Hello Mis pollitos
I have friends in Stillwater that have told me your ordinances allow for more than most. You're blessed.
I guess to help you I would have to point you first of all to my favorite coop design site on BYC. It's
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...graphic-gross-poop-pictures/610#post_10005125
From there it would really depend on the philosophy you adopt. There are those among us who want the coop to be as clean and sterile as possible and also those who believe that too clean an environment stunts the effeiciency of the immune system. I spent way too much money building up a first aid kit for possible case scenarios. (however CORRID did save my chicks from an outbreak of Coccidiosis.) Now I am going a more natural, restful, trusting route and have spent more of my time in the following threads:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-horrors-anyone-want-to-follow-their-progress (an old-fashoined common-sense yet compassionate approach.)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644300/fermenting-feed-for-meat-birds (Adaptable for layers. I ferment my feeds....easy-peasy)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/421122/think-its-too-cold-for-your-chickens-think-again (chickens aren't people. They can stand the cold, especially when you choose the right breed for our Minnesota winters)
This next one is the longest read of all but it is highly informative and entertaining, too. Again, if I had read this before buying that popular book on the market it would have saved me a lot of time and grief....and money.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...l-up-a-rockin-chair-and-lay-some-wisdom-on-us (This thread has over 10,000 posts on it. Just read it like you would a great book. I am still slowly working through it. Gets a little drama going at times, but that's just part of the fun.
I guess good advice would be to start your own Word Doc organized cut/paste notes and put it all in your chicken file. (I also print off) That way I have record
of the things I really want to remember but may forget.
This just a pic of my set-up with nest boxes below the roost and poop box. I use "zeolite" in the poop box and scoop with a kitty litter scoop. The poop on the floor is much less and just gets mixed in witht the shavings and dries out.
Make your coop BIG. The books are hogwash when it comes to size. Go as big as you dare and your birds will thank you.
Another thing to really think about is which kind of bird. We need winter-hardy. I got mostly Buff Orpingtons (BO's) but, while they are good foragers they are dumb when it comes to predators. Too tame. I love them, though. Sweet. I would call them the 'golden retriever of chickens'. But some say Wellsummers are best for just about everything in our climate, for eggs, broodies, foraging and predator-saviness.
I hope this help you. Wish I had had this same letter before I started. I'm a learn as I make mistakes bump-alonger.......you're smarter than me.
