Suburban Chicken Coop Preventing Freezing Preparing For the Winter

In this video, I show some of the ways that we are keeping the chicken coop warm in the winter including keeping the watering system from freezing. We have had a few days in the 20s here in Michigan so I have had some time to test out the heating system that I have set up and it is working great so far! The watering system that I put together this summer has been working well and it has been so nice not to have to clean out the water!

 

To prevent freezing in the watering system I am using a product called heat tape or heat cable. You can find that product HERE.  All that is required is some electrical tape, duct or foil back tape, pipe insulation, and some zip ties. The installation is pretty straight forward for any piping system. You run the thermostatically controlled heat cable under the pipe you would like to keep from freezing and hold it in place with zip ties or electrical tape. Then wrap the pipe in insulation and cover with foil back or duct tape. The heat cable only turns on when the temp is below 40 degrees and then turns back off once the water is heated up enough. So far this seems to be working great!
 

We have also installed a heat lamp on the inside of the chicken coop to provide a little bit of heat for the chickens as well. They enjoy the light it provides and also some warmth! To control the temperature in the coop we are using a small thermostatically controls outlet. This product is available HERE. This little outlet turns the heat lamp on when the temps gets down to 35 degrees and then warms the coop up to 45 degrees and then shuts off.  We got this idea from someone who commented on one of our videos.  We really appreciate feedback like that!  This saves energy and allows it to automatically keep the temps above freezing inside the coop. I know that the chickens can probably do without the heat but they do seem to enjoy it!

 

 

Next year, I will run more permanent electrical wiring, light sockets, and installing an outlet for the heat cable, but for now I have a extension cord run to the coop from an outdoor outlet on our home. This will work for now but I plan on implementing a more permanent solution.


I hope this helps you with your own coop in some way!


SSL Family Dad

 

 

 

 

 

 

        
 

This post was shared at:  Homestead Barn Hop, Simple Lives Thursday, The HomeAcre Christmas Hop

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Greenhouse Roof Failure!

A little mishap happened with our last snow storm.  The north facing roof buckled on the greenhouse from the snow.  From the photo, you can see that the 4 “rafter” pieces have all bent in.  The rigid foam insulation that I had installed on the inside has also pushed in.

Luckily, when I assembled the greenhouse, I had added some extra bracing inside.  This prevented it from totally caving in so it’s not a total loss.  The plants and fish are still alive!  This spring, I should be able to dismantle this section and bend the pieces back into shape….and add some additional braces inside.

Here’s a link to my blog that displays the original bracing I installed a few years ago.  Link to Blog
 

Spring can’t come fast enough!

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Winter season DONE

In a tragic turn of events, my winter season is over. The circuit breaker for the greenhouse tripped and it went through the night with no heat.

The outside temps went down to 21F (-6.1C) last night while the inside temps went to 27F (-2.8C). Everything got frosted except a few lettuce plants. Tank water is at 38F (3.3C)...goldfish are conserving energy by sitting at the bottom of the tank. Theyll be perfectly fine this way until spring.

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Winter Chicken Watering System No cleaning easy to fill cheap and efficient

Are you sick of cleaning out those traditional water dispensers? For years when I was a kid my least favorite part about having chickens was that I had to go out in the cold and clean out their water dispenser and even though we had it on a hot plate it seemed to freeze anyway. Check out this watering system from the SSLFamlyDad that addresses these issues and saves money on energy.


I have tried different things with other watering systems for the chickens and had mixed results. Although I am probably not done experimenting with different ideas, this is the latest:) This system is made of a small 2 gallon Coleman cooler and a few PVC fittings and small sections of pipe.
I started by removing the spigot that comes installed in the cooler. You can then use a 1/2" male and 1/2" female threaded PVC adapter to connect through where the spigot was. I would recommend using some silicone around the fittings to ensure a good seal.

On the inside of the cooler glue in a 1/2" street 90 and point it upward. This will allow some water to always stay in the bottom of the system so that the heater does not burn up. Next, on the outside or the cooler, you can attach any configuration of piping and the chicken nipples that you would like but I chose a basic spilt setup.

I attached a short piece of pipe to the outside 1/2" fitting and then a tee. One short piece of pipe on each side of the tee with a cap on one side and a 90 on the other. On the side with the 90 I ran that up to another 90 at the same height as I want the highest water level to be in the cooler. This will hopefully prevent overfilling from the outside. This section will be run out through the coop wall so that I can fill it from the outside.

