Category: Do it yourself

Chickens everywhere

Hentopia: Create a Hassle-Free Habitat for Happy Chickens; 21 Innovative Projects

We, who keep backyard chickens, for a few years, feel as though we know it all, and are more than willing to share that knowledge with anyone who wants to know it, or doesn’t want to know it, as the case may be.

It is sometimes hard to think back to a time that I didn’t have chickens, and had no idea where to begin. Hard to remember that when I first got my baby chicks, I kept them in my office with me, and when they were “coop ready” I moved them into the garage because I had not really thought through this whole “what-to-do-with-the-chickens” thing. I mean, yeah, I knew I had to get them a coop, and a yard, and all that, but hey.

My whole point is that everyone who is curious about chicken keeping needs to have a good resource, and while the local feed store is more than willing to sell you all bits you need for a chicken, they are not there every day to help you with the chickens. So a book like this one is such a good thing™.

The author is very straightforward, has a good wit on him, and explains all the ins and out of making a safe place for your chickens to live and lay. From building a run, to setting up a good laying box, to what to do with all the chicken droppings. (Hint: compost).

He even mentions why you would need a coop to begin with, as though we had gotten this far into the book and though, oh the heck with it, they can live in the trees.

The pictures a very clear, the projects are discussed and each step is shown, along the way. There is even a section on what tools you would need to build each of the projects in the book, which rang from things as simple as an automatic feeder, to a nesting box add on to the coop.

Highly, highly recommend this book to those who are just starting out, and perhaps to those who have had a coop and chickens for a while, for the next steps they want to make in the process.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Do it yourself, for cat projects

Engineering for Cats: How to Build a Cat Cave, Bunk Beds, a Drawbridge, and Other Custom Projects for Your PetEngineering for Cats: How to Build a Cat Cave, Bunk Beds, a Drawbridge, and Other Custom Projects for Your Pet by Mac Delaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I may never build any of the things in this book, but at least I had fun reading about them.

The writing is very witty, and that is probably the best part of the book. Although my father was a carpenter, and built houses, as well as sets for the movies, he never passed the skill on to me, or bothered to teach me, because a) it was the 1960s, and b) I was a girl.

Still, I can appreciate all the plans in this book. Some are super simple, that even I could probably make them, such as a scratching post, although, those are cheap enough to purchase. The things that facinated me in this book were things such as the exercise wheel, which would be quite expensive if you were to find one for a cat.

The author explains the principle here:

There are at least several differences between hamsters and cats. I’m not claiming to be able to tell them apart every time—the majority of animal DNA is just cut and paste anyway, so that seems unrealistic—but my understanding is that there are some differences.
Fortunately, this project focuses on something that they have in common: the ability to expend energy running on a wheel.

And just in case you want to see what the finished product looks like, here it is:

I would recommend this book to people who have the skills, or want to learn the skills, to build things for their cat(s). Very detailed step by step directions, as well as a list of what tools you will need, plus how long it will take you to build each object.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

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