In Montana's Ravalli Valley......

[RavalliSurfer]

I'm over 70, and have raised quite a few chickens before, but not at the temps that we get here in Montana. I'm fully retired, love to fish and generally am living a nice life in Montana where if you want to have a million dollars here, you should come with 2 million dollars.

There's not much more to say about me - this is about chickens mostly - ---

My biggest concern is that they stay warm and dry, so I built a coop that stands 4 feet off the ground with walls and floor that are hollow, stuffed with used shopping bags.

The coop is heavy - very heavy - so I don't feel anything less than 100MPH winds can tip it over. I built sled-type skids on the bottom of the coop and I tow it to new grass and different areas every few days. It fertilizes the lawn and the chickens find some living bugs to torment or eat - whatever they want to do with a bug.

 

[Perris]

hello @RavalliSurfer ! welcome to BYC
do you have chocks to stop the coop being slid away in high winds? And what chickens do you have?

 

[RavalliSurfer]

Actually --> the winds here have never been very stiff - blustery, more or less.

I don't think the coop can move very well by itself, and even though it has 'sled-like' runners on it, it takes my Quad in 4 LOW and decent throttle to move it when we do move it.

I don't think we'll move it at all in winter.... just shield it from direct snow from the north - from where it usually blows.

We bought Australorp (2) and Aracaunas (2) - for 4 total. We are currently getting 3-4 eggs a day and for my wife and myself, we have more than sufficient.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Welcome to our FUNomenal community! Best wishes and have lots of fun!

 

[N F C]

It would be interesting to see a photo of your coop. Ensuring the coop has plenty of ventilation will help with keeping your flock warm and dry.

P.S. I'll match my Wyoming winds against your Montana winds

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
We are glad you joined this flock!
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site (how to upload photos too):

Coop Ideas:
Chicken Coops.

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[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
I'd like to see your coop as well. It sounds like a beast.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC. I hope that you enjoy your time here.

This is a useful link to take a look at - “How to...” guides. You may wish to consider including your location under your avatar (using the guide in the link above). You can use this link to contact members in your area - U.S. States

Best wishes

Pork Pie

 

[Meg-in-MT]

Hello, fellow Montanan! Welcome to BYC!!