For the chicken drippers you can size up a small bolt that matches the thread size of the drippers for pre-threading the holes. I used an 11/32" drill bit to drill one hole in each side of the pipe coming out of the tee on the bottom. You can then thread in the appropriate sized bolt and back out to create some threads to start the plastic drippers. Use some silicone or thread sealant and thread in the drippers, one on each side. I also wrapped the piping in 1/2 foam insulation and some electrical tape. 


The last things is to mount the 50 watt aquarium heater to the bottom using the included suction cup. I also put a dab of silicone on the suction cup to hold it down firmly to the bottom. I also cut a small notch in the lid threads on the cooler to feed out the cord for the heater as well.

You are now ready to install it in the coop. I made a small shelf for mine inside the coop for the winter but I am not sure if I will continue to keep the system inside the coop as it tends to make a mess. I will update on that later. I routed my fill pipe out the back wall of the coop and placed a small threaded fitting there so I can attach a homemade PVC funnel to it for filling. You could also omit this step and just open the lid and pour in some water that way as well.


Once you are all setup you can just plug in the aquarium heater to electric however you can (extension cord, hardwired electric box, etc). I also use what is called a thermostatic electric outlet in my setup. This outlet only powers on the heater when the temp reaches 32 degrees or below and stays on until it gets up to 44 and then shuts off. This prevents me from heating water when it is warm outside and thus saving on electric costs. I have used this same outlet for a heat lamp in the past and it works great.

Full Video Walkthrough here

All you need for this project below

2 Gallon cooler - http://amzn.to/1MsHgAY
5 Gallon cooler - http://amzn.to/1QyXBZ5
ThermoCube outlet - http://tinyurl.com/qz5aa9c
Chicken Drippers - http://amzn.to/1uQ8PIM

All of these products and more recommended items from the SSL Family are available at the Simple Suburban Living

General Store - http://astore.amazon.com/simpsubulivi-20

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Do Chickens Lay Eggs in the Winter

Check out this video to learn more about raising chickens in the winter. Will they lay eggs when it is cold? Do they need a certain amount of light? How warm should it be? How will they get water in the winter? These are many of the questions that I had going into this first winter with the chickens and I couldnt be happier with our coop, watering system, feeder, and heat lamp. The chickens have been providing us with plenty of eggs for a family of five throughout this very very cold winter.

We have six ISA Brown breed chickens and every day we go out to the coop (well maybe not every day) and there are six eggs waiting for us. This year we have had a very cold winter, I mean, really cold! For the last couple of weeks it has not been above 10 degrees Fahrenheit (-12c) and the chickens have kept on laying! The only issue we have had is if we dont get the eggs in 24 hours they will freeze in the nesting boxes. This could be solved with some extra pine shavings or paper shredding I just havent gotten around to it yet.

The other issue that I was curious about was lighting. I had installed some solar lights in the coop but since the little solar panels are covered in snow and the batteries dont seem to charge very well in the cold; the light s have not really been working much. The only extra light they get is from the heat lamp when it is on. It is hooked up to a thermostatically controlled outlet that turns it on when it gets to 32 degrees (0c) and then turns off once it warms up to 45 degrees (7c). During the coldest days they pretty much dont come out of the coop except to eat then quickly get back into the warmth. I feel that the addition of the heat lamp in this case is helping them to lay more by creating a nice warm nesting area for them (no science here just opinion).

The only other issue that we have had was with the watering system during the coldest periods. When it was down well below 0 degrees (-17c) with wind chills close to -25 (-31c) the heat tape and insulation could not keep up. The water pipe froze almost solid but not enough to break the pvc at least as far as I can tell so far. The inside part of the pipe also froze and no water was coming out for the chickens at all. I may do some redesigning on this heat system for next year but as long as it is not insanely cold for the rest of the winter it should work ok.

We have been so happy with the decision to get these chickens. They require minimal upkeep and provide us with so much. It is so nice to always know there is a free breakfast, lunch or dinner waiting in the fridge in the form of recycled cartons full of fresh eggs from our girls.

