Today we broke ground on the future residence of our intended flock of Ameraucanas, Buff Orpingtons, and Rhode Island Reds. After a lot of thought, we decided to put the coop in an abandoned dog run on the property. The run is approximately 45 x 30 feet and enclosed by a 10-foot high fence. It's not much to look at and, sadly, it's in an area that we can't see from the house. But given the coyote/fox/raccoon/opossum/skunk/hawk/owl situation out here, it's the safest place for the ladies and won't require a lot of new fencing. There's a water source in the run, and the perimeter is tightly sealed around the bottom with an extra ring of 2x4s. The chicks will get some nice sun and shade. Except for the fact that I can't see it from the house, it really is a perfect place for the coop.
The run currently has a layer of gravel atop a layer of paper mulch, but the Wrangler uncovered some nice reddish clay/dirt beneath the layers, and we're going to scatter some grass seed in a 15x8 foot patch.
It's a little late in the year to start with chicks, but we stopped by the local feed store today and were happy to see that it has some hens ready to go. Incidentally, the feed store had lots of interesting animals--all kinds of geese, turkeys, and ducks. It was hard to resist a pair of miniature goats. But first things first.
No comments:
Post a Comment