New Chicken Run Plans and Disease Prevention

[CT Coop]

We have been raising heritage chickens and turkeys since 2007 with very few issues other than the occasional loss of a turkey due to Blackhead. This year has been a totally different story. The new flock of 3-4 mos old chicks have had Coccidiosis and been on Corid medication on and off all summer even though they started on medicated feed. We now have a confirmed case of Marek’s and have lost ~15 of our 60 chicks and the others aren’t thriving. I think the biggest contributing factor this year has been the significant rainfall. Our property does not drain well, so the flock has lived on mud spring through July. They all free range, but most of their area is very shaded, so it never dried out. We have an opportunity to move to a larger property and start from square one on land that is dry and no trees, so I would like your advice on building the perfect space for them. We plan on a 200x200 yard surrounded by a 6’ fence. I think we will divide that into 4 paddocks and fence each of those areas off, so there is always some green area. These are just ideas though and I would love to have as much input as possible. Above all else we want to do what we can to ensure our flocks are healthy!

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Hi,

Would you plan on rotating through the four areas? I think that would be a good way to ensure that greens are able to regrow well. If the new area has a lot of sun, I recommend putting a few trees in each of the four areas to ensure some amount of shade. Also, if it's dry, maybe having some barkchips down in certain areas would provide nice spots for everyone to dustbathe.

Sounds fun! Hope this helps

 

[lynnehd]

Have you seen this article (which is more prevention than treatment)?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-fix-a-muddy-run-chicken-coop

 

[CT Coop]

Thank you so much! And that article is great! Yes, I do plan on rotating the 4 areas, so there is always some green available. And, when I'm home, they will be allowed to free range all 5 acres, so that will help too. One thing I forgot to ask was for ideas on covering the run. We are thinking of having the coops in the middle and stretching wire. I think hawks will be a big problem in such an open area. I will definitely plant fruit trees in each of the 4 quadrants for shade.

Keep your ideas coming!

ct