Getting started

[TimberRT]

I'm considering adding some chickens to raise for mostly eggs for myself and some of my co workers. I have 11 acres that is mostly wooded along with a herd of pygmy goats. The goats are fenced in and I was planning on starting the chickens out there with the goats. Now, how do goats and chickens get along?

The one problem I anticipate is feeding the chickens away from the goats. I'm not worried about the chickens getting their sweet feed, but the goats getting into their scratch feed. Not really good for goats. I can put the chickens elsewhere if I need to.

 

[Laskaland]

Do you have a building that the chickens will be able to roost in at night? That's all I think you are missing. From what I know goats get along just fine with chickens. How many are you thinking of getting???

Good Luck and again,

you will love it here!
Christina

 

[TimberRT]

Not yet. Just starting to get things together. Of course money is tight right now and I've been looking at some of the coop designs to see what I can build.

Probably won't be adding chickens to the place until the spring when the weather gets warmer. I want to make sure though that everything is in place when I do get started.

Some of the neighbors used to keep chickens but the local coyotes, foxes, etc wiped them out. I've only got a 4 foot fence for the goats but it "usually" keeps them in. Pygmy goats are the best escape artists in the business.

I also have three dogs which would kill the chickens if they got into the pens where the dogs are at times. Dogs will kill the goats as well but that seems under control.

Now I would like the chickens to free range but I have no control over the neighbors dogs and not all of them are kept under control.

Suggestions? Like I said when I do this I want everything right before I bring one chicken in at all. It does get very cold here in the winter and have seen the temperature drop below zero in the winter. Do I need to clip wings?

There has also been a lot of talk where I work at about chicken manure helping to spread wasting disease amoung the deer population in and around Virginia and West Virginia. Most of that manure is coming from big poultry operations but still a little concerned. I live in the north westwern part of Virginia and am only a few miles off the West Virginia line.

I am not a great fan of over vaccinating any animal and have followed that practise here. My herd of goats is closed and CAE and Johnes free. Even though I keep dogs I haven't had any fleas around for years because I seeded the area with nematodes that have wiped out the fleas around here at my place.

Any guidelines you can provide I will read and try to do.

 

[Dandelion007]

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