How to raise Backyard Chickens: Re: [CHICKENS-101] [CHICKENS101] New Rooster/snow

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Re: [CHICKENS-101] [CHICKENS101] New Rooster/snow

This is a huge great idea! I'm going to try it myself.

Deb

----- Original Message -----

From: sidesaddle5@yahoo.com

To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 1:42 PM

Subject: Re: [CHICKENS-101] [CHICKENS101] New Rooster/snow

< fun! How do you hang it!! >>

I found a great long carriage bolt, about two inches longer than the diameter of the cabbage head; also a couple of wide washers (sometimes have to stack a few) and a nut. The head of the bolt has a long cord tied to it. (If you don't have a big old farm with lots of miscellaneous hardware like that stashed about, you can probably rig something else--but this was my easy solution.)

Then I use a particular skinny knife in my rack (I guess it's probably a fillet knife?), poke it into the cabbage, and twist it round and round until I've got a hole drilled through the cabbage. You have to pull the knife out every so often to remove the little bits of cabbage (which also go into the kitchen pan for the biddies). I find it easiest to start down next to the stalk end, but it really doesn't matter.

Then the bolt goes through, washers on (to keep the nut from pulling through the cabbage), followed by the nut (and I usually put a dab of shortening, fat, etc., on the nut so the threads don't rust!)

Then I hang it somewhere in the coop--high enough so they have to really reach for it, and can't yank great chunks off and gobble it too fast. Hanging from the cord, it also swings and twists enough to keep them chasing after it. It will last the ten of them most of the day. Really good on a nasty day when they don't want to go out anyway, plus they're getting something green! And fun to watch!

Rhonda

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