Coop in a Goat Cave

[PeaPeeps Goats]

I never wanted chickens in the first place. My flock is a rescue flock that some folks simply dropped off. Well, of course, now I'm hooked. No surprise there. But housing presented a problem since the farm is already dedicated to horses and goats.

My does live in the stripping room of our old tobacco barn (a 16x24 cinder block space) I have 9 does and a varied number of kids living in there at any given time. I want to add 2 roosting bars and 4 laying boxes. (I have 4 that double a kiddie cubbie holes). Do you think I could add 14 chickens to the mix?

 

[GSDBESTK9]

Don't have the answer for you but I just wanted to say hello and welcome to the board from a fellow Marylander.

 

[PeaPeeps Goats]

Nice to meet you. I'm always happy to meet people close by

I'll try and post pic's when it's done.

 

[JulieNKC]

I think the main issue with housing them together would be keeping the goats out of the chicken feed. Let me know how it works out, I'd like to add a couple goats eventually.

 

[rikithemonk]

I would think that the goats would eat the eggs. Which would teach the chickens to see the eggs as food. From what I have heard, once chickens see eggs as food, its almost imposable to re train them.

Just something to consider.

 

[PeaPeeps Goats]

So far, I've had as many as 7 chickens in there, but I'm not so sure about doubling the numbers.....I didn't house them there; they just decided they liked that better than the junky coop I tried to build....That's how I got the idea. The goats have no interest in the eggs. Sometimes the mommies push their babies into the laying boxes for nappy time and the babies lay on the eggs.

 

[crchickens]

We have goats and chickens, too. We are building our coop in the chicken pasture, instead of housing them together. Our kids love the coop, and the nesting boxes, and are quite upset now that our progress has come to the point of closing off the door and putting a lid on the nesting boxes. They thought that wonderful play space was just for them!! My biggest worry is that my one buck will hammer the chickens, because he can be a turd sometimes. We are building a run, but I would love to free range them in the pasture eventually. We do have a local fox who has been stealing my neighbor's ducks, so I have to be careful. How will you vent them and regulate temperature for the chickens mixed in with the goats? Also, how will you predator proof them? Those would be my only concerns.

 

[PeaPeeps Goats]

Venting is easy. The doe cave has windows on three sides. The cider block keeps it cool in summer and warm in winter. I leave heat lamps on in winter for the babies and last year it did fine when the hens were in there. They had their own coop over winter but liked the doe cave better. The chickens free range with the goats and horses during the day but, so far, except for the raccoon one night, no one has ever bothered us. The dog does hang with the gang during the day but I don't know if he would know what to do if there was a predator.