Lanfear
Chirping
Hey all,
Just bought our dream 75 acre property in Manitoba, Canada with my husband which will be quite the adjustment from city life (read: no rural life experience). I've got dogs, cats, rats and an axolotl, and soon to be chickens! I am completely new to poultry - my very first thought of rural living was chickens for eggs/meat and guineas for tick control. As is typical fashion I've done plenty of research. I've got my incubator, just recently ordered my eggs, have the makings of a brooder but.. in true chicken-craze fashion have yet to build our coop! (I'll make another post on the coop ideas page later as I'm very conflicted for design)
Saturday I pick up 56 eggs. Go big or go home, right? They're pretty much an even mix of lemon pyle brahma, exchequer leghorns, golden crele legbar, olive eggers, silver and lavender ameraucana, and silverudd's blue isbar with about 16 guinea eggs. Namely want a colorful egg basket with a variety in the flock, that also are friendly and either docile or explorative. I know some of these are considered meat birds (for heritage breeds at least) though not the fastest growing - my focus will be on eggs! My plan is to free-range (at least while home) during day and coop up at night, then in winter turning the greenhouse part of the barn into a coop/run, with more run going into the actual barn rather than outside because in our winters the temperatures often get to -30°C before the windchill! I love the idea of knowing where you food comes from, and that it's raised humanely and treated well right until it's last breath. Cows, pigs and possibly goats or sheep will be added in the future, too.
If you couldn't tell, I'm an animal person
I work at a vet clinic, and I also show/breed newfoundlands. We have nine cats are all indoors and have an 10'x10' outdoor enclosure so they can enjoy nature safely - I plan on building them a much bigger run, probably around 30'x40' at the new place. The only downside is sometimes in the morning, before turning lights on, I step on earthworms they bring in after rainfall, haha. I know the rat love won't be understood by many, but they are quite smart and affectionate. And if you don't know what an axolotl is, think of mudkip from pokemon. It's a neotonic salamander that lost it's ability to transform to it's land form. They're used for research in the medical field especially for their regenerative abilities - they can regrow limbs and even regenerate half their brain!
I discovered this site a couple years ago when we were first looking for a rural property (website links easily pop up when searching for good info/advice on chickens). I've snooped BYC for hours and hours on end, soaking up info from everyone's experiences and ideas, looking at the different chicken coops designs posted and will continue to do so for many hours to come... I just figured it's time to pick some brilliant brains Below is a picture of a slice of our paradise.... where I'm standing is roughly where I'm thinking of putting the coop with the edge of the forest right behind me.
Just bought our dream 75 acre property in Manitoba, Canada with my husband which will be quite the adjustment from city life (read: no rural life experience). I've got dogs, cats, rats and an axolotl, and soon to be chickens! I am completely new to poultry - my very first thought of rural living was chickens for eggs/meat and guineas for tick control. As is typical fashion I've done plenty of research. I've got my incubator, just recently ordered my eggs, have the makings of a brooder but.. in true chicken-craze fashion have yet to build our coop! (I'll make another post on the coop ideas page later as I'm very conflicted for design)
Saturday I pick up 56 eggs. Go big or go home, right? They're pretty much an even mix of lemon pyle brahma, exchequer leghorns, golden crele legbar, olive eggers, silver and lavender ameraucana, and silverudd's blue isbar with about 16 guinea eggs. Namely want a colorful egg basket with a variety in the flock, that also are friendly and either docile or explorative. I know some of these are considered meat birds (for heritage breeds at least) though not the fastest growing - my focus will be on eggs! My plan is to free-range (at least while home) during day and coop up at night, then in winter turning the greenhouse part of the barn into a coop/run, with more run going into the actual barn rather than outside because in our winters the temperatures often get to -30°C before the windchill! I love the idea of knowing where you food comes from, and that it's raised humanely and treated well right until it's last breath. Cows, pigs and possibly goats or sheep will be added in the future, too.
If you couldn't tell, I'm an animal person
I work at a vet clinic, and I also show/breed newfoundlands. We have nine cats are all indoors and have an 10'x10' outdoor enclosure so they can enjoy nature safely - I plan on building them a much bigger run, probably around 30'x40' at the new place. The only downside is sometimes in the morning, before turning lights on, I step on earthworms they bring in after rainfall, haha. I know the rat love won't be understood by many, but they are quite smart and affectionate. And if you don't know what an axolotl is, think of mudkip from pokemon. It's a neotonic salamander that lost it's ability to transform to it's land form. They're used for research in the medical field especially for their regenerative abilities - they can regrow limbs and even regenerate half their brain!I discovered this site a couple years ago when we were first looking for a rural property (website links easily pop up when searching for good info/advice on chickens). I've snooped BYC for hours and hours on end, soaking up info from everyone's experiences and ideas, looking at the different chicken coops designs posted and will continue to do so for many hours to come... I just figured it's time to pick some brilliant brains
Below is a picture of a slice of our paradise.... where I'm standing is roughly where I'm thinking of putting the coop with the edge of the forest right behind me.
We are glad you joined this flock!
Glad you joined.
Lovely introduction!
