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emyers_gw

chickens, rabbits, & goats in one area ideas....

emyers
15 years ago

Looking for ideas for planning an "area" with structures as required to contain chickens, rabbits, & goats.

I'm thinking about quantities that will eventually be enough to feed a family of 4 (meat, eggs, milk).

Was thinking of the following:

1. one central structure that would be for grain, hay, medications, related tools etc. and possibly milking station.

2. a shed area attached to the central structure that ideally would contain the coops, 3 sided area for goats, and possibly rabbit hutches (if they need to be under a roof).

3. Yard/Yards. Don't know if all the animals could use the same yard or if I'd want to separate them for manure purposes (chickens might make goats "messy" for milking purposes etc). Was also thinking I'd put a slab down under chicken coops and rabbit hutches and in feeding areas where chickens would be, but not in their yard per se. Where are most of the chicken droppings going to be anyway? I'm guessing EVERYWHERE but is there any way to kind of make sure the majority of the droppings end up in a slab area where they are fed or something?

4. Only want one door to the central structure, so was trying to figure out a way to easily feed all the different varieties of the animals from the central area.

5. Access to compost piles for the purposes of adding manure/cleaning up etc.

6. Centrally located in garden

7. Delivery area for hay/grain/supplies.

8. Orientation/relationship to sunny areas & shade. We live in SC so don't think I need any heated areas per se, but I am thinking need both sunny and shaded & wind break areas for all animal types. Was wondering if there are any general "rules" for orienting shade and sun areas as they relate to N, S, E, W. Was thinking orient the open yards to the south with the enclosed/covered areas more towards the North but attached to the South side of the Central storage structure that is oriented to the North. That would give them some shade to get out of in the blistering summer (if needed) and a sunny yard to hang out in when it's relatively warm in the winter. However, this would not be the ideal location as far as keeping cool goes (would be better on North side of Central structure). So, just wondering how you decided to orient.

9. Any relatively easy way to deal with watering all the animals, maybe simultaneously?

  1. Somehow allow for free range possibilities. Maybe as simple as open a gate and let them all go at the same time if they can use the same yard.... but maybe not. What do I need to think about here?

As you can see, I'm in the initial planning stages of this so any help I can get would be appreciated.

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