Hello! From MO!

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If your not looking for walk in coop, at least put in a trap door on the opposite side of the main door. I did this because we built a coop on stilts. The trap door has access to the roosting bar, so I can just open it up and let the fresh air in while I turn the litter.
 
I can make it a walk in coop.

Blooms&Brood said:
If your not looking for walk in coop, at least put in a trap door on the opposite side of the main door. I did this because we built a coop on stilts. The trap door has access to the roosting bar, so I can just open it up and let the fresh air in while I turn the litter.
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G’Day from down under Kymberli :frow Welcome!

I am a bit late to the party but I did want to share a few links and articles with you:

You might be interested in downloading this free e-book My First Year With Chickens

BYC has a Learning Centre and also Topic of the Week articles which I have found to be a great resource and a one stop shop for questions which may have already been discussed within the BYC membership group. One in particular that might interest you:
Topic of the Week - Getting Started, Keeping Chickens and may be this one:
Topic of the Week - Saving Money, Feeding Chickens

I do hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

You might want to also Find Your State Thread and pop in and say hello.

If you would like to share pictures and stories of your flock when they arrive, you have come to the right place. BYC’ers never tire of these and do not back away slowly or commence eye rolling when the photo album or home videos come out ;)
 
Hi and welcome to BYC :frow We're so happy you've decided to join us:ya

HAPPY NEW YEAR:jumpy
Kymberli Mundwiller said:
Yes, my plan was to have the houses and hutches built before getting anymore than the one 2 yo Champagne D'Argent male bunny we have. Since we have to build the structure for the solar panels by May 31st, most of the work on that is done.

I thought it was here that I read bunnies and chickens can go together...maybe I can just let them forage in the bunny house? Keep a coop for them. And yes, we already have tons of extra free lumber we got. So I planned to use that as much as possible.

Hmm...it said Brahmas are good for cold weather? May have to rethink that. I planned to have layers all year, and all meat chickens dispatched before Dec 1st cause we don't really get "winter" until Xmas.

Yes, we were going to hit Lebanon for the chicks. Order in Feb for a June pickup? My hubby is going to be off work the next few weeks to make the house liveable, so we'll be there FT Feb 1st. Then, he'll be off work completely from April 13th to June 1st for the appraisal. If we have a bunny and chicken house, thought that'd boost us up too.
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You can raise chickens and rabbits together if you like, just make sure the roof on the rabbit hutches is solid as the chickens will perch there. My friend has been raising them together for 30 years without a problem. His hutches are about 5 feet off the floor with wire bottoms.

A little about meat birds... The slower they grow out, the less tender they tend to be. CXs are not sustainable, but they grow out in 6-8 weeks. I would recommend either the ROSS 708 or COBB 500 strain, as they are more suited to a grass based approach. I raise mine in a portable tractor with hot wires and solar charger and move them daily. Meat birds also have a different feed regimen than other birds, depending on breed. Mine spend 3 weeks in the brooder and 35 days on pasture. Your weak link with meat birds is not growing them but processing them. For a first timer, processing 40 birds in a day can be exhausting. So I would recommend sizing your groups to what you feel comfortable processing in a day. Also consider weather, it is horrible to process in the dead of summer or when it it's really cold out. A good setup goes a long way in making processing easier.

If you're looking for a meat bird that is sustainable, do a search here on "Toads" I have not tried them yet but plan to in the spring.

Predator protection: Feathernetting works for most threats. I put small shelters scattered around the pasture so the birds can duck in under cover from aerial predators. Also be weary of the super highway in the trees. Raccoons can go branch to branch. I also use cattle panel shelters that move so I can change where the birds live based upon available grass. Since you've mentioned bears, you'll want to do a search here on bear protection (there's a really good thread out here) and probably have a double layer of hot wire as bears require a little different handling than smaller 4 legged critters.

Wishing you all the best on your new adventure.
 
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Happy-New-Year-High-Quality-clipart.png Wishing you the very best for 2018!!

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