Its the latest rage. Goes right along with the chicken-in-every-backyard craze.
These boys are building a huge coop, on wheels, in their driveway.
It will hold 50 hens and get moved every couple of days around their pastures, following their beef cattle. The hens will eat insects and grass, plus break up all the cow patties and spread them around.
The eggs from the chickens will feed the family and the surplus will be sold at their farm stand.
They found an old boat trailer that wasn't being used.
I could live in this thing. Lots of room and ventilation.
They were surprised that I was so interested in what they were doing.
I saw the project from the road and drove up the driveway to get a better look.
Once I introduced myself and explained my coop envy, the project manager became like Vanna White with vowels. I got the full tour.
I really appreciate people who can build stuff.
I desperately wanted to go to a vocational school for high school so I could build my own barn, but my mom wanted me to go to a parochial high school.
So, although I can say a wonderful Hail Mary, I can't build anything other than a compost pile and a decent tuna fish sandwich.
Building skills would be good to have this week. My chicks are growing quickly and I am needing a good coop.
Did you build your own chicken coop or purchase, barter or trade for it?
Anyone know of any 8x8 coops that need a good home ?
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That's a great coop... I hope they will be able to move it around, it looks so heavy!
ReplyDeleteDid you ask them if they could build one for you?
We've built 3: a Salatin pen and a mobile coop for the broilers and a stationary coop for the layers.
ReplyDeleteI wish we had the energy to daily move 2 coops so we could get the layers out on pasture.
That's a mighty substantial coop they were building. It would need to be moved with a tractor, etc. We tried to avoid doing that, so we built one we can move by hand every day that could hold 75 broilers:
http://www.bonzos-pics.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=5380
But it's only for summer and is well vented. For 50 layers, it would need about 18 nestboxes, as they recommend 1 box for every 2-3 birds. That would be one BIG coop.
I hope you can find a coop. An 8' x 8' coop = 64 sq. ft. Without a run, it would be the minimum size for 6.4 birds.
With a run that can be used even in winter (a crucial point) there would be room for more birds, allowing a minimum of 10 sq. ft. per bird. More is much to be desired.
My neighbor built my first coop for me, but the wood used for the walls wasn't standing up to raccoons. So we bought my current coop (which is actually 8x8) from a local place, but it costs a lot to buy a good coop. Oh and a link to pictures of it: http://catscritters.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-coop.html
ReplyDeleteThree years ago my first flock of ten chicks arrived. Since then I have added two more smaller flocks over a two year period. Whatever size coop you opt for, my advice would be to make it larger. Chickens are addictive. Yes, we did build our coop and yes, I do wish is was a bit larger. I'm trying to sweet talk my way into an addition. Good luck, Julie.
ReplyDeleteI too have coop envy, that and a flat piece of land to put it on. Mine is made from an old deck someone was taking down. It could use a window or two.....
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