Everywhere I read and everyone I talked to said get more birds than you want to have. Most won't make it past keet/chick stage. So I thought I'd like in the end to have about 6 chickens and 10 guineas. We have 5 acres full of ticks. They were bought for pest control and the chickens for a few eggs now and then.
I dono what I did but I came out WAY ahead of the game. At current I have 11 pullets and 23 guineas. I lost one chick to a broken or misaligned jaw and one keet to a nerve disorder. Now my itty bitty coop is over run with HUGE guineas and comical pullets.
The chickens are very well behaved. It gets near dark and I tell them to coop up and in they go. Most of the time the guineas are already in the coop. Here lately the same 7 it appears have turned rebel on me. of the 3 nights they spent out the 3rd was VERY cold. since then I have only had one guinea roo who decided the oak tree over the coop was good enough for him. That was only one night then all back in the coop again.
I thought for sure I would loose some to predators or even my LGD but nope still all happy and healthy.
NOT meaning to sound like I am complaining. I am actually pretty happy with my results.
One excepting factor.... I need to build a bigger coop and more roosts!
They are currently in an old storage building. I almost have a out door pen finished that is attached and a little more sq footage than the coop.
Any ideas for cheap, fast, roosting materials and coop designs? Pay day the run will be finished. I am thinking of putting some roosts in there till I can manage another coop.
Best laid plans of mice and men as they say... I had plans for an awesome coop to build this spring but I don't think I can wait that long and I don't really have the cash yet to build the super coop.
I dono what I did but I came out WAY ahead of the game. At current I have 11 pullets and 23 guineas. I lost one chick to a broken or misaligned jaw and one keet to a nerve disorder. Now my itty bitty coop is over run with HUGE guineas and comical pullets.
The chickens are very well behaved. It gets near dark and I tell them to coop up and in they go. Most of the time the guineas are already in the coop. Here lately the same 7 it appears have turned rebel on me. of the 3 nights they spent out the 3rd was VERY cold. since then I have only had one guinea roo who decided the oak tree over the coop was good enough for him. That was only one night then all back in the coop again.
I thought for sure I would loose some to predators or even my LGD but nope still all happy and healthy.
NOT meaning to sound like I am complaining. I am actually pretty happy with my results.
One excepting factor.... I need to build a bigger coop and more roosts!They are currently in an old storage building. I almost have a out door pen finished that is attached and a little more sq footage than the coop.
Any ideas for cheap, fast, roosting materials and coop designs? Pay day the run will be finished. I am thinking of putting some roosts in there till I can manage another coop.
Best laid plans of mice and men as they say... I had plans for an awesome coop to build this spring but I don't think I can wait that long and I don't really have the cash yet to build the super coop.
