This was found in a friend's chicken coop; any ideas?

What is it?

...at first I thought you said chicken soup! 

Sorry but I don't know what size the coin donates...... but could it be a pigeon message capsule which was attached to the birds leg?... or some type of weird type of whistle?

I'll follow in my fellow Kiwi's footsteps, I'll go the whole hog and suggest it is an animal caller  maybe

Is it hollow all the way through?
Mike

Tinder box ?

This thing is about 6-7" long, the quarter is just there for size comparison.  It has 3 separate compartments, a small one on each end (one is shown opened up, and the large middle one which is opened by rotating the outer "sleeve".  One of the end compartments had a yellow residue in it. 
-Gerry

I don't know what it is but I would suggest that maybe whatever material was contained in both ends was combined in the center compartment for some reason....perhaps a chemical heater or some other kind of chemical reaction. Obviously, the center rotating cover meant for the material to be well controlled. Interesting item.

Jim

Just a guess, but maybe something to do with candeling a egg to see if the yolk has developed or not?


HH
Slipperyjack47

I dont know either but I found a shopsmith in an old chicken coop, the guy gave it to me.

Having been found in a chicken coop may well have no bearing at all in its actual purpose, but keeping in theme with the location;

Perhaps a sampling tube, to store 3 different types of samples, like grain.

Or maybe a medicine/mineral dispensing tube.  Keep 2 different types of ingredients in the end compartments, use the middle to combine or even mix with some food then twist open to dispense.

Trying to google it, but hard to come up with the right search parameters to get anything relevant.

Somebody hopefully has seen one of these and can bring its use to light.

in the second pic I thought I saw the letter L on the end of the tube, does the other end have any markings?

Does the middle section have any evidence of being used as a burner? At one point burned sulphur was used to get rid of fleas and lice. I could foresee setting a fire in the middle section to cause fumes from the end sections if filled with sulphur.  Either that or it's a lipstick tube for a girl with REALLY big lips...

Or it could be a two person marijuana smoking pipe.  When your friend's relatives wanted to get high, they snuck out to the chickencoop, filled the center part with the vile weed, and one of them sucked on each end.  The draw was controlled by rotating the center hole open or closed.  Of course you had to be on very good terms with the person sharing the pipe. Burning your lips on the metal was an added risk.

It looks like a grain sampler to me.  I've used similar samplers when I worked at Pabst.  The end caps may be for info on the sample in the middle.  It was probably dropped by the farmer when he was tending to the chickens.  Cluck, cluck.

TimC   Nice find.

Interesting ideas so far folks!

tx: I don't recall any letter markings on this piece.
I also didn't see anything that made me think it was heated or burned.
-Gerry

messenger pigeon transport/delivery tube   

Ill take a wild guess. Something for rat poison? The poison could be stored in the ends, poured into the cap and deposited into the center. The center opening could be adjusted for the rats size. Im just guessing.

It's a bit tricky trying to judge the whatsit's size from the coin. Is it possible to have a pic with a scale alongside?
Please

and I must admit, my very first thought was similar to mojjax's - re the tinder box. Lint in the middle, flints one side or t'other.
Mike
 

It's a bit tricky trying to judge the whatsit's size from the coin. Is it possible to have a pic with a scale alongside?
Please

and I must admit, my very first thought was similar to mojjax's - re the tinder box. Lint in the middle, flints one side or t'other.
Mike
 

Maybe the fire could be started in the center on windy days with the adjustable opening for air. It is 6-7 inches long or about 15-18 centimetres.  Is this a bit large for a tinderbox?

i have been lurking since this was posted.
the size and color of the object lead me to be it is military, not issue, but purchased.
a piece from an officers toilet kit? mess kit?

od green is not a favorite of farmers.

