Ben+Jammin

= = =__**Benjamin's** **Bird Project**__=

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For my project I'm going to see if having a bird feeder inside a chicken coop will affect whether any birds will eat out of that feeder, or one that is placed right outside of the coop, hung from my basket ball hoop. I understand that some birds are too fat to fit through the chicken wire that lines the upper half of my chicken coop (no offense intended), so that will be a problem and will definitely affect my data. ======

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I think that the chickens will try and get to the food, therefore scaring all of the birds to the feeder placed directly outside. To be sure that they are not able to reach the food, I will place it as high up as possible. Also, there is a large population of squirrels in my neighborhood, so hope that the chicken wire surrounding the coop will prevent the fat rodents from getting inside at all. I also fear that the chickens and squirrels (if one manages to get inside) will knock over the bird feeder, and give the chickens below a nice treat. ======



I did some research and found out that it will be ok for my chickens to eat the bird seed. Actually, some people will spread it on the ground to give their chickens something more to peck at. Unfortunately it's not good for the chickens to eat it instead of the expensive chicken feed, so I'll have to be sure they don't eat to much. This is the link to the website I found: http://www.pet-chicken.com/pet-chickens/can-chickens-eat-bird-seed = = ====These are all of my chickens! 9 in total. 2 Barred Rocks, 4 Buff Orpingtons, 3 Australorps. The Barred Rocks are the black and white ones, the Buff Orpingtons are the yellow ones, and the Buff Orpingtons are the black ones.==== =** __Hypothesis__ **=

I think that birds will go to the feeder hung from the basketball hoop, rather than the one inside of the chicken coop.
=**__Supplies__**= =**__Procedure__**= =**__Variables__**= The squirrels may knock down the feeder, therefore maybe discouraging the birds to eat from that feeder. The presence of chickens, and if they are very active when the feeder is there, can play a big role as well. I’m not very concerned about the temperature, due to the fact that it has remained around 70-80 degrees the past two weeks, but if there is a cold or heat front, I’ll be sure to note it.
 * Two identical bird feeders
 * A pole to hang one of the feeders
 * Bird seed
 * A scale to measure how much food is eaten out of each
 * Time
 * Make bird feeders
 * Attach bird feeders a day or two earlier
 * Fill bird feeders with 22 ounces of feed
 * Hang bird feeders at 7:30 in the mourning each day
 * Take down bird feeders at 9:00 at night
 * Measure and record how much feed was eaten
 * Fill feeder back up to 22 ounces
 * Repeat

=**__How To Make My Version Of A Bird Feeder__**= == = = =**__My Data__**= Day 1 was very concerning, due to the fact that none of the birds had eaten any of the feed at all. I was also very happy when some feed was eaten out of the chicken-coop feeder, and when the 1 ounce was eaten out of the basket ball hoop feeder. On day 5, I walked out onto my porch and saw two birds at the feeder, but they flew away too quick to get a solid identification. I have been keeping the bird feeders out in the yard, so that in about 2 weeks I can run the experiment again and maybe get more accurate data.
 * Get two Kirkland brand milk containers
 * Cut two rectangular spaces for the birds to get to the food
 * Glue felt on edges so that the birds don't cut their feet
 * Poke a hole in the top to run hanging sting through
 * Put hanging string to hang the jug
 * Put bird seed in
 * || 10/31 || 11/1 || 11/2 || 11/3 || 11/4 || 11/5 ||
 * Chicken coop feeder || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1/10 || 3/10 ||
 * Basketball hoop feeder || 0 || 1/10 || 3/10 || 0 || 5/8 || 1 ||
 * Note* On Nov. 3 I sprinkled bird seed on the ground to try and attract more birds
 * Note* Units measured in ounces



=**__Conclusion__**= I found that my hypothesis was supported which pleased me very much. I feel though that the amount of data I collected was insufficient, and didn't accurately represent what the situation is probably like.

=**__Secondary Experiment__**= I had an idea for a second experiment when I noticed that not very much feed was being eaten at the start. I was very concerned that the birds would never even find the feeders. When feed was first eaten 4 days after I had put up the feeders, I realized that birds take a long time to find feeders in my neighborhood. So my follow up experiment would be...
 * //__How long does it take birds to find a feeder in different climates and areas?__//**