10053 CC Guide to Backyard Chickens

Contents › 8 10 14 18

18

COVER PHOTOGRAPH: YULIA-ZL18

20

36

Protecting your chicks from illnesses starts with understanding how to prevent diseases, and spotting and responding to symptoms.

52

Build the Perfect Chicken Coop With our unique design, anyone can keep a few chickens in their backyard.

Breeds That Work For Your Needs These standout breeds deserve special recognition.

The Best Backyard Chicken Breeds For Kids Young ones are falling in love with flocks of fowl.

Caring For Your New Chickens Know how to care for your baby chicks properly.

26

Hatching a Plan

28

Why Raise Heritage Livestock?

It’s all in a day’s work for entrepreneur Ryan Kelsey, who rises with the chickens.

62

A Healthy Flock: What You Need to Know

52

Get Smart: Protecting the Flock from Predators

56

Treating and Preventing Lice on Chickens

60

Treating and Preventing Chicken Frostbite

62

Raising Guinea Fowl on Your Farm

66

Stealing From Snakes

68

Build a Weatherproof, Pest-Proof Chicken Feeder

These backyard chicken-keeping tips will keep your birds healthy and thriving.

Knowing the enemy is the first step to keeping your chickens safe.

Learn how to identify the presence of lice to avoid an infestation in your chicken flock.

Protect your flock from winter freezes with the help of these tips.

Guinea fowl make a great addition to your livestock.

Keep your chicks safe and warm in their brooder with these helpful tips.

Feed your flock without encouraging mold or supporting the local mouse and starling populations.

Such breeds connect us with our past and often can bring a variety of benefits to a farm.

72

Home on the (Free-) Range

76

Breed Better Heritage Flocks

82

Ducks or Geese for Farm Poultry?

Follow this experienced chicken owner’s advice to keep your flock happy and healthy.

84

A History of Geese as Guard Animals

43

Feed the Flock

86

Chickens in the Garden

47

Affordable Ways to Keep Your Flock Warm

92

Deep Litter Management

96

You Can Raise Chickens in Your Backyard

30 36 42

43 50

Chick Illness Prevent and Treat

50

48

From Total Loss to Sustainable Success After a hard working family lost everything in Katrina, they relied on themselves to start an extremely successful chicken farm.

82

Poultry on Pasture Don’t underestimate the nutritional value of the weeds and grasses on your ground.

86

Seven Safety Tips for Free-Range Chickens

Learn more about what offers a healthy diet for chickens.

96

Some easy methods to help increase the chance your chickens will survive a spate of cold weather.

What to Do About Poultry Remorse Avoid this malady by following these five tips from an experienced chicken owner. www.Grit.com

1

2

GRIT's Guide to Backyard Chickens

To free range or not to free range … the ultimate question for folks with flocks.

Here’s why and how dedicated ‘flocksters’ can take breeding back under their wings.

Both are fun birds for the farm, but there are some key differences.

Owning a flock of geese is also a great way to control weeds.

You can ‘recoop’ much of the expense of raising chickens by putting their manure to work in your garden.

Use mulch for great compost and better chicken health.

No matter the lot size, you can keep a few hens in your backyard, and have access to fresh eggs.

T he Best B C ackyard

hicken

Breeds for Kids

A whole new generation of youngsters is falling in love with flocks of fowl and is eager to learn more about keeping them healthy and happy.

Buff Orpington

Easter Egger

Cochin

Faverolle

Silkie Bantam

Wyandotte

By Melissa Caughey

are the 10 chicken breeds that we have found work well for families and

include all the possible breeds. There are hundreds of different ones out there! You can always do more research to find out about breeds that aren’t included here.

Australorp

This Australian breed has black feathers that shimmer iridescent green in the sun. As the birds age, sometimes the tips of their feathers become a bit speckled with brownish gray.  These hens often establish themselves at the top of the flock.  They are homebodies and handle confinement well.  They can be curious, friendly, and outgoing animals.  Hens lay about five medium to large brown eggs every week. 

