Long Story Short

Hawk 1....

Savaroo 1

20th Century Automation Comes to Savaroo

We have added an automatic coop door whose motor is connected to a timer that activates the opening and closing.  As the year progresses the timer will be adjusted as darkness falls later and later.  The hope is that when no one is home to tuck them in, the hens will be safely locked up in the coop before the racoons and opossums emerge.  Installing the door was not that difficult, the more challenging task was running the electricity 140 feet to the coop.

And to save the chore of ferrying a 3 gallon jug out to the coop every couple days, we ran a water line the 140 feet and installed a self filling water bowl seen here.  The weight of the water in the bowl closes a valve stopping the flow.  

This brings the total cost for the Egg Layers' Hilton to around $2200.  Yeah, yeah, I hear you.  But at our local fourth tier university a 3 hour credit course with books is $1500.  So, thought of as a hands on learning project, the designing, framing, roofing, linoleum floor, and now running water and electrical lines for labor saving devices it seems a bargain by comparison.

Puberty

The change is coming to the rooster Hawkeye.  It's an awkward time.  Somewhere inside him is a cock yearning to crow.  Some signals are strong and some are weak.  Some are strong, but are misdirected to the furthest reaches of the toes when they are needed elsewhere.  Time will make it right.  For now we can enjoy the silent crow.