Recent content by steve hartzler

I now have a large pile of it outside of the coop, and enough still inside the coop for maybe a 1" layer once it's spread out. I'll mix some wood chips in today. We had chickens when I was growing up, and I know the bedding in the 2nd room hadn't been changed since I was a kid. (40+ years ago.)...

I've just dug out decades old deep litter from one room of our two room coop. The old concrete floor had cracked enough to let a mink tunnel in, so I had to check for other cracks. Now I have a bare concrete floor in half the coop. I'll be digging out the other room on my next day off. I'm...

Haven't picked the breed(s) yet, but definitely going for the heavier kind. We have eagles here, and they never bothered our black australorps. Going to try something different but comparably sized this time.

Our plans for the barnyard keep shifting. If we put up 4' chicken wire fencing, would that generally keep chickens inside? I know chickens can easily fly over a 4' fence. But they'll have almost 2 acres inside the fence, so hoping they won't bother. I'm not counting on the fence for predator...

I have an area roughly 1000' in diameter where I want to keep from getting overgrown with grass. It's an old barnyard and the area around our out-buildings. I'm considering fencing it and using geese and / or ducks. But I have no idea of how many I'd need or if it's even feasible. It's almost 2...

Thanks, that's very helpful. I don't expect to start with more than 12 or 15 at the most. We just want enough eggs for our own use with some to give to friends.

We have a chicken coop that is about 15' by 30'. It's divided into 2 equal sized rooms with a connecting door. It has high ceilings, roosts on opposite walls and 12 raised nesting boxes. It wasn't designed for ducks, obviously, but I'm guessing it'll work. But how many ducks can be comfortably...

We're considering getting ducks this year, and would appreciate advice on fencing. We just need fence that will keep them in, predators aren't a problem here during the day and they'll be locked in the coop at night. Will a 4' wire fence keep Khaki Campbell ducks in? Thanks in advance!