Hi there, This is Carla, from a small grain/cattle/chicken farm in Saskatchewan, Canada. Our family has 5 laying hens (a white breed, but not Leghorns) with 49 ISA Browns at about 14wks of age. They are camped out in a 10x16ft coop, with an additional 10x20ft fenced outdoor yard. The chicks have the run of the outside yard, as they're on grower diet yet. The layers are kept inside the coop with the nests. I'm hoping they will become one big happy family once they are all on the same feed. The chicks have a new watering system, a 5 gallon pail fitted with a PVC pipe out the bottom with chicken nipples. Ya, some leak but most don't! The storage pail wasn't even full of water yet, and the chicks were already investigating how to use the nipples. They caught on quick! This watering system will be expanded when we get more PVC pipe from the plumbing shop. The laying hens don't scratch nearly as much, so they still have the old fashioned waterers with the tray at the bottom. However, we have the ol' trough feeders which get mucked up rather quickly considering the size of our flock. I've been looking at the tube feeders made out of PVC pipe as well as the wooden feed bins that hang on the wall. Not sure which design I'll end up making, but I like the fact I have the supplies for either design right here on the farm. Anyhow, thanks for letting me join. Hope to gain lots of knowledge from you all. We've had chickens for quite a few years (7+) using a portable calf shelter modified for chickens. This year a neighbor (who has no livestock anymore) wanted her coop gone. We struggled for a few days getting it onto the trailer to move, and it was the best decision we ever made. The coop has a 10x4ft porched area where we store our equipment and feed storage bins. Sure beats the calf shelter!
Wow, sounds like you have a nice place. I'm looking forward to starting my coop very soon. I'm refurbishing an old dog house so it should be a bit of an adventure.
