sorry, I meant a chicken farm
Simple. You need a layer of water for the chickens to float in and a stream "conveyor belt" under it. The water up top is held up by a layer of signs. The chickens bob up and down in the water and pop out eggs. The eggs fall down into the belt and are filed into a single space for collection.
I put in a set of dispensers on a repeating loop so they constantly fire with an on/off switch of course. When I get eggs I don't need and need to refill the coop, the dispensers fire the eggs into the coop. You don't always get chickens, but you get enough to keep it full if you don't kill off every one.
I also place an alcove along the wall a block and a half above the water line with upside down stairs to rest your forehead in so you can walk forward without crouching, aim down and just swing away.
Right now it's a prototype temporary coop but I plan on building a bigger one later when I do some tests.
I probably didn't come up with the idea, but I did think of it without having seen it before. It's pretty ingenious. I'm sure someone has done the same thing.
The routine goes as follows:
Pick up the eggs that are waiting. (It takes about 5 minutes for them to start coming out. But if it's full, they'll come by the dozens.)
Kill off chickens until you are satisfied.
Place the eggs in the dispensers and turn it on.
Wait 5 minutes or so for all the chicks to grow up before doing another round of killing.
As long as you kill first and then refill you won't run the risk of killing a bunch of useless chicks that won't give you anything. Let them grow up first before doing any "pruning" of the herd.
And remember your framerate will lower significantly as you get towards 200-300 or so. At least if they're in a smaller space. (My current one is 5x5. The one I'm planning will be about 10x20 or so.)