 

Products mentioned in this video:

Temperature controlled outlet - http://amzn.to/1A9sJRT
Similar heat tape - http://amzn.to/1wRPQzl
Heat Lamp - http://amzn.to/14SnEoH
Heat Bulb - http://amzn.to/1y5HMB4

All of these products and more recommended items from the SSL Family are available at the

Simple Suburban Living General Store

 

 

 

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Building a Geodesic Dome Greenhouse Part 3

Finally got around to doing the third video in my series of building the geodesic dome.  This one covers how all the struts are made.  Its filmed in HD so you should be able to expand it to full-screen!  I hope you enjoy it!

Below is the transcript from the video....

Hello Everyone,
This is the third video in the series about building a geodesic dome greenhouse.  This time I will cover how to build the interconnecting struts which are made from red cedar.   I choose red cedar because it is rot resistant.  You could use treated lumber, which is substantially cheaper, but I was concerned about chemicals leaching into the water for my aquaponic system.

The site I used for the calculations is acidome.ru.  The entire site is in Russian, but Google Translate does a fairly good job converting the text.  The calculator lets you enter the diameter of the dome, choose the hub type and size, and even the dimensions of the struts.  It will then calculate the angles needed at each hub and also calculate all the various sized struts and labels them with the dimensions taking into consideration the size of the hubs.

The best feature is the ability to have the software calculate a flat base, since a 3V 3/8th dome is not flat.  One click and the struts are recalculated with the proper lengths!

With a 33 foot diameter 3V dome, each triangle will never be wider than 6 feet.  This will allow me to purchase the polycarbonate glazing in 6 by 24 foot sheets, helping to minimize the amount of scrap.

The struts are made from red cedar 2x4’s by 14 feet.  This will be enough material to cut 2 struts from each board with some scrap.  The end of each board is cut at a 12 degree angle so it will align with the hub.  Not every hub connection is exactly 12 degrees, but there is enough flex in the structure for the angles to average out properly.

Once the struts are cut to length, they are run through the table saw to add a slight bevel to them.  When the dome is fully assembled, the polycarbonate panels will rest fairly flat along the bevel.  This will also insure that the height of each strut is the same since it can vary slightly from the mill.

Next I remove some of the material from the end of each strut using a dado blade mounted in the radial-arm saw.  This space will provide an area for the top tab of the hub to rest and provide enough clearance for the polycarbonate panels over the crown of the carriage bolt.

I built a jig to act as a stop and keep each strut aligned properly during drilling.  This allows for a consistently placed hole to be drilled near the end of each strut.  The placement of this hole is important so it will fit properly into the hub and provided an accurate length for the hub and strut combination.

And now, the perfect excuse to use one of my favorite tools!
The bottom of the head of a carriage bolt has a square neck so it can grab into wood to prevent it from turning.  To get it to fit into the metal tab, I would either have to drill the tab’s hole larger, compromising some of its strength, or turn down the neck of the bolt in the metal lathe.  I chose to turn each bolt and then will re-galvanize the area with cold-galvanizing paint.

Here is an example of how the final assembly will fit together.  The strut is sandwiched between the two hub tabs and then tightened into place using a lock washer and nut.

This top view displays how each strut can pivot slightly on each hub.  Since the angles of each triangle section aren’t the same from one section to the next, this allowed for me to make the same hub and allow the pivot against the bolt to make minor changes to the angles.

This side profile shows how the dado in the strut allows the polycarbonate glazing to clear the area without hitting the tab or bolt head.

Finally, this profile displays how the glazing will set flat into the beveled area that is cut along the top of each strut.

I assembled the base to verify that the calculations were correct and the pieces fit together.  So far, so good!

That’s all for now.  The next video I plan on detailing some of the site work.  Thanks for watching!

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Preparing for Winter

Daffodils - Plant in Fall for a Spring Treat

Today I wandered by the hardware store and bought various things for upcoming projects. The daffodils were a splurge, but something I knew my daughter would enjoy.

Ive got two projects in the works - the greenhouse-style shed, so I can show you how to finish off the greenhouse at the ends, and a solar heater, to keep things toasty in the greenhouse as it gets cold outside.

I posted the Cansolair video yesterday, but Im doing a DIY version, our of pop cans. A particularly good set of instructions can be found online at http://solar.freeonplate.com/solar_panel_DIY.htm. Though Im still at the beginning of the process, Ive figured out a couple of improvements.

