Smart Feeder - Light sensor values

[Aunty e]

We did win the Bay run from eBay (for under the new price, phew) but the people who own it have no idea how to dismantle it. It has onduline on the roof and I assume is screwed together. Will we just be able to unscrew it to take apart? Will we need to do something special to take the roof apart? They mentioned silicone sealant...

 

Also my current plan is to buy paving slabs to build a flat base for the run to go on, with bare earth in the middle covered with chippings of some sort. Will this keep the foxes out? They're quite good at digging . We were going to have it on slabs, right up against the fence on two sides. Any fox-foxing tips? I don't want to lay on bare earth as our garden slopes down to the corner we'll put the run in and I imagine the run would rot very quickly.

[beach chick]

not that hot on the dismantling side - have you got a power screwdriver? that might help...

 

as for putting the run on slabs with earth in the middle that sounds good - lots of people here do that and find it works well. others slab the lot...

[Plum]

Ours was just screwed together but by us so I could unscrew it. We predrilled holes, hope they were as helpful.

 

The silicone should just peel off and the panels will be either nailed or probably screwed on. We used ones with caps but Chris from Bay recommended screwing the roof down then blobs of silicone on top.

 

Good luck I'm sure you'll manage it. How exciting not long now

[Aunty e]

Squee! Won a little chicken house on ebay, so as long as the chap who's buying my cube turns up we're all set for a chickentastic weekend! I was surprised by how expensive paving slabs are though Just to make a perimeter to sit the run on is going to be over £100 (run is 12ft by 9ft).

 

The house I won is this one

 

http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/products/hen-house.html

 

It's designed for bantams, but as it's going inside the run I'm going to do some fairly extensive modifications to turn the whole body of the thing into a house, and keep the original sleeping bit as a nesting box if that makes sense. Of course, if it's anything like the cube, the wretched chickens will simply all sleep in the nesting box and ignore the huge house.

[beach chick]

oh I like that house, roll on a good weekend and lots of pix from you next week!

[Olly]

My run is just on a slab 'ring' with bare earth in the middle .... it's been fine as far as foxes are concerned. I'm sure it didn't cost me anything like that much - I bought the cheapest possible slabs from Focus, I bought them over several weekends as I didn't think my car would take more than six or so, and I found it too tiring to move them as well! I think each slab was about £2 and I must have had about 30 in the end.

 

Congratulations on winning the run and chicken-house though - it's going to be worth all the work.

[Aunty e]

We've got a van for tomorrow, what with the run and the house and needing slabs and big bags of bark chippings, it seemed to make sense! And I wanted to be able to pop a stepladder in the back in case the people we're picking up from don't have one.

 

I've found some cheaper slabs, £2 for 40cm by 40cm, we'll need 28, so I'll buy 30 and that won't be too bad.

 

Would really like to paint the chicken house - can you use any old paint or does it need to be special paint? The run is stained a repulsive bright orange red, so was going to tone it down with a dark grey stain but probably not this weekend, we'll have quite a lot to do.

 

Ebay buyer being a tad elusive - first he wants to pick up tonight, then he doesn't. I wouldn't mind, but I could really do with the money given how much I'm spending this weekend!

[Plum]

I used cuprinol on my run which says its safe.

 

I've got a little wooden house I'm painting and just using acrylic paints with acrylic varnish on top. I hope it's safe because Pigeon has a purple beak. They do like to help.

[jill the potter]

I used cuprinol on my run which says its safe.

 

I've got a little wooden house I'm painting and just using acrylic paints with acrylic varnish on top. I hope it's safe because Pigeon has a purple beak. They do like to help.

 

photo please!!

[Aunty e]

AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH. So far this hasn't been my greatest saturday ever - hideous traffic, when we get to pick up the house is HUGE, much bigger than we thought and only just fits in the van (although the lady we got it from had 2 cubes, an eglu go and six or seven classics!!!!!), then when we get to pick up the run it takes FOREVER to dismantle and they didn't tell us that the roof panels were 9 by 3 (having said the largest panels were 6 by 3 so we have to do two trips (reading to essex and back = three hoursish extra). Just got home and unloaded, but we didn't have time to get slabs in the van, so I'll have to do several trips in the car tomorrow. Sigh. Needs to be done tomorrow, and fox proof as the cube is going on Tuesday, and I'm not here mon-wed. ARGH. ARGH.

