- Jan 18, 2011
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I have been watching this post for several months and just decided to join. I have a unique situation. I have a second home in the catskill mountains of NY on 25 acres that has lots of deer and ticks. I also have 4 kids a dog and don't like ticks. I'm looking to build a coop to house a few Guinea and a few chickens (6 to 8 birds total). Sounds easy, until you realize I'm only at this house every 3 weeks or so. So these birds would need to be feed, and watered during that period that i will not be onsite and the wintes are cold. Now i am an animal lover and i do not wish the birds harm, and am doing some significant research before i do this. I have over the last two winters, done various experiments and i know that a) i can provide clean fresh water on a regular basis without the fear of it freezing, b)i can provide enough food for a 4-5 week period with sizable feeders, and i can also provide treats like 'scratch' on a daily basis. (i have worked on automating these aspects). For protecton, i am fencing the entire area including the top and I plan to free range only after i know that all the birds return home and i know they are safe. I have those electronic eyes to install, Barking dog sensors at night, and i can install a webcam to watch the inside and outside of the coop. Yes - this will be an expensive project, but i don't want ticks on my kids. i have even desiged the nest boxes to allow the eggs to roll out of the way.
So how do i keep the coop clean, what type of floor do i use. Do I use sand, or the deep litter method, or just lineolium that i clean regularly or a wire mesh where the poop just drops about 8 feet below the coop. Do i put sand on lineolium, or litter on linolium or wood etc... How do i limit the maintenance.
and i don't really want to hire someone to visit the birds daily.
help
So how do i keep the coop clean, what type of floor do i use. Do I use sand, or the deep litter method, or just lineolium that i clean regularly or a wire mesh where the poop just drops about 8 feet below the coop. Do i put sand on lineolium, or litter on linolium or wood etc... How do i limit the maintenance.
and i don't really want to hire someone to visit the birds daily.
help