I'm starting to plan out building my coop..... I moved off the farm in Nebraska, and am renting from my dad in MS, and he said I could have chickens, which I plan to get in the spring.... figured since we don't have much of a winter here, hopefully I could get the coop built before our cold weather starts... so it will be ready in the spring when I get the chickies...
I'm planning to breed the chickens, hoping to use it for some extra income selling chicks and eggs (along with giving me the enjoyment of having critters again
), so I thought I'd start small, maybe 4 or 5 breeds of chickens, plus a larger area for guineas and turkeys (haven't decided if I want the guineas and turkeys in together or not though).
What's the best way to do this? I can't free-range them here, way too many predators, and am also right on the highway. So I thought a long coop, with the pen attached, divided into sections for each breed... access to each coop from the pen maybe? where I could go into the pen, then get into the coop?
My dad will help me build it, and he's great with wood working/carpentry, but knows nothing at all about chickens or how a coop should be built.... so I'd love to hear ideas from y'all.
Also, what is the recommended amount of space per chicken/guinea/turkey? it will probably be built larger than needed to allow for adding more critters, and also because I don't like the idea of them being penned up, would like them to have extra room....
I'm planning to breed the chickens, hoping to use it for some extra income selling chicks and eggs (along with giving me the enjoyment of having critters again
What's the best way to do this? I can't free-range them here, way too many predators, and am also right on the highway. So I thought a long coop, with the pen attached, divided into sections for each breed... access to each coop from the pen maybe? where I could go into the pen, then get into the coop?
My dad will help me build it, and he's great with wood working/carpentry, but knows nothing at all about chickens or how a coop should be built.... so I'd love to hear ideas from y'all.
Also, what is the recommended amount of space per chicken/guinea/turkey? it will probably be built larger than needed to allow for adding more critters, and also because I don't like the idea of them being penned up, would like them to have extra room....
