I too am blasting through catchup.
With Regard to coops and housing.... I have gone through four iterations of coops here. Mind you San Diego is a mild climate all we have to protect for is wind and rain and very little rain at that... And predators we have the whole gambbut stopping at bears and wolves. Mostly though Coyotes, dogs, raccoons and raptors in the city. add in mountain lions and bobcat in where I live now.
So my coops have always been wire cages with Canvas roofing.
My first one was four by six by six all welded wire with a single wall of plywood. I had four hens in that. locked up when I wasnt there.
My second one was six by six by six aviary wire... I used to raise finches. I had four hens in that but they could free range.
My third was sixteen by twelve dog kennel panels... I had about thirty bantams barnyard mixes... Mostly blue egg layers and about three roos. That was my most fun flock by the way.
I remodeled that one when I got the Guinea fowl. I raised the roof on it making a peaked roof so I could put the guineas roost higher up than the chickens...
I remodeled it again when having higher roosts wasnt enough I needed a partition for chicks so I made a chicken partition and a guinea partition.
When the guineas were gone I converted that to a goat house by making a goat sized door on the off side.
Still no roof just tarps.
Now all the poultry is gone and the goats as well. Predators took em all year before last.
so for a barnyard mix of chickens keep em all in one enclosure. If you want purebreds you can pull off what ever purebreds and put them in their own partition till you get pure eggs. Takes about two to four weeks to get purebreds.
That was my plan for my next go round. Rebuilding and reconfiguring to have a 24 x 24 poultry house with a real roof this time... Tarps work but they take maintenance. Plus I am tired of feeding all the predators in my area.
So The birds I want to raise are Guinea Fowl primarily. So my biggest partition will be six by twenty four with an additional six by six for a grand total of 180 square feet. For a potential of housing 45 Guinea Fowl at four square foot per bird. they are smaller than chickens but more much much more active.
Then a partition for my Frequent Flier Flock of Sumatras. Hoping to do 6 x 12 partition for them at 72 square feet that would be a potential for 18-20 because they are not a large fowl not a bantam either.
That leaves for me one more partition for Chickens and one more partition to house goats.
With ample room for feed storage workspace and brood boxes if necessary. Though I am hoping the Sumatras will fill the incubation needs, I will have space in the house for an incubator.
With Regard to coops and housing.... I have gone through four iterations of coops here. Mind you San Diego is a mild climate all we have to protect for is wind and rain and very little rain at that... And predators we have the whole gambbut stopping at bears and wolves. Mostly though Coyotes, dogs, raccoons and raptors in the city. add in mountain lions and bobcat in where I live now.
So my coops have always been wire cages with Canvas roofing.
My first one was four by six by six all welded wire with a single wall of plywood. I had four hens in that. locked up when I wasnt there.
My second one was six by six by six aviary wire... I used to raise finches. I had four hens in that but they could free range.
My third was sixteen by twelve dog kennel panels... I had about thirty bantams barnyard mixes... Mostly blue egg layers and about three roos. That was my most fun flock by the way.
I remodeled that one when I got the Guinea fowl. I raised the roof on it making a peaked roof so I could put the guineas roost higher up than the chickens...
I remodeled it again when having higher roosts wasnt enough I needed a partition for chicks so I made a chicken partition and a guinea partition.
When the guineas were gone I converted that to a goat house by making a goat sized door on the off side.
Still no roof just tarps.
Now all the poultry is gone and the goats as well. Predators took em all year before last.
so for a barnyard mix of chickens keep em all in one enclosure. If you want purebreds you can pull off what ever purebreds and put them in their own partition till you get pure eggs. Takes about two to four weeks to get purebreds.
That was my plan for my next go round. Rebuilding and reconfiguring to have a 24 x 24 poultry house with a real roof this time... Tarps work but they take maintenance. Plus I am tired of feeding all the predators in my area.
So The birds I want to raise are Guinea Fowl primarily. So my biggest partition will be six by twenty four with an additional six by six for a grand total of 180 square feet. For a potential of housing 45 Guinea Fowl at four square foot per bird. they are smaller than chickens but more much much more active.
Then a partition for my Frequent Flier Flock of Sumatras. Hoping to do 6 x 12 partition for them at 72 square feet that would be a potential for 18-20 because they are not a large fowl not a bantam either.
That leaves for me one more partition for Chickens and one more partition to house goats.
With ample room for feed storage workspace and brood boxes if necessary. Though I am hoping the Sumatras will fill the incubation needs, I will have space in the house for an incubator.
they are both girls!