• Use an empty soup can to brace the aluminum cans as you start cutting. The closer it is in size to the aluminum cans, the better. The point is that your aluminum can will not buckle (twist, tear, shred, undergo other plastic deformation) as you work, because the soup can will stabilize the perimeter. This is good.
• Having a massive nail/spike and tin snips is nice, but all you really need is a 1-1/4 inch spade drill bit. I put the bit in my power drill, not because I want to use the power tool, but because the tool gives me leverage and control. The idea is to push the bit into the ends of the soda can - it slices through like a hot knife through cold butter.

Some argue that you dont actually have to punch holes in the cans, but wanted to post these tips for those who want to do the "classic" soda can solar heater construction technique.

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Whats in a picture

This past week some of us were designing a T-shirt to celebrate World Water Day and Aquaponics. The T-shirt is now live at Cafepress, and its cool.

In the process, however, I came up with a slightly different logo, which Ill be using for my own aquaponics efforts. Thought Id explain what I was thinking, and why this is such a perfect logo for "365 Aquaponics."

The T-shirt slogan talks about growing more food with every drop. Since I often have to explain aquaponics to folks, I thought a design that showed the fish in clean water and the plants in fertilized water would be cool. Of course, the plant would have to be above the fish. Since the system cycles constantly, I decided to show the drops chasing each other - it would also look a bit like the yin yang symbol, which implies completeness. Super-excited about my concept, I shared a sketch with the team:

They were underwhelmed. Frankly, I dont like it, after getting a good night of sleep. The term "hot mess" comes to mind.

The official T-shirt went forward with its elegant and simple graphic, but I couldnt get the idea out of my head. Around this time I decided to research the yin yang symbol, to make sure there wasnt some weird symbolism I wanted to avoid. Thats when I found out that the original yin yang symbol was all about the seasons of the year.

Allen Tsai has a nice page describing the original origin, with plots showing the day when the sun shone longest (and cast the shortest shadow) versus the day the sun shone least and cast the longest shadow.

If you put a little white spot to symbolize the day the sun starts to "conquer," and a little black spot to symbolize the day the moon starts to "conquer," you get the familiar yin yang symbol. And its all about the seasons of the year.

I created my yin yang art, and drew a fish. The plant is supposed to be generic plant - neither lotus nor lettuce nor flower, but somehow representative of all of these.

The final touch is the curved white line of bubbles, suggesting movement and the need to oxygenate the fishes water. Voilà! An image that explains aquaponics and the full year, winter as well as summer.

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Winter in New England

18" of snow...well get a few more before the storm is over. Its nice to see all that money I spend on heat goes right through the roof and melts it! (sigh)

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Plastic Extruder Continued

I was a bit surprised to received so many questions about my plastic extruder. Hopefully this info will answer some of these questions:

There are 3 sections: bearing chamber, hopper, and heating chamber. These are made with a section of ¾” black pipe (gas pipe) and ¾” wood auger bit fits nicely into the pipe. There is a little bit of gap between the auger and pipe. I was concerned the molten plastic would ooze back out of the chamber, but it was never a problem. This unit can consume virgin HDPE pellets or cut up milk bottles.

The bearing chamber is about 3.5” long and is mostly dead space. The shaft of the auger bit is long and I didn’t feel like turning it down shorter. At the end where the shaft comes out, there is a thrust bearing placed on it to minimize the friction.

The hopper has half of the black pipe cut away to expose the auger. This is 4.5” long and has a metal hopper which holds around 1 cup of pellets. As the auger turns, some pellets get forced into the heating chamber while some just sort of move to the front of the hopper. Between the hopper and heating chamber is ¼” of plywood…to act as a heat insulator to minimize the heat loss through the metal.

The heating chamber has two heating zones. The main reason was to attempt to heat the plastic evenly since I wasn’t sure how it would heat as it moved through the chamber. This chamber is 5 inches long. The first temperature sensor is placed about half way through and the auger bit ends just before it (so it won’t hit against the probe). The second reason was I didn’t want to run a high voltage through the Nickel Chromium wire…too dangerous and I had a couple of PC power supplies I could run 12 volts at 8 amps. The pipe is wrapped in Kapton tape which is heat resistant….but you can see in the photo it did eventually burn through. Each zone is independently controlled by a microprocessor to maintain a consistent temp.

The heating chamber has a flange on the end which allows different die plates to be bolted on to the end. Depending on the size of the “hole” in the die, the plastic will extrude at different speeds. For the 1/4” slot, the auger turns at about 18rpm and can produce a ribbon of material at roughly 200 feet/hour.

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