- May 2, 2012
- 7
- 0
- 7
Cliff notes- I have 13 mallards, 10 bronze turkeys, 10 New Hampshire reds.
I built a 25'x12' run with a 4'x8 roost box. It's 4x4 poles with 4x4 running down the bottom with welded wire attached 6' high. I haven't figured out my roof yet. But is this big enough?
The run is inside a 1/4 acres 6' fenced area I can let them free graze but not 24/7. My mallards will be split up and 6 stay at my lake out at the house and 7 at the farm lake. Any one see any major flaws in my plan.
Full story- Me and buddy where sitting on the pier at the farm having a adult beverage when he had the bright idea of how cool it be to have a bunch of mallards swimming in the lake. I agreed and thought I could handle that. So few days later called my local coop and asked the question that got the answer that changed it all. " sure he said I also have chickens and turkeys so fourth and so on." well I thought awsome I'll take 24 mallards 10 turkeys and 4 chickens. So I came home and Told my wife that we where expanding the family. Well to make a longer story short 8 mallards came in 4 weeks ago then 5 mallards 2 weeks ago and I thought I couldn't get anything else when Thursday I got the call saying my turkeys and chickens where healthy and there but no more ducks. I went to get them when I realized he thought I said 10 turkeys and 10 chickens. . So that leaves me with 33 birds. I plan on using the turkeys as meat birds and my hen chickens as egg layers and may keep one rooster. The rest as meat birds. Im really excited. Maybe more excited to get the 2 dog pens and 120 gal water trough out of my office with the 5 heat lamps that keep the whole office a steady 90 degrees.
I built a 25'x12' run with a 4'x8 roost box. It's 4x4 poles with 4x4 running down the bottom with welded wire attached 6' high. I haven't figured out my roof yet. But is this big enough?
The run is inside a 1/4 acres 6' fenced area I can let them free graze but not 24/7. My mallards will be split up and 6 stay at my lake out at the house and 7 at the farm lake. Any one see any major flaws in my plan.
Full story- Me and buddy where sitting on the pier at the farm having a adult beverage when he had the bright idea of how cool it be to have a bunch of mallards swimming in the lake. I agreed and thought I could handle that. So few days later called my local coop and asked the question that got the answer that changed it all. " sure he said I also have chickens and turkeys so fourth and so on." well I thought awsome I'll take 24 mallards 10 turkeys and 4 chickens. So I came home and Told my wife that we where expanding the family. Well to make a longer story short 8 mallards came in 4 weeks ago then 5 mallards 2 weeks ago and I thought I couldn't get anything else when Thursday I got the call saying my turkeys and chickens where healthy and there but no more ducks. I went to get them when I realized he thought I said 10 turkeys and 10 chickens. . So that leaves me with 33 birds. I plan on using the turkeys as meat birds and my hen chickens as egg layers and may keep one rooster. The rest as meat birds. Im really excited. Maybe more excited to get the 2 dog pens and 120 gal water trough out of my office with the 5 heat lamps that keep the whole office a steady 90 degrees.