Plymouth Rock

These chickens are an American breed of domestic chicken. They were developed 

Australorp

18

Grit’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

during the 19th century in New England and continue to be popular in the region. They are standard-sized chickens known for living a long time.  They are gentle creatures who do very well with people and get along with other pets.  They lay four or five pinkish brown eggs per week.  The Barred Rock looks like a zebra with its black-and white striped feathers.

Buff Orpington

These chickens are the golden retrievers of the chicken world.  Originally the bird is from England.

They tend to be large, friendly birds with golden feathers.  They are curious and incredibly lovable, and they enjoy being held.  They handle confinement to the coop and run well.  They can go broody and typically lay three large brown eggs per week. 

Cochin

Cochins, much like Silkies, originated in China.  These fluffy-feathered chickens even have feathered feet. Some have frizzled (curly) feathers. They come in eight different colors and both standard and bantam sizes. 

Brahma

Brahmas come in both standard and bantam sizes.  These chickens are friendly, not skittish, and trainable, making them good birds for children to show. They do not mind 

Plymouth Rock

Brahma

FROM LEFT, TOP ROW: ISTOCK/AMY KERK; HEDGE HOG WHISPERER; CHERYL BARNABA; FROM LEFT, SECOND ROW: MINDEN PICTURES/GERALD LACZ/FLPA; ISTOCK (2) /WESTCOTT; LINDA STEWARD

Here tend to be the most docile, friendliest birds. By no means does this list

being handled, and even the males are a bit more docile than other breeds. They come in a variety of colors. They have feathers on their feet. The hens lay lovely brown eggs approximately three times per week.

COURTESY STOREY PUBLISHING (9): FROM LEFT: ALAMY/SALLY SMITH; ISTOCK/AMY KERK; DREAMSTIME/SIMONE VAN DEN BERG

Melissa Caughey, award-winning blogger and owner of Tilly’s Nest, makes it easy for kids to master the basics of chicken raising in her new book, A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Chickens (Storey Publishing, 2015). The following excerpt is from Chapter 2, “Choosing the Best Chickens.”

They can adapt to living in a coop for their entire life, but also free-range well.  They are a quiet, friendly, hardy, and very calm breed.  Expect three brown eggs per week. 

Easter Egger

If you want colored eggs, then you’ll want a couple of these hens. Their appearance can vary, but they carry a genetic trait that means their eggs can be tinted in hues of blue, green, olive, and pink. This is not an official breed but a type of chicken. They come in the standard size as well as bantam.  Easter Eggers get their ability to lay colored eggs from either an Araucana or Ameraucana parent, but the other parent can be another breed.  These are friendly, curious birds.  They lay around four eggs per week. 

Faverolle

These French chickens stand out by having five toes instead of the usual four, fluffy cheek feathers (called muffs), and a feathered beard.  Faverolle chickens come in a wide variety of colors, the most popular is salmon.  These chickens don’t mind being confined to the coop. 

They are incredibly docile, making them particularly suitable for younger kids.  They lay about four light brown or creamy eggs per week. 

Polish

This is a friendly breed with quite an unusual look.  Some people say this breed’s poufy head feathers can cause issues, such as problems with their vision and feather picking from the other hens. The feathers can be gently trimmed to help with vision, and if Polish chicks are raised with other breeds, problems usually don’t arise.  Polish come in two sizes: standard and bantam sizes.  They are not the most reliable egg layers. If you are lucky, you can expect two white eggs per week. 

Silkie Bantam

This ancient breed was first described

by Marco Polo on a visit to China in the 13th century.  They are tiny, lightweight, and easy to handle, and they have a few unusual features. The most noticeable is that their feathers, which come in many colors, are fluffy instead of smooth.  They also have five toes (most chickens 

have four) and black skin (instead of the typical yellow). They tend to go broody a lot, so this is not a breed to depend on for eggs.  The eggs they lay are half the size of standard eggs and they range from cream to white in color—some even have a slightly pinkish tint. When a hen is laying, you can expect about three eggs per week.