 

Lovely people we collected from, lady with omlet world was super fun, and the family we got the run from (evn though they don't own power tools) were so sweet and nice and looked after Mog all afternoon while we dismantled the run from hell. I really really hope it goes back together easier than it came apart - I ended up crowbarring most of the sections apart because the screws wouldn't unscrew. Hoping that it was my lame drill, as my mum is bringing a couple with her tomorrow too so we can keep them on a rotating charge.

 

Argh. Must get up very early tomorrow.

[Olly]

Crumbs Aunty E, hope today went better ... should you really be using a crowbar in your condition! doing a return trip to Reading sounds pretty awful, don't you just love the M25 on a Saturday. Hope you managed to collect everything and are just lying back exhausted after a successful day.

[Aunty e]

Bleurgh. Took so long getting slabs that I didn't manage to get the WIR onduline on, or the house attached to the run. Now dithering about what to do. The cube was supposed to be collected on Tuesday, and we could REALLY do with the money having already spent it on the new run etc, but I'm off tomorrow for three days (hence needing to dismantle/build everything today and yesterday). So do I put them in the little house and run for three days and sort it out when I get back, or put off the cube collection...Im about this close to just having them in the conservatory for a few days. Sigh.

[Plum]

Don't be so hard on yourself, it took us weeks. Would the cube owner mind waiting a few days?

[goodinparts]

You poor thing, though...it's awful when you are relying on things dovetailing nicely and they refuse to. I had wanted to get my cube up and girls installed before this week so they'd have more space while we were away - but am now really glad I didn't as I'm probably going to get a couple more LF to join them and they can all be newbies in the cube together.

I'm hoping there may be an unexpected silver lining for you too...meanwhile, breathe....

And maybe look on freecycle for paving slabs. All ours came from there...

Sympathetic hug

[Aunty e]

We put off collection until next week. I have some time to really consider how best to attach the run to the house now. I think I'll need to build some kind of extra framing to ensure the join is secure and foxy can't just push through. We're going to have to be a bit frugal until we get the cube money mind you!

[Plum]

I can't imagine a fox moving the cube

[Jules.]

My cube just butts up to my WIR

[beach chick]

ours is butted up, but OH has also put a couple of brackets on each side to secure it to the run.... probably not necessary really!

[Aunty e]

Oh, but we're attaching this to the run.

 

 

Couldn't afford to keep the cube and buy a WIR To be fair, I've often thought the cube was wasted on our mob as they all sleep in the nesting box anyway. Am going to try to save up for a Go at some point (lady we picked up the wooden house from had one and it was lovely lovely looking!) but this was only £70 and it is cute Going to paint it grey and white at some point. They can hide in the roof bit too, which is sweet.

 

The problem with attaching it is that the roof overhangs quite a bit, so I've had to cut the wire to allow it to poke into the run so I can butt the side of the house to it. I'm going to put in some extra cross bracings above and below where the roof pokes in and nail the wire to those, and then do a similar thing where the door to the house (and the hole in the run wire) is. I'll take some pictures when it's done. I've taken the door off so that I can screw directly into the house. Need yet MORE paving slabs to go under the house though. I love B and Q. Not.

[beach chick]

I think I said on another thread - love that house auntye!

[Aunty e]

Me too Super pleased with the price. I've got a big bowl of catfood in the run overnight to see if the foxes are going to get in. It's not totally secure at the moment but I was a bit perturbed at how easily they've managed to enlarge the holes under the main garden fence after I filled them in with paving slabs, not not sure I can bear to pop the chooks in the new run without having a dry run so to speak.

[Aunty e]

Big bowl of catfood untouched this morning Cats all sitting around the run looking angry and resentful so I let them eat it. Almost tempted to have a chicken for dinner tonight (from the shop of course) and then leave the carcass in the run tonight just to double check...

[Donna C]

Got to ssy it's really lovely looking, How many chooks can you fit in it?

[Aunty e]

I've got the bantam version, which if you're using it on it's own is for four bantams or two large fowl. There is a bigger version for large fowl, doesn't cost much more, and I think you can fit four or six in. It's from the domestic fowl trust originally. As my lot only ever sleep in the nesting box, I decided that this would work fine for sleeping quarters, especially as they can perch inside the roof too, and then they've got the big run for frolics during the day. When I've got it finished this afternoon, I'll take some pictures for you all.

[beach chick]

I wouldnt leave a chicken carcass out, a bit like saying "Dinner's here, come and get it!"