D.I.Y Banty Land deep in the Oregon Coast Range

[leftcoastranger]

Greetings from Swisshome, Oregon, Population 200+, not counting chickens.

My name is Teah Ray, I'm 48, part of an intentional family (hippie commune!) who live very rurally on 5 acres. The forest is very thick out here, our "backyard" is a shaggy meadow in a bend of the Siuslaw River. It's a long skinny piece of land with a railroad on one border and the river on the other. My daughter and her husband have a small flock of free-ranging full-size chickens (1 cock, 2 hens, need more!) on the eastern end of the property. My home office is a restored 1955 camp trailer (caravan) on the western end. It has a sunny meadow and a shady grove that's just crying out for a chicken-scape. Loving small things in general, I've settled on Bantams. Doing research on which breeds would be best for our cool, mild, damp climate. I want calm, friendly, hardy, rain-tolerant chickens for soil conditioning, fertilizer, bug control, companionship and entertainment. Not concerned with shows or meat or breeding, but those teeny little eggs will be appreciated.

Predators will be a concern, as we are in the woods. Cougar, lynx, coyote, raccoon, fox, weasel, marten, skunks, wood-rats, hawks, eagles, black bear are all common here. We have an Australian Cattle Dog who is very vigilant about land-based intruders, but ignores birds of all sorts, including our existing chickens.

I am picturing a spacious run part maple shade, part sun, an elevated coop with room for 6-10 birds, and daytime free-ranging. I have a lot of salvage materials and am handy with building things, as is my husband and several other people who live here. Right now I am finishing clearing the space and gathering materials. I want to start with adult chickens, not babies.

Been reading everything on this site and other places on the internet. The age of information sharing is so wonderful! I grew up on several small farms, but then had decades of traveling with a band. Not a lot of places for farm animals on the road. Now that I am retired from that and have a stay-at-home job, it's time for chickens!

Any pointers specific to Bantams in my temperate rainforest climate most graciously welcomed, especially breed ideas.

Thanks!
TR

 

[MikasGirl]

Hello! And

! I live in Oregon as well, and we have WAY too many chickens. All of our breeds handle the weather pretty well, excepts for the Cochins and Polish (all those extra feathers can get muddy!) Our most active breeds are our Egyptian Fayoumis and our one Hamburg. Both are STUNNING and fairly small. They are the rulers of the roost in our coop and act as our rooster. They also love to catch bugs

I would recommend Fayoumis. However, they aren't the CALMEST. EEs are always a GREAT way to go. They lay beautiful colored eggs and have super cute faces. Research the Easter Egger!