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  1. The layout of our poultry and garden zone. USDA zone 8a. We'll be raising two batches of meaties per year (fall and spring) in a tractor that will be moved daily around the back and left sides of the complex. Our mini-orchard will hold a variety of 22 fruit trees planted in as a hedgerow and some espaliered and the duck pond (which will be an above ground koi-type pond built into a deck and duck shelter and have a large drainage pipe in the bottom) will be used for watering and fertilizing our trees and the ducks can de-bug and eat fallen fruit to their heart's content. We're going to be breeding American blue rabbits for meat (both for us and our prey-model fed dogs) and to sell to others looking to keep this 'threatened' American native breed going with the cages suspended along the walls to make optimum use of the 8' roof in our coop. The fodder system will be housed inside the coop as well, separated by plastic hex 'wire', and has an approximate footprint of 2' x 6' to feed all of our animals with our feed fermenting buckets housed in the remaining 2' of space along the short wall. The garden beds are of the square foot gardening persuasion, with the long narrow beds for vining plants and the squares for general produce. My husband is a Celtic reconstructionist so his altar will be set among some of the plants that are important to his dieties and their calendar. In the opposite corner is a small fountain and seating area. The entire poultry area will be covered with poultry netting on top and woven wire fencing with hex wire reinforcement along the sides (because of our dogs we don't have problems with predators other than the airborne kinds). We plan on breeding Bourbon Red turkeys and having an assortments of laying (chicken) hens.

    The layout of our poultry and garden zone. USDA zone 8a. We'll be raising two batches of meaties per year (fall and spring) in a tractor that will be moved daily around the back and left sides of the complex. Our mini-orchard will hold a variety of 22 fruit trees planted in as a hedgerow and some espaliered and the duck pond (which will be an above ground koi-type pond built into a deck and duck shelter and have a large drainage pipe in the bottom) will be used for watering and fertilizing our trees and the ducks can de-bug and eat fallen fruit to their heart's content. We're going to be breeding American blue rabbits for meat (both for us and our prey-model fed dogs) and to sell to others looking to keep this 'threatened' American native breed going with the cages suspended along the walls to make optimum use of the 8' roof in our coop. The fodder system will be housed inside the coop as well, separated by plastic hex 'wire', and has an approximate footprint of 2' x 6' to feed all of our animals with our feed fermenting buckets housed in the remaining 2' of space along the short wall. The garden beds are of the square foot gardening persuasion, with the long narrow beds for vining plants and the squares for general produce. My husband is a Celtic reconstructionist so his altar will be set among some of the plants that are important to his dieties and their calendar. In the opposite corner is a small fountain and seating area. The entire poultry area will be covered with poultry netting on top and woven wire fencing with hex wire reinforcement along the sides (because of our dogs we don't have problems with predators other than the airborne kinds). We plan on breeding Bourbon Red turkeys and having an assortments of laying (chicken) hens.

    • Kida
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    • Album: 2013
  2. My new chicken coop and the amazing hubby who bought it for me. It's 8' x 16' and the run is going to go behind it and be 25' x 16'. I was just going to let them free range until I saw a hawk snatch up a full grown rabbit and fly off with it. They don't stand a chance

    My new chicken coop and the amazing hubby who bought it for me. It's 8' x 16' and the run is going to go behind it and be 25' x 16'. I was just going to let them free range until I saw a hawk snatch up a full grown rabbit and fly off with it. They don't stand a chance

    • Kida
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    • Album: 2013
  3. 2013

    2013

    VLA farm complex beginnings
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  4. Kida

    Parent company of feed manufacturers

    I've been looking into the different feeds available and I noticed a year or so back Cargill had a recall on a some of their poultry feed. They make Purina, Nutrena, Agway, DuMor, and a few others but I see those brands mentioned often when looking for recommendations. My other concern is that...
  5. Kida

    About to get some chicks....