It's a bit tricky trying to judge the whatsit's size from the coin. Is it possible to have a pic with a scale alongside?
Please

and I must admit, my very first thought was similar to mojjax's - re the tinder box. Lint in the middle, flints one side or t'other.
Mike
 

Maybe the fire could be started in the center on windy days with the adjustable opening for air. It is 6-7 inches long or about 15-18 centimetres.  Is this a bit large for a tinderbox?

I would think at that size, you are right

Thats going to be one big pigeon. 

Reguarding another photo, my friend has it now.  I'll see about another one.
If you see green, it's an oxidation; it appears to be copper, soldered.

A rooster's spur trimmer?  To keep one rooster from killing the rest.  Sulphur was kept in one end to prevent infection, and alum kept in other end to stop bleeding when spur was cut too short.  Put roosters spur in center and rotate to trim.....NGE (T)

A rooster's spur trimmer?  To keep one rooster from killing the rest.  Sulphur was kept in one end to prevent infection, and alum kept in other end to stop bleeding when spur was cut too short.  Put roosters spur in center and rotate to trim.....NGE (T)

Since you are holding the bird in one hand, this must be a two man operation.
Chicken Chronicles:  

LOL....very phunny, big cy.. nge

First hard boiled egg maker!

Just a guess, but maybe something to do with candeling a egg to see if the yolk has developed or not?


HH
Slipperyjack47

I agree.  Low tech egg candling device.  Rotate it open, insert egg, point one end toward the sun (or other light source), look in the other end to check the egg.

DCMatt

The ends do not appear to go through though. They look like storage compartments. The center -twist to open- section is the mystery. My guess is to hold spices or dry goods for travel. Coffee, tea, salt, something along those lines.

Rat trap? Holds poison that the chickens cant reach?

JG is right; they are 3 separate compartments. 
Lots of great ideas!
-Gerry

What about a pocket type heater? End compartments would hold charcoal or some other slow burning source. The center part would be an adjustable burning chamber. Yet another guess.....

JG is right; they are 3 separate compartments. 
Lots of great ideas!
-Gerry

We may need some more clues. Was it on the ground?  Is it corroded inside?  both sides?

I believe its very old because it is copper with soldered joints.  Maybe homeade.  Any markings? Anything inside?  Any evidence of burning?

What about a pocket type heater? End compartments would hold charcoal or some other slow burning source. The center part would be an adjustable burning chamber. Yet another guess.....

I was thinking along those lines in reply # 18.

Egg Bazooka

Check this out, wish it had a better description of the center.

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/provenceantiques/item/R-0022

Check this out, wish it had a better description of the center.

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/provenceantiques/item/R-0022

Several have suggested tinderbox but thought it was too big.
This may be a larger version where the fire is actually started in the center on windy days.  JerryL , are there any burnt marks (black) inside?

GerryL will have to tell us. I am just a guesser here.
This is going to bug me....

Yah, ya put pignuts in 'em to keep 'em warm

Yellow residue inside makes me think feed! The center looks just right for egg to fit in with oval shape and all!
Thing is why and for what?

GerryL will have to tell us. I am just a guesser here.
This is going to bug me....

Im sorry...I meant JerryL.  I changed it.

ADDED: Sorry GerryL  ....trying to post too fast.

I'll see if I can get it again for some better photos inside.  I don't recall any signs of burning, etc.
And it is GerryL, no prob though!  :-)

My Dad has a ball pistol that has something like this that holds the goodies for it...firing caps.. bullets, gunpowder...could it be a munitions container?

Tobacco cannister?

Maybe it served no purpose.  Maybe the person that made it was a bored tinkerer and thought it would be cool to see what he could come up with.  Looks cool though.  How old is the coop?  The house it was found at?  How long has your friend lived there?  Does he tend to the coop daily?  Did it appear out of the blue one day when he went out there?  And the most important question of all.......  Was it laid by a chicken?

I'm thinking fishing related. Some type of bait box.