Silver or Golden Laced Wyandotte

These incredibly beautiful birds were developed in the United States.  They come in many colors, but the Silver and Golden varieties are the most readily available. They have either a white or gold lacing pattern between the black on their feathers.  The rose-style comb is perfect for colder regions as it is less susceptible to frostbite.  They are a smaller breed, averaging approximately 6 pounds for the hens.  Chock-full of personality, they can be domineering and are typically the head hens in their flocks.  They make excellent mothers.  They tend to lay lovely, pale-brown eggs four or five times per week.

Making them a very reliable breed. 

www.Grit.com

19

Your chick will require proper bedding, a heat source, and easy access to food and water to ensure and maintain a healthy living status.

Your local farm store will carry a variety of chick feeds. Look for a feed specifically designed for chicks (not chickens). This feed will be smaller and easier for your chicks to digest. You will also notice you can get medicated or unmediated chick feed. Medicated chick feed prevents coccidiosis (a parasitic disease of the intestinal track) in your chicks. If you keep your brooder clean and dry, you may not need a medicated feed but many people, including myself, prefer to feed a medicated starter feed as an insurance policy against the disease. Once the chicks are older, they should be weaned onto a regular chicken feed without medication.

CHICK GRIT

Chickens need grit starting at around two weeks of age. Grit is used in the chicken’s gizzard to help grind down the food.

(Gizzards, not just for gravy!) Since chicks are not born with grit in their gizzards, you will need to provide some type of grit to get them started. Your local feed store will have grit specifically designed for small chicks. It’s called chick grit.

Brilliant, I know. Pick some up and mix it in with their regular feed according to the directions on the package.

WATER

Water seems like a simple thing, and for the most part it is.

Grab a waterer designed for chicks, fill it up, and stick it in the brooder, right? Almost. One word of caution when it comes to water. Believe it or not, even with small chicken waterers,

22

Grit’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

Caring For New Chicks, Part 3: Sick Chicks

chicks can drown themselves in their water. To prevent this, it’s a good idea to set the watering container up on a small block for the first few weeks. This will keep the chicks from falling asleep with their beaks in their water trough and drowning.

It is inevitable that one or two of your new chicks will get sick. Some issues, like pasty butt, are relatively minor, while others, such as birth defects, are more serious.

CLEANING YOUR BROODER

FAILURE TO THRIVE

If you have ever parked your car under a bird’s nest you know birds poop, a lot. Chickens are no different. When your chicks are very young, you may only need to clean out your brooder once a week, but as they grow older, you will need to clean the brooder more and more frequently.

To thoroughly clean your brooder, you will need: • A small container to hold your chicks while you clean • Something to hold the dirty bedding (garbage bag, muck tub, bucket etc.)

• A dustpan and brush • Warm water and a rag for really gross spots • Fresh bedding Move your chicks to the small container and remove their food, water, and heat source. Dump the dirty bedding into whatever you are using for that purpose and then use the dust pan and brush to get up any remaining bits at the bottom of the brooder.

If there is still some poop stuck to the bottom, use the warm water to scrub it off. Make sure the area is completely dry before adding the fresh bedding and returning the chicks to your brooder.

CLOCKWISE FROM FAR LEFT: MICHELE COOK; BALONCICI; JENNIFER CHAMBLEE; ERIKA MITCHELL

CHICK FEED

The most common issue with chicks is simply a failure to thrive. Remember, most chicks are hatched, sexed, shoved in a box, and shipped halfway across the country in their first 24 hours out of the shell. That’s a lot to deal with and some chicks don’t handle it particularly well. If you notice a chick not eating or moving as much as the other chicks, you might have a chick that just isn’t thriving in its new environment.

