I was thinking of waiting on the chickens until we were a bit more settled, but I think we need some form of tick control! So, I have been dreaming today. I know I don't want a large flock. I want 6-8 birds at most. I want a pretty egg basket. Well, not the actual basket, but the eggs in the basket. I want friendly breeds. I want good layers and possibly dual purpose breeds. I want a coop with a run. I plan to let the birds "free range" on a part time basis, but want them to be penned up when that is more convenient for me. So, this is what I have come up with...
I like this coop design (plans). It has a full size door to enter the run. The coop is elevated for ease of cleaning. It is sized for 8 large breed birds. I also like the way it looks!
Some of the breeds I am interested in are
Black Copper Maran (lays chocolate colored eggs)
Araucana (lays blue/green eggs)
Buff Orpington (sweet, friendly)
Barred Rock (Brandon likes the way they look)
We'll see what the next couple of months hold, but I am hoping this will all happen sooner rather than later!
We've been finding ticks, too, this spring, and we've never really had a problem with them before. I got one the other day just walking from the house to the washline! I don't know if it's a seasonal thing (if they are worse some years over others) or if they are moving in. I don't really like the thought of Susannah running around getting ticks!
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