[Jacob-list] Chickens and Sheep

[Heather Fogel]

We have kept our chickens in the barn with our sheep for the last couple of 
years.  We have an old dairy barn, and retrofitted the "bull pen" into a 
chicken coop of sorts.  We keep them in there at night, and let them roam the 
barn during the day.  The only reason we do this is because of the poop 
problem.  They leave big piles of it on the walkways where they roost.  They 
also seem to gravitate to the part of the pen where the water bucket is, and 
poop in it also.  

However, there are some very good reasons to keep chickens in the barn with 
the sheep.  They spend their day scratching through the bedding on the floor 
keeping it turned up and "fresher".  This is really nice this time of year 
because my sheep have been locked in the barn for about a week now, due to -30 
degree windchills.  

I have also read that they will help keep worm counts down because they go 
through the sheep manure and clean it up a little too.  In the summer my hens 
have free roaming of our farm, but come "home" at night, all by them selves.
  

Heather Fogel
Stewart, MN
heather at littleshadyacres.com
www.littleshadyacres.com
Home to Jacob sheep, Soay sheep and many chickens.