When we moved to our new home late last year, we had no home for our egg laying chickens. We didn't want a permanent coop and run setup, we hoped to be able to utilize the chickens all over our property for weed control, pest control, fertilizer etc.
We had already had experience keeping the chickens in electric poultry netting as that's what we had been using in our little 1/8th acre suburban yard to range our chickens where we wanted. We definitely wanted to continue using the netting, but combined with some sort of mobile coop.
I placed an ad in a local Facebook buy and sell group, looking for a cheap 6 x 4 trailer. We found one, went and had a look, and brought it home. For a hundred bucks I had a good base to build a chicken coop on. I had no real plan, just some rough ideas in my head and put it together as I went along.
One of the main features we had decided on was the automatic, solar powered door. We have had trouble with foxes taking chickens during the night. Not so long ago we lost one good layer and a half dozen or so young chicks when the electric fence energizer failed at night. That cemented our decision to buy the automatic door.
Some roofing framework, some plywood walls, a bit of paint and it started to look like a home for our hens.
Some salvaged roofing iron to keep the rain out and a ramp to get inside and it was time to let the girls have a look.
It is still not totally completed, but the girls don't mind. They are warm and dry, and safe from predators at night, so they've graciously allowed me some extra time to complete their self feeder, mount their automatic waterer and finish the storage box to go on the other side of the coop. They are, however, insistent that I hurry up and get the dividers put in their nesting box area. Apparently that sort of thing is important to a lady chicken.
Thanks for reading.
Dave and Kama.
Duck Ponds Farm.
