North Carolina

[Banriona]

Thank you. That's by far the best my front yard has ever looked.


My kids are torn between loving it and hating it. One wants to be out rolling around in it 24/7 and the other (younger) wants nothing to do with it. I'm with the younger one there. Much prefer to enjoy it from indoors with a nice hot beverage in hand. Chickens seem to be pretty anti-snow as well. They didn't mind it when it wasn't sticking, but when it started coming down in earnest they retreated to the coop and wont come out for anything now. Not even mealworms or fresh BOSS fodder. Oh well. I've been tossing scratch around inside their coop, at least they can stir the bedding for me while they are in there.

Non herd question for you.... Chickens have a coop that is 64sf, and will have a run that is 100' x 50' (I think). They'll be spending most of their time outdoors, weather permitting. How many chickens (hens only) would you keep in that set up? I know I want at least 6-8 more to go with my current 9. Not sure 17 hens wouldn't be too much for that coop. Everything is up off the floor, roosts, nesting boxes, food/water etc. Would appreciate y'alls thoughts on that one. Trying to get all my spring builds planned.

 

[Southern by choice]

The coop is 8 x 8 I am guessing by the sq footage. How many linear feet of perch space?

My kids were in and out all day. Yesterday I was... not so much today- rotator cuff injury and I fell a few days ago so not wanting to "play" in the snow. My shoulder, well more like my arm is detaching from my shoulder, feels like it is hanging off my body.

 

[Banriona]

OUCH!! Hope that heals quickly!!

Yes, it's an 8x8 brick square with a window and door on one side. Right now they have a cedar tree we cut to fit inside there, but I'm planning to replace it to free up some floor space. I don't remember exactly how much linear roosting space the tree provides, but it was a LOT. Right now the 9 are pretty spread out over the top 3 branches, with 4? branches of equal length below being unused. Probably drop the base into concrete and leave it for them in the run. Anyway, my plan is to hang 2 or 3 rows of 2x4's from the roof spanning the width of the building. About 1 foot from any wall, and a foot or two between each roost for maneuvering. Lowest one will be probably 5 1/2 - 6' off the ground. That way my short self can still walk under if need be (when they aren't on it, or if I need to sneak up and snatch a sleeping chicken for any reason). So that would be around 12-18 linear feet I guess.

 

[Southern by choice]

15-18" of linear space for roosting (standard breed... less for bantams) is adequate. Of course in the winter they use about 12" because they do cuddle close to each other for warmth but in the warmer months, as you know-NC ia warmer most of the year) they need that 18" as they hold their wings out to keep cool and generally do not want to be touching the bird next to them.
I wouldn't do more than 20ish, you may be able to do 30 if you have lots of bantams and if it is strictly for sleeping in at night but the inside will need to be scooped daily and probably removal of bedding weekly to prevent the ammonia build up.

 

[Banriona]

Just a note to say hello! Hope everyone is doing well and all the kidding is delightful and uneventful! Seems to be the year for bucks but I still managed to get two gorgeous little doelings reserved. (THANK YOU SOUTHERN!!) Very excited!! They should be weaned and ready to be picked up the second week of July. (That's one of them in my avatar - the other one wouldn't hold still for a photo).

I also managed to get signed up for the goat/sheep workshop being given in Greensboro on May 5th and can get FAMACHA certified there. Looking forward to learning a lot there! If anyone hears of any other goat related workshops let me know!

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Hope everyone here in NC stays safe with this bad weather coming in! Its not looking to good here!

 

[Banriona]

Hello again! Long time no see. Herd is up to a whopping 4 Nigies now. Hoping to double that number in the next 6-8 months. Excited about our first venture into breeding but totally freaked out about it too. Plan to do DHIR testing this year and into next and linear appraisal next year. Curious to see how well we did on our breeding stock selections especially considering our restricted finances.

Baby chicks due Mother's day weekend. Hopefully that will distract me from obsessing over all the things that could go wrong with our breeding.

How is everyone?

 

[Tirtzah]

Hi Mully:

Small world! We also live 40 miles NE of Charlotte. Albemarle, NC here, in Stanly County. Where are you? What city? We are outside of city limits but just have 3 acres where we are now. Can't do a whole lot with that few of acres. We desire to get completely off the grid and self-sufficient! We just got our wood stove, will be having a professional install it for us as we are in a Double Wide and for insurance purposes, everything has to come up to code, as it is more dangerous for a wood stove I a mobile home than in a stick built or a brick home. I love that you posted Scripture in your post! We love studying the Hebrew Scriptures and using our own abilitiy and mind that God gave us instead of just sitting weekly, bi-weekly in a building and having some man tell us what we are supposed to believe about what is written! And tell us how verses are supposed to be interpreted! We believe that His Word is not to hard for us to understand! And that you can't take His Word and pull it out of it's context that it is found within! We love God with all of our being! He is our Life and our Salvation! I hope you see this post and respond to it! I am curious if we live in the same city, or county or are really in close proximity to each other? Small world! "Mully".....not sure about that name? Would that be male or female? My name is Tirtzah, female and my hubby is Yoshiyah, male. He isn't on a lot of these forums though. He doesn't have the time......LOL He stays pretty busy trying to get all these projects done around here! He is trying to get us to where we can live without an Electric Bill someday? Or at least way down below between $275-$320 monthly!!!

Do you have a place outside city limits? Do you have some small farm animals? Again, hope you see this and write back? Have a great weekend!

Tirtzah

 

[Tirtzah]

Hi WildRiverWolf:

So where are you located in NC? Looks like there are a bunch of us all over this State! We are about 40 miles NE of Charlotte, in a small town in Stanly County called Albemarle, NC. Are you anywhere close by us? "We" is my husband and myself.

Tirtzah

 

[Goat Whisperer]

Hope all in NC are doing ok with all this rain!

Yesterday/last night we got 9 inches