Is it foolish to even try raising poultry in my location?

[Stumpy]

Thanks for all of the info and advice.

Sorcy, I hadn't even thought of termites, and those boxes would almost certainly be infested. There was also a galvanized feeder on the floor, which I suppose could be disinfected.

I can do some carpentry work, but I couldn't build anything from the ground up. If the foundation and framing was started, I could apply siding and wire.

About the wire, I looked at Lowe's the other day, and was wanting to buy some hardware cloth to make a compost strainer. They only had it in little bitty rolls that were narrow.

I don't know if I'll be able to get DH to come around to the idea of keeping a few chickens and ducks. He said he wants to taste a duck egg first. How I'll manage that, I don't know.

 

[d.k]

* SOMEBODY within easy driving distance is bound to have some ducks where you could get a couple eggs for your'e DH. An old neighbor of mine up north in West Palm had ducks in her b/yd when I was a kid. She would NEVER use chicken eggs for all her baking if she had duck's eggs to use. . .

 

[LynneP]

In my friend's coop all the uprights are 4x4's for strength. The cross pieces are 2x4's. He uses steel brackets and other hardware fittings outdoors and all are galvanized. He covers the runs with 1/2" hardware cloth and he puts 'snow boards' up so that hens in adjoining runs don't get aggressive with each other, especially those of different ages. His roosts are wide and positioned away from any outside perimeter edges outdoors.

Indoors he uses insulation and vapor seal, the panels on the walls are fastened with screws for easy removal/inspection. He never puts new birds in with residents, and he rests coop and run space so it can air out and be properly cleaned before being used. His feed is in rodent-proof containers, he NEVER leaves bags on the floor even if they are unopened. He also checks the runs daily for leftover feed, and he suggests that if you give the birds anything later in the day that you use the indoor coop and put it in a low basin so they'll finish it before roosting. The place smells good, if you know what I mean- you can tell he raises chickens, but he composts away from the runs and it smells like a properly run farm. No rodents as far as I could tell, and he claims not to have any.

He has doors constructed so that if a black bear were to hip-check it or shoulder it, the door will hold and there is NO access for weasels, coons, mink or other predators. He keeps a few cats to discourage rodents. We're modelling our management on his- he has about 60 chickens at this time and may have closer to 100 this year, if his wife gives over!

He has to keep the number of layers on the property under 100 of could be in violation of egg marketing regs, and in this country you do not want the agricultural feds checking you. No free-range for him- too many predators.

I think there are many examples of superior facilities here in the coop design section (lucky birds).

 

[sundance]

we built our coop out of 4x8 particle board, covered top with tin, cut windows in 3 sides and a door in the 4th, We covered the top of our run with the same wire we used to make the run, we live on the side of a mountain and have every predictor know to manI think running in these woods, but we also have dogs and cats, which I think keep most of them away, except for the snakes, which my DH kills if i see them. I have never lost a chicken but i shut them up at night and they seem happy.We covered half of the run with a blue tarp from dollar general for the rain and snow to slide off and they go in and out of the coop as they want to and lay on the ground under the nests.

 

[Stumpy]

Thanks for that info, Lynne. Perhaps one day I will be able to put it to use.