments

Heated chicken bucket watererSick of leaving your flock thirsty on cold winter mornings and breaking ice out of traditional chicken waterers?

Rooster in the snow

Our customers churned up a lot of great ideas last year in response to our photo contest, and my favorite homemade heated chicken waterer is shown here.  Lu Ann and Christian Chicken nipples in heated watererShank designed this waterer together, sandwiching heat tape between two buckets.  The great part about this design is that the outer bucket acts as a lip that protects the nipples, allowing you to set your waterer on the ground as you fill it.  Our kit provides step by step instructions for replicating their success using around $26 of additional parts.

 

Do you have an even better solution for keeping water flowing in the winter?  Perhaps you’ve designed a waterer that fills with rainwater caught your roof?  Or have you added an entirely different inventive twist to our do it yourself kit?  I hope you’ll email your photos and description to info@avianaquamiser.com so we can share your innovations with the world!

 

Homemade chicken pluckers

November 25, 2011 Chicken Products, Chickens for food 4 Comments

Whiz-Bang PluckerOnce we started raising a lot of our own meat chickens, it quickly became clear that plucking was the most time-consuming part of the operation.  Luckily, there are several ways to make your own mechanical plucker and expedite processing day.

The Whiz-Bang Chicken Plucker is the best know, for a good reason — it works like a charm. You simply toss one large or two small birds in the moving drum and the feathers come off as the birds bounce around inside.  The good news is that plans are available for under
$20.  The bad news is that you’re either going to spend a long time scrounging for used parts or spend about $600 buying the parts new.  As a result, I think the Whiz-Bang Chicken Plucker is only appropriate for folks starting a pastured broiler business, plucking hundreds or thousands of chickens every year.

Markham plucker

The next most expensive option is the Markham Plucker, the plans for which are found in Mini-Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre ($11.53 on Amazon.)  A motor turns a belt that rotates a piece of PVC pipe covered with chicken plucker fingers.  You hold the chicken against the fingers, rotating the bird as necessary to remove all of the feathers.  I haven’t used or made a Markham Plucker, but my guesstimate is that the plucker could be built using new parts for less than $200.  I’d be curious to hear a first hand account from someone who’s made and used a Markham Plucker — does it get the wing and tail feathers?  How well does the machine pluck?

Drill chicken plucker

The cheapest DIY option I’ve seen is the drill-head plucker.  Simply cut up some old bungee cords, install them in a short section of PVC pipe, and hook
that onto a drill.  The price tag (assuming you already have a drill) is around $20.  The plucker operates pretty much like the Markham Plucker and reports on its efficiency vary.

Half-plucked chicken

Washboard pluckerMark is currently experimenting with a washboard-style chicken plucker.  The idea is simple — he installed chicken plucker fingers in the sides and bottom of a U of plywood (cost — $20 to $30).  You hand-pluck the difficult wing and tail feathers, then pull the bird through the plucker a few times, rotating it after each pass.  I was astonished at the efficacy of version 1.0 (even though Mark thought it needed more work.)  Sure, I had to pluck the feathers around the neck and between the legs after the plucker was done, but I estimate the washboard plucker saved me about 10 minutes per bird — and it doesn’t require electricity!  I’ll keep you posted once Mark comes up with version 2.0.

Do you have an even better way to pluck your chickens?