feeding challenges plus we're new

[Uzuri]

Heheh, I'd bet money you'd see the goat climbing the chicken ladder five minutes after you put in the last nail

 

[lwemmer]

Uh, yeah, Uzuri is right-- there is a shorter ladder and the goats seem to get up it faster than the chickens! The goats love to climb and jump on any stump with ease or even the top of our ark style chicken tractor.

I think we are going to try a day-time feeding station in our the ark-style chicken tractor. We can leave the top door open and some of the chickens know how to get in by flying up. The goats can only reach the one end compartment to eat hay but cannot get to the food at the bottom. Hopefully the chickens will figure it out. Problem is the girls who were in there originally like to lay their eggs in there and go back in there at night. We want them all to go in the new coop on their own because it is more secure. Also, one of the new girls lays eggs in there too.

Which brings up another challenge: none of them are laying in the nest boxes of the new coop. They lay on the floor and it is pain to reach in and get the eggs. When I put hay in the new coop for bedding in the nest boxes, the goats go in and eat it out of the nest boxes and it ends up on the floor. And the goats can potentially trample the eggs. Any ideas on what I can use as nest material that will encourage the hens to use the nest boxes but the goats won't want to eat? We haven't tried straw but I am not sure the goats wouldn't eat that. Seems too similar to hay. We also don't have the greatest roosting system in the coop. I didn't like the dowel idea that came with the plans so we tried a removable 2X2 on a stand but they don't seem to use it.

 

[tigercreek]

Use pine shavings as nesting material? I don't know anything about goats, but that is a suggestion. I hear that goats will eat anything. .....stan