- Jan 26, 2013
- 2
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We live in town and don't really have a backyard to speak of. We live in an historic district with big 100+ yr old homes, converted coach houses for a garage and paved courtyards , no grass. We realize this isn't ideal, but would really like to know how to turn a portion of our courtyard into a friendly, safe, healthy living environment to raise a few chickens. We mainly want them (for now) for eggs. We are in the process of purchasing acreage with a water source to build a home. We are moving in the right direction for a more ideal space to raise chickens, but would like to start now.
We don't even know where to start, but I'm thinking the BYC web page and community is definitely the right direction! =) We raise our family on non-GMO, organic, and locally raised food. We'd like to eventually be self-sustaining with our own food supply and crops. How does one go about ensuring the feed they get for their chickens is GMO-free and organic?? Or is it all GMO-free and organic?? Like I mentioned before, we are brand spank'n new to all of this!
Any advice on coops for "city living" would be excellent too. We live in the IN, IL, KY tri-state area, so our temps range from a little above 100 deg in the summer to the 20's (for maybe a month) in the winter. We don't get much snow, but do experience ice. Winter doesn't last very long either, maybe Dec - Feb. We'd also be interested in hearing suggestions for keeping a fresh, clean water source from freezing. We thought about using a small running "fountain" (like hooking up a pump) in a coop. Any thoughts would be super.
Thank you in advance for any advice! We are soo appreciative, and extremely happy to have found BYC and be a part of such an amazing "community"!!
We don't even know where to start, but I'm thinking the BYC web page and community is definitely the right direction! =) We raise our family on non-GMO, organic, and locally raised food. We'd like to eventually be self-sustaining with our own food supply and crops. How does one go about ensuring the feed they get for their chickens is GMO-free and organic?? Or is it all GMO-free and organic?? Like I mentioned before, we are brand spank'n new to all of this!
Any advice on coops for "city living" would be excellent too. We live in the IN, IL, KY tri-state area, so our temps range from a little above 100 deg in the summer to the 20's (for maybe a month) in the winter. We don't get much snow, but do experience ice. Winter doesn't last very long either, maybe Dec - Feb. We'd also be interested in hearing suggestions for keeping a fresh, clean water source from freezing. We thought about using a small running "fountain" (like hooking up a pump) in a coop. Any thoughts would be super.
Thank you in advance for any advice! We are soo appreciative, and extremely happy to have found BYC and be a part of such an amazing "community"!!