It is rumored that when Col sanders first went into the fried chicken business he had very few funds. So, he would sneak into hen houses and drug the hens so they wouldn't squawk and sneak them out during the night.  That is one of his drug kits.  Whatever you do don't sniff the residue.   I am sure that this information is true except for the part I made up. 
 Egad, I haven't a clue really.  No telling what that thing is.  Dad use to have a container of two different kinds of powder to put on pigs after they were castrated to prevent infection and stop the bleeding.  It had alum and some other antibiotic type stuff but I don't know what it was.  No telling.  Monty

I heard back from one of the Antiques Roadshow guys and they had no idea.....

you guys may be barking up the wrong tree. it might not have anything to do with chickens. it could be from when granny trying to hide her stash from gramps or just something the kids dragged out there while playing army and dropped in the chicken s**t.

It looks like an old cidar case to me and the guitene in the center was used to cut off the end of the cigar.

It looks like an old cidar case to me and the guitene in the center was used to cut off the end of the cigar.

It isn't hollow 

It looks like an old cidar case to me and the guitene in the center was used to cut off the end of the cigar.

It isn't hollow 

LOL, well that shoots that theory. I'm stumped then.

I am leaning toward the tobacco canister idea. The center compartment would hold the tobacco and the end cap storage areas could hold rolling papers and matches??

Or something along those lines. It seems the center compartment would hold a dry product of some kind and the end compartments would hold something related to the center stuff but would need to be seperate until ready to use. It is too big to be a pocket or portable item. Maybe for a parlor or study.

Or prepare the items in the workshop and take them out into the field.
 

They used to treat poultry skin conditions with sulphur mixed with lard or coal oil. (ie) chicken pox, scaly leg and white comb.

A chicken guillotine.

That looks SOOOO familiar.  I swear I lived another life at some time.   

sooo will a egg fit in it?

Not while it's still in the shape of an egg!   

Still leaning on tinderbox as was suggested earlier, tinder in one end, spark tools in the other, started in the center section that has an adjustable opening that could be adjusted to keep wind/rain out or to add larger bits of fuel. It may not have soot showing simply because it may never have been used.

(how many gadgets have we all bought or received that got tossed in a drawer and forgotten?)

Another wild guess..... Could it be a container to hold saltpetre, charcoal and sulphur, the three ingredients for gun powder?  Well, probably not. It sure is interesting though.

DANGLANGLEY

I can imagine it to be like a Campers/Hunters piece of kit; it must have held two and possibly three different 'things' which all meant something to each other
Tinderbox and other suggestions here all seem to have some merit.

I would really like to see a pic of this wassit? in someone's hand, to get some perspective  please 

Mike

Old pnuematic bank teller tube??

I believe that this was attatched to a dial that went from 1-15 and thermostatically controlled the film advance that caught the egg laying sequence as it started to boil

Good one walleye! LOL

Time for a re-view 

Old pnuematic bank teller tube??

thats what I'm thinking

HH
-GC

here is a pic of similar one

HH
-GC

Looks like an old "cheap" cigar cutter to me as already mentioned.  I've found one just like it.

Looks like an old "cheap" cigar cutter to me as already mentioned.  I've found one just like it.

Can you post the picture please? It may provide us a clue and it would be great to solve this.

Anything from a incubator part to a beer making part..
Do a google search of cylinder with sleeve valve and end compartments.
or aperature valve and end compartments..

J2

Looks like a cigar cutter to me..

Looks like a cigar cutter to me..

rusty, (I feel I know you well )
Is it possible to provide a different pic or diagram of what you say it is, please 
If it is a cigar cutter, what are the two end compartments for?
Cheers, Mike

This thing is hand soldered copper and most likely very old.  The best idea I have heard so far is a fire starter kit.

The opening is awful big for cutting cigars and we dont even know if it is sharp.

When I was in the Corps, the Catholic chaplin had a very simular device for anoiting casulaties for their last rites. The ends held some oily substance and what looked like cotton balls.

LMAO @ monty!

I vote for rat killer dispenser.

 

Looks like a cigar cutter to me..

why the 3 different compartments?

