So in a few weeks me and my family will be moving out to my grandpas old house, and today we were doing some exploring and looking at all of the old buildings, and I found one I can turn into a chicken coop! I'm not sure what size it is, but it's BIG! It's rectangular, and one long side and one short side are closed in (with wood) and it has a metal shed roof, and then on the open part there are already big (cedar?) posts, because it use to be closed in with wire, to keep hogs in. I also found 32 nesting boxes, complete with roosts, that are still in excellent shape! (One did have some rain damage but it can be fixed). So with that being said, I'm going to stretch wire between all of the posts, fix a couple of boards on the long wall, and mount the nesting boxes and wa-la my chickens will have a MAJOR upgrade. I'm going to rig up some lights in there so I can keep the lady's producing eggs longer, and I'll probably fill the bottom with sand (hopefully it won't cost me an arm and a leg) and I'll probably do a few big pvc pipe feeders and find a way to make a heated waterer for winter. Anyways I'm SO excited to have found this building, and I'll try to get some pictures of it next weekend. It's so big, it would cost me several thousand to build something like it from scratch, and now all I have to do is get some chicken wire, and there's even some unused wire out there, just not enough. I also wanted to see if anyone has any good ideas to make it really nice for my chickens?
And on another note, I have 9 chickens now (10 once I get my other rooster from my other grandparents house) and this coop could easily hold 30 or so, so I think some chicken math will be happening this spring, and I'll be able to use the coop that I have now as a brooder
Anyways, I was thinking, if I have 20 or 30 chickens, would it be reasonable to hatch a whole bunch of chicks several times a year to sell at the farmers market? And what's the best way to advertise eggs for sale without posting them on Craigslist and without putting a sign at the end of your driveway inviting any random stranger to your house?
OH and there's about 80 acres out there (most belongs to other family members of ours) but there's a big field behind the coop that the chickens will be able to free range every day! And it's so secluded I won't have to worry about neighbors dogs. I will get my own guard dog though so foxes and coons don't get them.
And on another note, I have 9 chickens now (10 once I get my other rooster from my other grandparents house) and this coop could easily hold 30 or so, so I think some chicken math will be happening this spring, and I'll be able to use the coop that I have now as a brooder
OH and there's about 80 acres out there (most belongs to other family members of ours) but there's a big field behind the coop that the chickens will be able to free range every day! And it's so secluded I won't have to worry about neighbors dogs. I will get my own guard dog though so foxes and coons don't get them.