← Chickens H20-03 · Module 3 of 7 · Pages: 18 · Worksheets: 4

Equipment: feeders, drinkers, nest boxes, automation

Which feeders, drinkers and nest boxes to choose, how many you need and how to add an automatic door, lighting and water heating safely

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Equipment: feeders, drinkers, nest boxes, automation

In short

  • A feeder with its lip at the height of the hen's back, filled only a third, cuts waste.
  • A drinker raised 15–20 cm (6–8 in) off the bedding stays clean; in summer allow 0.6 L per hen a day.
  • 1 nest box per 4–5 hens, dark, lower than the perches.
  • An automatic door doesn't replace the evening check. Count the hens.
  • Adult hens need no heating, only water that doesn't freeze.
  • Power in the hen house: weatherproof fittings and RCD/GFCI protection; never an infrared lamp over dry bedding.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. What a flock of 10 hens needs
  2. Feeders
  3. Drinkers
  4. Nest boxes
  5. Perches, droppings board and dust bath
  6. Automatic door
  7. Light in winter
  8. Heated drinkers and power in the hen house
  9. Extra equipment
  10. Make it or buy it
  11. Common mistakes
  12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Equipment shopping list
  • Water and feed calculator
  • Automation and power
  • Equipment care

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

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