- Thread starter
- #11
NewYorkChick
Chirping
- Oct 18, 2021
- 7
- 54
- 54
Thank you SO much this is so very helpful!Hello and welcome to BYC!Glad you joined.
Raccoons, coyote, fox, black bears, bob cats, Fisher cats, weasels, stray dogs.
I contain my layer only flock behind poultry netting powered with a 10,000 volt charger. That has thus far kept out all ground predators.
The pen has a very large quince bush in it as well as a very large run with a solid roof. The bird area of the coop is 12x8 with 25' of linear roost space centered over 2' wide poop boards. The run is 28'x12' with two 8x4 annexes attached. Then entire thing basically one big coop so I have easily kept as many as 30 birds in it as I never close the pop door to the run.
I recommend having this type of setup for winter months as getting snow like this will be an issue for them to get around in:View attachment 2870206
It's a non-issue.
I have never raised meat birds but plan to some day when I finally locate this illusive "free time" I hear people talking about...
I would recommend a tractor to keep your meat birds in. Something that you can move around the property every few days to keep the incredible amount of poop they produce spread out. It could also be kept behind a length of poultry netting to keep them safe until ready to process.
PBRs are a good choice as are Black Australorps and Wyandottes. I like to have birds with smaller combs as the breeds with large combs are prone to frostbite. I had plans to process older birds and raise replacement pullets each year. That will never happen! I've become far too attached to my birds, especially the originals.
Most people would recommend processing older hens when they go into their second or third molt. They would have to be stew birds or some other form of slow cooking as their meat would be tough at their age. There are plenty of good folks that can help you with those specifics in the meat bird forum!
LGDs would be most useful during the day, not at night. At night, birds need to be secured in a predator proof enclosure. Something with excellent ventilation and no openings larger than 1/2". NO CHICKEN WIRE!! It is NOT predator proof. Well secured (with heavy duty poultry staples or screws with fender washers) 1/2" hardware cloth is the way to go.
