My suggestion, as I don't have a shallow well, (200 feet down), is build an earthen dam around the well and the coop/run. This will keep any accidental flooding from putting caca in your well.
It's a bear. It can tear through your house door if it needs to. Shoot the bear, or have wildlife services trap it. Not much is going to stop a bear once it's found a place to dine!
We're in the habit of changing out the shavings in the coop every 2 1/2 to 3 months. Depends on which hair gets wild. The way I built my coop makes it easy. The dust is minimal. But come April we will do a good scrub of everything and do a light disinfection.
I am just coming in to my 9th month of having Golden sex-links, which have been easy to take care of. I was able or obtain 3 Rhode island Red chicks by chance. they were a month or two younger than the Goldens. 1 died right away and just last week or so, one other died, for unknown reasons. So...
My buddy buried her already as she was 'his' chicken. She was very friendly to him. if it happens again, I will do an autopsy. and no, it doesn't bother me, as I was a mortician for 30 years!
Dear Clucker chasers,
I lost a 7 month old Rhode Island red sometime last night it seems. I was away the day before and found her this noon. Laying straight out. She is only one of the 2 Reds I have/had. The other 9 are Golden Sex Links and seem to be having no problems.
Was wondering if I...
I just use a dry stainless steel scrubber pad to knock off any detritus that might be on the egg. I only wash them if they get real muddy, when the odd egg gets laid in the run.
I built my very nice coop out of pallets and leftover plywood. Also leftover vinyl flooring, which is easy to clean. I built it inside a standing pole shed, and extra gravel to set the floor on. My pen is off to the side. I also used Lowe's oddball lumber, and seconds. A lot cheaper that way. I...
Same thing here in S.E. Idaho. High mountain desert with everything you have and the danged raccoons. So far my chickens are only about 3 months old, and have a dirt bottomed pen that they are learning to scratch and dust in. My coop is insulated so they can go in and stay warmer or cooler as...
I have 23 Ga hardware cloth on the lower part of my pen, because part of it is buried, so critters are hopefully deterred from digging in to that area. I like it, and it does the job well. I used heavier chicken wire for the upper 5 feet. Works just great.