A chick like this will require special care and its own private quarters. Separate the chick from the rest so it isn’t competing for food and water and add a vitamin supplement to the water. There are plenty on the market such as Nutria-Drench, Poultry Cell, and Poultry Booster that can be mixed with the water to give a sluggish chick good nutritional support. These chicks often come around after a few days of special care and can be returned to their flock once they are back to normal.

PASTY BUTT

Tip: When contemplating a water feeder for your chicks, consider using an enclosed water fount. Not only is it inexpensive and easy to clean, it lowers the risk of drowning, as might happen with an open bowl.

While the name ‘pasty butt’ might not be the most technical name in the world, it is very accurate. Pasty butt is a condition where chicken poop sticks to a chick’s butt and blocks the cloaca. www.Grit.com

23

were no bugs or weeds to consume, so the birds were not producing when nutritional inputs were lowest. Feeding scratch alone doesn’t necessarily meet all of the nutritional requirements.

So with all of this in mind, what should you feed your flock? Do you keep chickens for eggs, for meat, or for a combination of both? How much free-range access do they have? Can you produce some of the feed yourself? After you’ve determined this, the next step is to get to work finding the right feed for your situation.

Reading the Feed Bag

Types of Feed

At the feed store, you’ll find a variety of types of chicken feed. Layer feed is formulated for actively laying hens.

Feed for meat birds is often referred to as broiler starter or broiler finisher.

Feeds for actively growing chicks will be referred to as chick starter or chick grower. Check the label to find if the feed is medicated, and make determinations based on your preference and management style.

Chicken feed also comes in a variety of forms, such as pellet, crumble, or mash.

In pellet form, it is just that—an extruded

44

Grit’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

A mother hen and her chicks explore outside the coop in order to scratch and feast on insects and vegetation.

Never feed layer ration to growing chicks. The extra mineral content in layer ration could interfere with proper development, especially with regard to reproductive organs that will be extremely vital to egg production later on.

Start feeding them layer ration at around 19 weeks, right before the chickens start their laying life.

Check the feed you purchase for your chicks; the feed needed for your laying hens contains minerals, such as vitamin D and calcium, which can be harmful to chicks. Look for “chick starter” or “chick grower” on the feed bag.

pellet. Crumbles, essentially, are simply pellets that are broken apart into smaller bits, which make it easier to eat. Mash is between a crumble and powder form, and best fed mixed with a little water. Chicken “scratch” is cracked corn with other whole grains such as oats or milo.

Grit

Grit simply refers to grains of rock that aid digestion in the gizzard, where it helps to grind up the food. If your chickens eat anything other than complete feed, which breaks down easily, grit should be offered if they don’t have access to bare soil where they can pick it up on their own.

Feed the Young

From the start, chicks should be given free access to feed and fresh water. As you grow your chicks, particular feeds will vary depending on the birds’ purpose—layer or broiler—but a good guideline could be as follows. Starter feed will typically contain 20 percent

protein and should be fed for the first six weeks or so.

Grower ration will contain less protein than starter, but more than layer ration, typically around 16 percent in most commercial grower feeds. Feed this to your birds from about 6 weeks to 18 weeks of age. As an alternative, you could also feed your chicks a combination starter/grower ration. At 18 weeks, they should be fed an adult diet.

Commercial feeds can be medicated or nonmedicated. Medicated feeds are designed to help chicks remain healthy in crowded, confined, or otherwise stressful conditions.

If you’re able to find organic or nonmedicated feed, it is entirely possible to brood your chicks to adulthood without fear of coccidiosis, assuming your management practices include clean, uncrowded, and otherwise favorable conditions. This could lead to more disease resistance and better health in the long run, and less residue in eggs, meat, and the environment.

