2023 - Volume #47, Issue #4, Page #17
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Perch Popper Opens Nest Boxes
“If chickens sleep in the nest box, there’s an incredible manure mess,” says Tammy Foose, which is why the Perch Popper is so beneficial. The Best Nest Box includes a hinged roost bar that’s moved manually to block access to the nest boxes, and the Perch Popper opens it automatically.
A video on the website shows how the Perch Popper installs easily and is set to release the bar at a specific time before chickens start laying.
The Perch Popper is not an excluder that automatically closes, Foose emphasizes. That can harm birds or lock them in the nest box, and automation is expensive.
“People go out to collect eggs anyway,” she notes, and it’s simple to put up the roost bar then. Setting the opening time is a personal preference and depends on the size of the flock. It can be any time after the birds have roosted for the night but before they start laying in the early morning.
The video shows how to set the timer to open the Perch Popper. Plus, there’s a quick set feature so that when you install the two AA batteries to power it, the opening time will automatically be an hour later. Foose says she set her Perch Popper up at 8:30 p.m. so the boxes open at 9:30 p.m., which works well year-round for her chickens in Ohio.
Though designed to work with the Best Nest Box boxes, handy DIYers often figure out ways to use it with homemade boxes. With extra springs and hardware and proper alignment, one Perch Popper can open groupings of up to four nest boxes.
The Perch Popper has a rugged agriculture-grade design and sells for $160, including shipping. A battery indicator light warns when batteries need changing, but they last up to 16 mos. in Ohio, Foose notes.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Best Nest Box, Ohio (ph 330-558-1120; bestnestbox@bestnestbox.com; www.bestnestbox.com).
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