CRChicken
Chirping
Anyone tried Samantha Burns' Hoop Coop (Run Amuk Acres in New Portland ME) or something similar for a winter coop in a cold place?
I am raising my first batch of chicks and am considering building this hoop coop to tide us over to Spring when I plan to build a wheeled coop something like Justin Rhodes' or Eliot Coleman's versions of "chicksaw" mobile coops. Has anyone tried this or something similar of it for a cold and windy winter? I have 13 3-week old mixed flock of baby hens who will be employed starting in the Spring to improve my soil where I am putting in my garden and, perhaps, also in the hayfield.
Mods I am considering: Since she has more birds I may need to think about whether there are enough birds to keep each other warm in this structure. I will use 1/2 hardware cloth instead of chicken wire and do something with the base and maybe 1x2 or 1x1 wire mesh to protect them from digging creatures. I will use the future mobile coop with Premier Electric Fence with a solar charger.
Later I need truly mobile (wheeled for frequent moving) but now I need low hassle for me as there are a dozen dozen complicating things in my life and wee birds to see to. I figure I can re-use the hoop coop in my garden and while buying myself time to daydream about the particulars of my truly mobile coop-to-be.
I am in Northern Vermont directly West of Run Amuk and think maybe we have similarly cold and windy winters. I plan to set the temporary hoop coop up in the barnyard near my house for the winter to make daily care easier during the cold months- especially the watering as our waterline to the outbuildings needs repair that we won't get to this Fall or possibly for quite some time. The farmer says she will move hers with her Suburu when the time comes and I have sufficient towing power to move whatever a Suburu can.
Advice welcomed with open arms!
I am raising my first batch of chicks and am considering building this hoop coop to tide us over to Spring when I plan to build a wheeled coop something like Justin Rhodes' or Eliot Coleman's versions of "chicksaw" mobile coops. Has anyone tried this or something similar of it for a cold and windy winter? I have 13 3-week old mixed flock of baby hens who will be employed starting in the Spring to improve my soil where I am putting in my garden and, perhaps, also in the hayfield.
Mods I am considering: Since she has more birds I may need to think about whether there are enough birds to keep each other warm in this structure. I will use 1/2 hardware cloth instead of chicken wire and do something with the base and maybe 1x2 or 1x1 wire mesh to protect them from digging creatures. I will use the future mobile coop with Premier Electric Fence with a solar charger.
Later I need truly mobile (wheeled for frequent moving) but now I need low hassle for me as there are a dozen dozen complicating things in my life and wee birds to see to. I figure I can re-use the hoop coop in my garden and while buying myself time to daydream about the particulars of my truly mobile coop-to-be.
I am in Northern Vermont directly West of Run Amuk and think maybe we have similarly cold and windy winters. I plan to set the temporary hoop coop up in the barnyard near my house for the winter to make daily care easier during the cold months- especially the watering as our waterline to the outbuildings needs repair that we won't get to this Fall or possibly for quite some time. The farmer says she will move hers with her Suburu when the time comes and I have sufficient towing power to move whatever a Suburu can.
Advice welcomed with open arms!
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