Laying Hens

LEFT TO RIGHT: FOTOLIA (2) /CORNELIA ANGHEL/SORU EPTOK; PAGE 43: FOTOLIA/BOGGY

Commercial feed-bag labels list the basic data of the nutritional content in the bag. They won’t always list individual ingredients specifically, but the nutritional value is guaranteed for a certain amount of time, so be sure to check manufacturing dates on the label.

A manufacture date and identity of the production plant is required.

If you’re not sure of the shelf life of the feed you are looking at, ask the store clerk.

After a few months, nutritional value decreases. In addition, feed can become stale, rancid, or moldy, especially in humid climates. Moldy or rancid feed can cause digestive and respiratory problems. Always store feed in tight bins away from heat, moisture, and direct sunlight in a well-ventilated area that is free of insects and rodents.

If you’re looking for vegetable-based feed without animal by-products, that should be stated somewhere on the bag or label, as well.

Female chickens usually begin laying eggs between 18 and 22 weeks of age.

Be sure to gradually transition them from the grower feed to the layer feed over seven to 10 days. Laying hens need 15 to 18 percent protein in their diets for optimal egg production. What they eat will influence egg quality, specifically shell hardness and the nutritional value of the eggs. Complete feeds formulated for layers cover these dietary requirements. Most commercial layer feeds have vitamin D added (and more phosphorus and calcium than chick feeds), which ends up in the eggs.

Some feeds include ground flaxseed or algae meal, which increase omega-3 fatty acids in the eggs. These things will be listed on the bag or label.

Meat Birds

Birds raised for meat should put on as much weight as possible in the shortest amount of time, while also taking into consideration mobility, heart health, and other health concerns. As the birds get older and larger, they become less efficient and need a larger amount of feed for each pound of weight the chickens gain. Older birds produce more fat and should be slaughtered as close to the desired weight as possible. Commercial feeds formulated for raising meat birds are complete feeds, containing the essential vitamins, minerals, and energy the birds need for growth. Most feeds for meat birds are formulated for broiler chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pheasants.

Be sure to have ample feeding space so that all birds can eat at the same time. If you experience leg problems in your birds, cut back the feed some, or switch to a lower protein feed to slow down the birds’ growth rate.

Individual feeds, protein constitutes, and so forth are highly variable and depend on your management practices.

Here is one recommendation. Start chicks from hatch to 3 weeks of age

on a 22 to 24 percent protein starter.

After three or four weeks, switch to a 16, 18, or 20 percent grower ration.

Meat bird breeds are best slaughtered between 4 and 14 weeks of age, depending on sex, breed, and desired weight, size, and amount of fat.

Eight weeks is typical for the widely popular Cornish Cross, but it will be longer if you choose a slower-growing, dual-purpose heritage breed like the Buckeye, or choose to restrict the growth rate of any breed by not pushing the protein content to the max.

Some of these feeds are medicated, so check the label. As mentioned earlier, there are pros and cons to medicated feed. Keeping many birds in a small space increases stress and the likelihood of disease, so medicated feed is more important. For a small backyard flock, it can be unnecessary and perhaps even undesirable. Further, certain medications in feeds require a withdrawal time before slaughter, and those will be marked on the label—read it closely and carefully.

Nutritional Needs Change

Unless you put an artificial light on your hens, egg production will usually slow down or completely stop during the winter months in northern climates.

Chickens need extra carbohydrates and calories to keep them warm in cold weather. In addition to regular feed, add scratch or other high-carbohydrate grains, especially before bedtime. The corn in scratch is mainly carbohydrate, and is a great supplement for warmth and weight.

Digesting the extra calories produces body heat. Remember that scratch should not replace regular feed, but rather supplement it. When it’s cold, chickens will eat more, so make sure they have free access to food, and fill their water at least twice a day if it freezes in a few hours.

What Else Can My Chicken Eat?

