We
have been raising chickens for many years. We have always allowed them
to free range while providing coops for them to roost in at night. Over
the years the chickens for one reason or another stopped using the
coops. They also have the tendency to lay their eggs in many different
locations. As a result, even though we have a good flock of chickens,
we have trouble finding the eggs. We also have the added problem that
our dogs like to eat the eggs whenever they can find them ( I can't
blame them. They are tasty!)
Several years ago I read about Polyface Farms in the Omnivores Delimma (highly recommended reading). They have come up with the idea of pastured poultry. The concept is to build a relatively small lightweight chicken coop that can be moved around a field on a daily basis. This gives the chickens a constant source of fresh grass, insects, seeds etc while at the same time keeping them confined and fertilizing your field. A great idea. They have come up with a standard design for their chicken coop. These folks are raising chickens for meat mainly and are growing a whole bunch more chickens than we are interested in doing. I had also seen a design on the web for a portable chicken coop built of PVC, formed into a circle and covered with poultry wire. I liked this idea and had been thinking about building one. One day last summer my wife and I were sitting on the deck of our swimming pool chatting and I was looking at our daughter's trampoline. All of a sudden I had the idea that the trampoline frame would make a great starting point for a small, portable chicken coop. A trampoline is about 15' in diamater and 3' high. I figured it could easily hold 20 chickens.
Several years ago I read about Polyface Farms in the Omnivores Delimma (highly recommended reading). They have come up with the idea of pastured poultry. The concept is to build a relatively small lightweight chicken coop that can be moved around a field on a daily basis. This gives the chickens a constant source of fresh grass, insects, seeds etc while at the same time keeping them confined and fertilizing your field. A great idea. They have come up with a standard design for their chicken coop. These folks are raising chickens for meat mainly and are growing a whole bunch more chickens than we are interested in doing. I had also seen a design on the web for a portable chicken coop built of PVC, formed into a circle and covered with poultry wire. I liked this idea and had been thinking about building one. One day last summer my wife and I were sitting on the deck of our swimming pool chatting and I was looking at our daughter's trampoline. All of a sudden I had the idea that the trampoline frame would make a great starting point for a small, portable chicken coop. A trampoline is about 15' in diamater and 3' high. I figured it could easily hold 20 chickens.
So
I started looking on Craig's List for a trampoline frame and sure
enough I found one that someone was giving away for free. It was
already dis-assembled (a bonus!!). So I picked it up brought it home
and put it together. The frame was damaged in one spot but not badly
enough to keep it from being assembled and at a point on the frame that
wouldn't interfere with it being used as a chicken coop. It was also
missing the springs used to hold the mat on. At first I wasn't going to
use the mat but the more I thought about it I figured it would make a
good source of shade for the chickens. Since I didn't have the springs
I bought some wire rope, some s-hooks and turnbuckles and stretched the
wire rope across the frame of the trampoline to hold up the mat.
I latter attached the mat using cable ties and rope.
I
had some leftover redwood 2x6's from a deck I scavanged (also off of
Craig's List). I put together a roost and a support for food and water
buckets and for the laying boxes. It was easy to drill through
the aluminum frame and attach the redwood using carriage bolts.
I
already had various plastic buckets laying around that I used for the
food and water holders. I bought two plastic storage containers at the
Dollar General for $3.50 each. I cut a hole in the botton and mounted
the containers with the lid facing the exterior. To gather eggs I can
take the lids off and reach the eggs without having to enter the coop.
I
attached 1-inch chicken wire around the sides of the trambolind frame
with cable ties and attached a piece of redwood for a door frame. I
bought a 10'x20' tarp that I will cover half of the coop with to
provide a place to keep the chickens dry.
The
other great thing about the trampoline frame, besides it being
lightweight aluminum, is that it comes with wheels so it will be really
easy to move aorund.
I orderd 20 assorted pullets from Ideal Poultry and they should be arriving on Thursday. I'll keep them in a special box I have made for chicks for a couple of weeks then move them to the portable pen. I'll keep you posted on how it works out.
I orderd 20 assorted pullets from Ideal Poultry and they should be arriving on Thursday. I'll keep them in a special box I have made for chicks for a couple of weeks then move them to the portable pen. I'll keep you posted on how it works out.