Talking With ~ The Chicken Fountain

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity and the pleasure to have lunch with the owner and inventor of The Chicken Fountain! We just happen to live about 20 minutes away from each other.  Once we figured that out, it was only a matter of time before we just had to get together.  A few days before we met, my 14 yr old daughter Autumn had been the 1,000^th LIKE on Frank’s FB page, therefore winning her a tshirt. My daughter and I showed up for lunch and Frank had brought us a chicken fountain in hopes that we would put it together, use it and review it. Well, we did that. I honestly have no idea how I have lived without this! Let me tell you a little more about Frank and I will explain why his product is amazing.

Frank Cardaropoli lives in Davidson, NC on 6 acres with his wife and kids. His kids are ages 7, 8, 16, and he also has a 23 yr old niece.  Needless to say, with the kids alone, he has his hands full. Then you add in his 14 chickens, 3 dogs, 2 goats, a cat, and a few hermit crabs. He is one busy man! They have lived in this area for 12 yrs and about 3 years ago Frank started making Chicken Fountains. He made them for himself and friends and family started wanting them. A good friend of his pushed him to start producing them and here we are today, with the best way to water your flock that money can buy!

So I sat down when I got home to put together The Chicken Fountain.  I opened the box and pulled it all out. It took me about 10 minutes to put the whole thing together and that included the time it was taking my 14 yr old to figure out how to use the camera on my phone to take photos for the blog. The hardest part of the entire thing was opening the bottle of PVC glue! It was SO SIMPLE to assemble! Everything you need is included in the box.

Once I got the fountain hung up out by my coop, I attached the rubber bands to the nipples to create a drip. This is only used until the chickens realize that there is water there for them, it helps them to learn. Once they have gotten it, you take off the rubber bands and the drip stops. I love that I am not wasting any water with the Chicken Fountain.  I have seen many concerns from others about their chickens learning how to use the fountain. I will be the first to tell you, I don’t have the smartest flock.  I have a Rooster that is a wimp, a hen that is the Alpha in the flock and 2 birds that just don’t  “get it” when it comes to laying eggs IN the box. My chickens learned the Chicken Fountain in less than 4 hours. It only takes ONE to learn it and once the others see one doing it , they have to be nosy. Also, when you place the Chicken Fountain out there, you remove all other source(s) of water and the fountain will be the only option for them.  

I saved my favorite part of The Chicken Fountain for last. Before I had the Chicken Fountain, every 3-4 days I had to go out to the coop, empty the water bucket and clean it. Which meant me touching this slimy gross build up.  Never again will I ever go back to that. The standard Chicken Fountain holds 1.5 gallons of water and fully refreshed the supply within two days and the slime NEVER forms!  It is made from heavy duty PVC pipe and you can add anything you want to, like apple cider vinegar, directly to the unit.

The Chicken Fountain comes in 3 sizes for different sized flocks. There is the MINI for 2 to 6 bids, The STANDARD that is made for flocks of 4-16 birds, and the MEGA which can handle 40+ birds.  Have you ever had a problem with your current water freezing in the winter? Not with the Chicken Fountain. They also make a drop in heater that will keep water flowing to your birds in the coldest of temps! I will be raving about the fountain forever! Check out his site and how to order your Chicken Fountain at www.ChickenFountain.com

Or….

You could also try to win one!!  The contest is HERE

Frank is a great guy and will answer any questions you have. You can contact him many ways, through his website, Facebook page or email him directly at info@chickenfountain.com.

Talking With ~ The Chicken And The Dog

I had a chance to speak with Amanda Maxwell, Author of The Chicken and The Dog! I wanted to tell you all about her and her book that is one of the cutest books I have ever seen. Its based on a true story too!



Amanda grew up in Connecticut and didn't have chickens but she describes her hometown as "Cow Town" so there were a lot of farms around. She ended up going to college in Arizona, where she met her husband. They both decided that the hot and dry weather wasn't for them. I totally get that. I live where its hot and humid! So, Amanda and her husband moved to a little waterfront cottage in Washington. They enjoyed that house with their dog Sean Connery. Sean is a black lab and as I understand it, he is such a great dog! When Amanda and her husband had to move to Olympia, Washington for work they went house hunting. Here begins the story of the Chicken and the Dog!


Sean the Dog and a Chicken

While looking in Olympia for a house, they found the perfect one. The only catch was that the sign in front of the house said "Backyard Chickens" The house that they found, came with two chickens that resided in the greenhouse! Everyone they knew were warning them about Sean and the chickens. Saying to be careful that their dog didnt hurt the chickens. Once they moved in and got accustomed to having chickens and learning about them, they realized that Crimson and Clover were using the window box right outside their back door to lay their eggs! How neat is that? Amanda could open up her back door and reach into the box!