If you offer your birds a complete feed, all of their nutritional requirements will be met. Kitchen scraps are fine in limited amounts. Chickens are omnivorous and enjoy most of what you have on your dinner www.Grit.com

45

Article and photos by Lori Leigh

I

like to think that I am deliberate in tending to our flock of chickens during the winter, but it still happened! Yep, one of our chickens got frostbite on her comb.

See black spots on your chicken’s comb or feet? That’s frostbite. Thankfully, our case didn’t get any worse and it naturally took care of itself.

I’ve come to realize that most cold-climate chicken keepers will deal with frostbite at one time. When researching this topic, a friend told me that one of her chickens lost a toe last year, most likely to frostbite.

Factors other than frigidly cold temperatures can contribute to frostbite. Did you know that wind chill and moisture can also cause frostbite? Also, water dripping onto the wattles puts a chicken at high risk for frostbite, especially in extremely cold temperatures.

Combs, wattles, and feet are susceptible to frostbite in chickens.

Frostbite on chickens appears as black spots. These spots are dead tissue that will fall off and not grow back. But don’t worry, the area will heal. Do not try to break off the black spots, rub them, or trim them away! Doing so can cause infection or further damage.

Minor cases of frostbite usually aren’t anything to worry about, but more serious cases can cause pain and/or infection.

Watch for other chickens who may try pecking at the frostbitten area. For these reasons, isolation may be needed. Last year, I had another friend who had a frostbitten chicken. She moved the chicken inside the house for most of the winter, tending to it ever so gently.

Preventing Frostbite

As with most things, prevention is important. Though not a definite, some things can be done ahead of a cold snap hitting your flock to help ward off frostbite.

Treating and Preventing

CHICKEN FROSTBITE Protect your flock from winter freezes with the help of these tips.

KEEPING THE COOP DRY Keep the bedding thick and dry. I like to use straw in our coop because straw has ‘pockets’ that act as insulation. If using the deep litter method, be sure to stir the bedding frequently, and add more straw as needed.

Do not keep the chicken’s drinking water inside the coop.

VENTILATION Even in the winter, a coop should be well ventilated.

Ventilation helps prevent moisture inside the coop, which is naturally caused by chicken droppings.

ROOSTING BARS Chickens naturally roost and in the winter this can actually help prevent frostbite. When cold, a chicken will puff out its feathers, helping to maintain a good body temperature. Sometimes they puff out enough to cover (and protect) their feet. Chickens also roost side by side, helping to keep each other warm.

PETROLEUM JELLY Applying petroleum jelly to a chicken’s comb and wattle can be used as a preventative measure, but will not help once

60

Grit’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

frostbite has settled in. Do not apply it to an already affected area, as it may cause damage.

Treating Frostbite

Again, mild cases will naturally heal themselves. Although it can be stressful to watch, it is normal for the affected area to turn black, harden, and eventually fall off. Just let nature take its course.

Do keep an eye on the chicken and the affected area though.

Make sure the chicken doesn’t seem to be in pain. Watch for signs of infection, which may include swelling, blisters, or discharge. If these happen, you may need to interfere.

ELECTROLYTES Electrolytes can be given sparingly. Doing so may give a little boost to the chicken’s immune system.

TAKING THE CHICKEN INSIDE Severe frostbite can be treated by warming the chicken slowly. Take the chicken inside where it’s warm. If the feet are affected, you can soak them in warm water. But if you choose to bring the chicken inside your home, it should be kept inside until the frostbite is gone, preventing further damage. Like my friend did, make an area in your home that is comfortable both for the chicken and for you. Recovery can take four to six weeks.

The last thing I want to discuss is a highly debatable topic—heating the coop. Aside from the risk of fire, I think it is important to understand another risk. Heating the coop can actually cause moisture inside the coop, which in turn can cause frostbite. Also, going from a warm, heated coop to a freezing cold outside temperature is not good for a chicken’s overall health. www.Grit.com

61

Feeder Body and Cover

Feeder Box

Exploded view

1. Attach sides 1 and 2 to the base using 11⁄2-inch wood screws and glue.

2. Attach back of feeder to the sides and base with 11⁄2-inch wood screws and glue. The 15-degree angle along the top should be flush with the angle of sides 1 and 2.

