Breeding Pens?

[Wing Feathers]

Hello again!

I posted about a month ago saying that I was looking to rebuild my coop and wanted some info on materials. Well, that plan has been nixed. I recently inherited an acreage due a death in the family. I have always wanted to run a small-scale breeding operation for Seramas and Nankins, but was having trouble finding an acreage I could afford. Since this problem has been solved (in a very unfortunate way), now I'm just browsing for ideas on a breeding pen setup. I'm looking at having one rooster to three or four hens and having about five of these configurations per species (give or take). I will be incubator hatching some eggs, but if I get a hen that goes broody, I will let her hatch out. I am open to any ideas, but I only have about an acre to work with. Thanks!!!

 

[countrygoddess]

These are two of our three new pens. They are 3x6 and are made with 3/4 inch PVC with hardware cloth. The hardware cloth is secured on with tie wraps. The backs are plywood with a hinged door in the middle and they are also held on with tie wraps. The roosts take up a lot of room--I need to figure something else out so that they have more room for mating. There are two hens and a cock per pen. I bought tent stakes to tie the pens down should a ferocious spring wind come blowing through and as you can see, I've got tarps over them (the tarps go down between the pens so the cocks can't see each other). These pens can be broken down into panels after breeding season (the panels are held together with... you guessed it! Tie wraps! ;-) ) and reconfigured to be used as a grow-out pen or cock housing after breeding season.