pasture pens.

The DH here.... Tis my job to get a pasture shelter built to house our new nuggets on legs..... (see https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=309096)

While BYC has a nice coupe section, have there been any threads (or subforum) dedicated to the larger portable pens or pasture shelters usually used with meet birds? Who has built or dealt with "Salatin pen" type setups?.... cattle panel pens? who day ranges inside an electronet?

It would be great to have a sub forum under the meet bird sections for pens/shelters that are built more toward the pasture raseing of meet birds as the requirements are quite different than standard coupe design associated with laying flocks and or small 2-4 chicken tractors used in urban backyards....

The feb/march 2008 version of backyard poultry has a great 3-5 page writeup on small broiler market farming.
Like many in the article, our first trial is 28. if it goes well we will likely consider doing a second batch of 50.

would also love to see a purely informational thread on size and number of birds kept. while ive found some info on types of pens and size, there are few that indicate how many birds they keep in that area. one source indicates 9x10 with 50-60 birds moved daily. Salatin pens are slightly larger 10x12 and seem to support 75-100 (again moved daily) It would be great to have a purely information thread that aggregates that info. How large is your pen, how many birds, how often do you move? Some also do day range type with electronet thus extending the amount of time the birds can remain in one place due to the additional sqft they have. (reducing the number of moves required)

Is there anyone that does a permanent setup? without pasture raseing or moving of a portable pen? if so what is that space per bird requirement (i also have an option of doing this although not my first choice)

That is one great question... however there is NO one answer. What will work great in your neighborhood will be foolhardy in mine. You may have green grass and rainfall spread out throughout the year, with lots of bugs, while in my backyard it is quite HOT and arrid with rain only for 4 months (Dec- April and 6-8 " a year) then brown grass for the rest of the year. Few bugs, much less chickens, like to eat dead grass. Too, you may have few predators, we on the other hand have copeous numbers of furry and feathered predators. My birds therefore can NOT free range or be raised in tractors but have to be housed under intense management conditions akin to Fort Knox. I have mine in a steel stall inside my horse barn on deep wood shavings to 6-8 weeks of age, then freezer camp 3 times / year. Some can raise tractored meat birds in the spring and summer while I can't raise them in the summer or fall since we get no rain and temperatures averaging between 99*-117*. Because of these conditions, I now utilize only Cornish X since keeping Dual Purpose breeds does not make any sence by any streatch of the immagination.

My pens are all based on Salatin's pens, although mine are 8' by 8', and his are 12' by 12'. Some folks put wheels on theirs, and I have some on one of mine. I use 8 foot 2x2 boards for the frame, with plenty of bracing. I put a door on one and will do the same for all future tractors.

I toyed with the idea of PVC, but I'm almost certain they would blow away. If you don't have 60 mph winds on a regular basis, they may work for you. Here is a site with plans... http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pastured-poultry-pen.htm

I don't run more than 25 birds in mine and move them once a day. Some folks have larger pens with more birds and move them up to three times a day.

Here is one of my first versions with some of my BBW turkeys in it...



Bigredfeather has a very cool one with skirts for predators, but I don't need that since critters have to get through my electric fencing and 3 LGDs first.

My 8x8 holds about 25, and my 6x8 holds about 15. After about 5 weeks you really got to move them each day,more if it's wet. Will

Thanks for the compliment Buster. Here is my 6'x10' with predator guard. So far has worked great. I can house up to 40 in this. I am considering building a 10'x10' or 10'x12' with a 1"x1" Aluminum tube frame to make it light enough to move. Still trying to get whole thing thought out.

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Consider making that pen out of the metal electrical conduit because you can easily make bends at the corners as well as/or utilize fitings made for them.

i also have a 8x8 pen and a 6x8 pen but mine stay stationary i dont move them but i solved the problem of mud and wet ground and it makes it easierr to clean i put horse stall mats on the floor of pens now and it works wonders

I can't imagine doing Cornish X's in a stationary pen. You'd be cleaning it every day and it would be awful. Moveable tractors make it simple and clean.

i dont raise cornish xs for meat i have 30 leghorn roos per pen i use bedding for straw i only have to clean it every 2 weeks jus have to flip the straw daily not a problem. I think daily clean outs are very Extreme their farm animals dont need to be cleand daily

Would anyone be willing to share thier building plans?