Newbie Chicken Owners: Off the grid in Northern Ontario

[Offthebeatentrack]

Well we have finally done it! We have talked for two years now about getting laying hens to help us increase the amount of food that we can source locally. We have four red sex link RTL hens coming in 2 days and the coop and run are - well - almost finished.
We live in the bush of North East Ontario in Canada where my husband and I share a completely solar powered home and a lower key lifestyle with our two large dogs Kayla (Bouvier) and Farley (German Sheppard X).
We had just 6 days to get the coop ready and it pretty much rained every day since we ordered the hens. As I write, my husband is putting the last of the hardware cloth over the top of the run. Then we just have a couple of windows to finish and the roosting branches to install. We think we have a pretty predator proof coop and run and we need one as the hens will be very tempting to all our local residents (red fox, timber wolf, bear, weasel, lynx, marten etc.) . The dogs are going to need some training too as they are good partridge hunters and might not be able to tell the difference. If anyone has tips or stories on training their dogs I'd love to hear them.

Thanks to all those posting on cold weather coops and ventilation/warmth- they definitely changed our initial ideas on size and vents.

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC.
The best way to train your dog is constant non stop training! lol

Here is a quick video that shows hot to navigate this site.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hello and welcome to BYC.

You'll find lots of info in the Learning Centre - https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/learning-center.11/ and if you have a specific topic in mind, just type it in the search box - there's a wealth of information on past and present threads.

Each week, various topics are discussed, which can also be a great resource - https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

You may wish to consider joining your state thread as it will put you in touch with other BYC members in your area - http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/144/canadians-check-in-here

All the best

CT

 

[drumstick diva]

I recommend a thread called "Jest another day in pair of dice," written or I should say narrated by a great lady Tara. She is in Alberta, and gets all her animals to survive the extreme weather conditions. She has ducks, geese, swans,llama, hair sheep and Austrian cattle dogs. Very humorous and knowledgeable .

Welcome to Backyard chickens.

 

[N F C]

I've had RSL girls in the past and really enjoyed them, hope you do too!