Sean and Crimson and Clover all freaked out about each other for about a week when they moved in. After about a week, the Chickens and the Dog were the best of friends! They lived as a happy family for a few years and the chickens lived in their greenhouse. Amanda and her husband decided they would build the chickens a coop. Once the little coop was built, they heard a noise one night. It was 3am. They went back to sleep.The very next night Amanda thought she heard a chicken out of the coop. She didnt think anything of it until about 5 minutes later when she heard a huge crash! She ran into her bedroom to look out the window to the chicken coop and a
raccoon was staring back at her. They were devastated. Clover had been able to get away, but Crimson, poor thing, all that was left was feathers.



The next day as they headed to work they were both just really bummed out. The chickens that had become part of their family had been attacked and they lost one. Amanda's husband texted her that day and said " I want to write a children's book about the chickens" That was the beginning of The Chicken and The Dog. The thing they had to figure out was how were they gonna make it child friendly when one of the chickens had died. I cant give it away, you will have to read the book to find out!!

They initially contacted Jill Carter to do artwork for the book because Amanda's husband had worked with her and knew she was a wonderful artist. She agreed to the the artwork. In my opinion, I am really glad that Jill agreed to draw the characters because they are perfect!

Amanda and her husband originally had made the book for Christmas presents for friends and family but the story needed to be shared. Its a wonderful story and I now read it to my son, Ian, who is 4 yrs old, every night before bed. He asks me every night if we can read the story with the red chickens.


Andre, Amanda and their son.

Amanda loves getting together with other chicken people and talking. Whether it be on the phone, in email, or in person. Who wouldn't like talking to chicken people! We are awesome! She and her husband replaced Crimson and also have added
another chicken to their flock. She is a silver laced Wyandotte and they named her Ms. Money-penny. Amanda is working on a second book too! I personally cant wait to get a copy of it. I expect that this book will go places.

Contact The Chicken and The Dog
The Chicken and The Dog On Facebook

Buy The Book:
TheChickenandTheDog.com

Gearing Up For Fall With Simmer Pots!

Simmer pots are the best thing to use during the fall and winter!  I use them every year and everyone loves them. I wanted to share my recipes with you so you can have your house smell yummy too!!

 

Orange  Cinnamon (My Favorite One)

What you need:

A pot

Orange peels

Cinnamon , I use powdered but you can use sticks

Cloves (or ground cloves)

Nutmeg

Vanilla extract

1 bay leaf

Peel your oranges into pieces. Place your oranges in your pot.

The thing with the spices, I never measure because I don’t need to. A dash of cloves, a few dashes of cinnamon, just add a little of each. I always add a bit more cinnamon because I LOVE cinnamon.

Cover with water and place on LOW on the stove. Make sure to keep an eye on it every now and then to make sure it always has water! I have ruined a pan because I didn’t keep water in it.

The great thing about simmer pots is that you can use the same one for about a week, if you find you aren’t smelling as much cinnamon, add a dash more the next day. After a week of simmering it everyday, I pour it out and start new with all new ingredients. That is it. They are cheap and easy to make and your house will smell great! Right now my house still smells bad because of the rotten egg I broke, but the first thing I did was go over and turn up the simmer pot!

 

Here are a few other combinations that you can try. I have used all of them and they all smell wonderful!! These recipes are ones my mom taught me to make and never really had a name. I decided to give them a name.

Apple Cinnamon:

Apple Juice (or you can also use apple peel or apple slices)

Cloves

Cinnamon

Citrus Cinnamon:

The peel from one orange

The peel from one lemon

1 bay leaf

Cinnamon

Cloves

Lavender Spice

Dried Lavender

1 lemon peel

Nutmeg

Cloves

1 cinnamon stick

This last one isn’t a simmer  pot but still smells WONDEFUL.

Put 2 tbs of vanilla extract in a coffee mug, place in the oven at 300 degrees for ONE hour. You house will smell like you are baking something! Without the work of actually baking!! Win/Win right?

Play around with scents that you like, if there is something in one of my recipes you don’t care for, then don’t add it! Simmer pots are also great for expired things. You can use juices that are a day or two past their date, and spices that have set on your shelf for a few years! Don’t throw them out! Put them in the simmer pot!

If you have any other recipes I would love to hear about them! Comment below so I can try them too!

**Another great idea is to use the recipes in a crock pot! You can let it go all night and it will add moisture to the air! Thank you Deleith Campos for sharing that tip!

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, I wanted to make everyone aware that we are holding a HUGE contest in a few days! There is still time to submit your item for the contest! If you would like to be included , please email me : jessica@talkingchickenscratch.com