I vote for rat killer dispenser.

 

same question.   

Old pnuematic bank teller tube??

Old pnuematic bank teller tube??

thats what I'm thinking

HH
-GC

same question. 

It's an egg warmer.......to keep the egg warm while the old hen has to take a potty break! 

This unidentified treasure, in my opinion, has been too long off the radar. I know we have a lot of new knowledgeable people here since this was last 'posted', so here it is again.
Mike

could be hand warmer boot warmer cotton store both ends with karosene . only military type was square about same size. mabey never used .   

messenger pigeon transport/delivery tube   

TOO BIG PEOPLE FOR THAT. PIGEONS ARE NOT THAT BIG

Looks a lot like what was called a renewable fuse in days gone by...having worked industrial maintenance, have seen some that look just like it

http://www.agri-instrument.com/product-detail.asp?Id=890

I believe it is part of an old grain or soil sample kit.

Reminds me of the gadget that I have seen priest use in adminstering the last rites. One end has ashes the other has something else? and the center had cotton balls. I just observed it's use..didn't ask questions.

messenger pigeon transport/delivery tube   

yeah you could deliver the whole bird. it's magic trickery!   

Chicken decapitator?  sorry.

I wonder if maybe it had something to do with egg candling.....  

I think mcmich is closest.  I remember in the '40s department stores used
pnuematic tubes to send the order upstairs to billing dept with the money
and sales slip inclosed.  Then billing would send it back with the paid bill
and change for the customer.

Your all wrong...

I you look at the small lettering around the top, y'all find that its used to shave chicken pin feathers...

Also known as a Chicken Schick

I'm thinking it might be an old storage container for black powder gun, to put reload materials in? Who knows, sounds good, Ken.

It's a turkey De-Nutter ..........NGE

It's a turkey De-Nutter ..........NGE

Is that what Thanks for Giving is all about? 

Mike

I believe that this was attatched to a dial that went from 1-15 and thermostatically controlled the film advance that caught the egg laying sequence as it started to boil

1. like 'nowgittineverything' said put the pignuts in, which both are pretty funny. then, i believe it was used as a carnival 'pay for view' kaleidoscope. you could view the pignuts for the count of 15 for a penny.

2. feeder for the farmer that liked to raise hyper chickens...twinkie holder in the middle. then the sugar on one end and marshmellow cream on the other.

here's one that might 'hold water' or 'pass the test' or 'just be a wag'   
miner's resupply for their helmet light. carbide in the middle and a measured amount of water on the ends. say, two four hour supplies.

or for the high brow miner or anyone else for that matter. a coffee mess. coffee, sugar, cream

Ok, Ok, cut the comedy.  It's plain to see it is an anal drug smuggling device. uch! Monty

Ok, Ok, cut the comedy.  It's plain to see it is an anal drug smuggling device. uch! Monty

hee hee hee...i made you say device!        

Ok, Ok, cut the comedy.  It's plain to see it is an anal drug smuggling device. uch! Monty

hee hee hee...i made you say device!        

-and I thought this was a Family show   

tag

Old military ... POWDER, CAP, and Ball container.

Powder in the center (wide open for filling ... adjustable for dispensing) and cap and ball on either end. 

P.S.  When I add the little "I don't know" guy, why does spell check keep telling me to change it to "downtown?"   

I'm thinking it might be an old storage container for black powder gun, to put reload materials in? Who knows, sounds good, Ken.

Old military ... POWDER, CAP, and Ball container.

Powder in the center (wide open for filling ... adjustable for dispensing) and cap and ball on either end.  

Ive loaded a lot of muzzleloaders and I wouldnt think to use this container for a speed loader or storage.  The openings are not the right size for dispensing powder. I know its adjustible but I think it would be hard to pour. I think this is looking in the wrong direction. But maybe for fire making materials.    

not sure of this was guessed before. but, because of the yellow powder found maybe a chicken vitamin dispenser