3. Attach the 2 front pieces to front of feeder with 11⁄2-inch wood screws.

4. Attach the 11⁄2-inch cedar trim pieces to the top of the lid board so the lid will nest over the top of the feeder box.

top cover lid

cut at 15° angle

back

Hinged Trough Cover

Feed your flock without encouraging mold or supporting the local mouse and starling populations.

By Jeff Nickols

Whether

you have a large laying flock or just a few backyard hens, keeping them fed is a regular chore (never mind the expense), especially if the feeder isn’t weatherproof and allows rodents and wild birds access. One way to keep the feed safe from spoilage and purloinage is to keep it covered—but how will the chickens gain access? Through a bit of physics, it’s possible to employ some carefully designed levers and fulcrums that will cause the feeder to open when a chicken (or an object of similar weight) steps on a perchlike treadle. The best part is that you can build a treadle-opened feeder yourself—in fact, it makes a fun weekend project that can be completed with common tools and basic carpentry skills. You will be pleased with the result because the feed is kept dry, songbirds, mice, and other rodents can’t access the feed, less feed is wasted by the chickens scattering it, and the feeder will hold several days’ worth of food.

68

Grit’s Guide to Backyard Chickens

Construction I constructed my feeder using one 21 ⁄32-inch-by-16-inch-by-72-inch edgeglued pine panel for the body of the feeder and two 5⁄8-inch-by-6-inch-by-72inch cedar fence boards for the trim and arm pieces. You can substitute plywood for the pine and cedar boards. I used scraps from my chicken coop construction for the first feeder I constructed.

Even purchasing all of the lumber, the cost was less than $20: $15.79 for the pine panel and about $2 each for the cedar fence boards. Add a few wood screws and wood glue, and you have all the supplies you need to get started.

TOOLS:

Air nail gun (optional)

base

side

cut at 36° angle

front below lid

Boards are cut to 15- and 36-degree angles to match the lid and the top cover, then screwed together. treadle arm

Predrill holes and assemble trough cover and treadle platform as shown.

21

Table saw Drill with countersink drill bit Hand saw (I recommend the finer-cut Japanese pull saw) Electric sander or sandpaper Miter saw (optional)

6 5⁄ 16”

Exploded view

MATERIALS: ⁄32” x 16” x 72” paint–grade, edge-glued pine panel (1) 5 ⁄8” x 6” x 72” cedar fence board for lid, trim and treadle (2) #6 11⁄2” wood screws (40) #6 1” wood screws (4) Exterior wood glue Primer and paint of choice

front above lid

Trough Cover and Treadle

1”

9” cut at 36° angle

1 1⁄ 2”

variable 11⁄2-inch wood screws

cut at 36° angle

cover arm

1

NATE SKOW ILLUSTRATIONS (3); PAGE 68: JEFF NICKOLS

Build a Weatherproof, Pest-Proof Chicken Feeder

5. Attach the 6-inch-wide cedar board to the 11⁄2-inch cedar arms using 1-inch wood screws. The cedar splits easily, so predrill carefully.

6. To attach the cover to the feeder, I put the cover in place in the closed position, and then marked my attachment point on the feeder box. I experimented with using wooden dowels, machine screws, and various nuts and bolts. All of them worked fine, but not any better than using 11⁄2-inch wood screws.

7. Remember not to screw the arms tight to the side of the feeder; leave some wiggle room for the cover to swing freely.

⁄ 2”

riser arm

1

⁄ 2”

Treadle platform 1-inch wood screws

8. T he treadle is constructed in the same fashion as the trough cover. Attach to the feeder box with 11⁄2-inch wood screws 9 inches from the front end of the platform.

www.Grit.com

69