    I'm just going to add his here because it isn't important enough for it's own thread but I had ordered an 8' x 8' coop/rabbit house/fodder room from a local builder and unbeknownst to me my dear sweet hubby upgraded it to an 8' x 16' so that I would have more room to add on YAY! It gets...
  6. Kida

    About to get some chicks....

    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! I'm having mine in a playpen in our living room and was having so much trouble trying to figure out how to suspend the lamp because the clip is essentially useless and that is perfect I had recently resorted to trying to figure out a ceiling mount that wouldn't...
  7. Kida

    Question about hen raised chicks

    Thank you, I haven't looked into leghorns at all because I was attacked by a whole flock of big white chickens (no idea of the breed) when I was little and it took a very cuddly silky several months to get me over my chicken phobia when I was 22 and even still I'm kind of leery around big white...
  8. Kida

    Question about hen raised chicks

    How many babies can I expect to hatch per year from a hen? I'm leaning toward Barred Rocks or Buff Orpingtons for eggs and meat and my family go through approx. 70-80 chickens a year; there are 6 in my immediate family and that's not counting the friends and relations that like to just drop by...
  9. Kida

    Howdy from Texas

    I saw your ad on craigslist too when I was browsing for goat stuff :) and Hi from Weatherford!
  10. Kida

    Comment by 'Kida' in article 'Chicken Tractors & Mobile Chicken Coop Designs'

    I (ok, my hubby) welded some heavy duty wheels onto a metal swingset that had been outgrown by my cousin and we covered that in hardware cloth with 2x4s at the bottom, added a plywood back wall on one of the A-frame sdies to attach the nest boxes to, covered it with a tarp for shade and voila...
    • Kida
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  11. Kida

    Spreading the love

    Since I'm getting my first flock soon, I thought it might be nice to spread the chicken love and donate a flock to another family via heifer international. It's only $20 for a flock of between 10-50 chicks. I figured I'd share the idea here as well :)...
  12. Kida

    Coop Plans

    Duly noted, and thanks for the tip. I'd seen on a post about building your own auto waterer with the suggestion to use an aquarium heater instead of a bare light bulb so I just went with that in my initial plans. And now for another question if anyone is interested in giving an opinion: The...
  13. Kida

    Where to get hog ring / loxit without insane shipping?

    Tractor supply has hog rings but can't be ordered online so if there is one near you, you can skip shipping entirely. Bass equipment has thier shipping chart on thier site and it's just as pricey as the ones you mentioned. I will suggest searching for rabbit cage building supplies as well to...
  14. Kida

    Coop Plans

    I'm about to begin building my very first coop and wanted to see if the great minds here could offer some insight into the particulars and if my ideas will turn out to not be good ones. I'm going to have 10 hens, and I plan to make 'the egg shaped hoop coop' as the run and the coop proper is...
  15. Kida

    The object to your left is now your weapon of choice in the upcoming zombie apocalypse.What is it?

    heh my daughter's stuffed caterpillar is beside me sooo... I'd be dead. lol
  16. Kida

    Charities

    In response to wanting to provide for an organization that meets whatever your political views are, donate to the small organizations that work directly with people or animals, etc. We give as much as we can to our local neighbors to neighbors because they provide food and coats to people in my...
  17. Kida

    Hi everybody!

    Thanks for the warm reception you guys! :) I thought I'd add here that we've decided on the names of our flock, or at least the theme: it's Dr. Who Companions! lol We'll have Leela, Sarah Jane, Rose, Martha, Donna, Astrid, Jenny, Amelia, River, and Oswin. Any improperly sexed roo will be Captain...
  18. Kida

    Hi everybody!

    I'll let him know ^_^ and the weather is still hot hehe. The temperature here has been in the upper 70s to mid 80s. It got up to 114deg here last summer though
  19. Kida

    Hi everybody!

    I've been a lurker for quite some time now, but I just placed my first order for some baby chicks scheduled to be shipped the first week in April. I'm so excited! A bit about me and mine: My name is Stephanie, I'm married to a prior service marine (even I get the stink eye if I call him a...
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