Chicken Pens in Africa

[deanna&rich]

Yes, wbecca52, you'd probably do more good by sending them a crate of fencing supplies, than by sending them the chickens themselves. Send lots of 1/2 or 1/4 hardware cloth, and some kind of soft wire (a roll of baling wire???).

The fencing stuff is probably expensive or hard to find, if they are low-income people. But if they can even mange to get two or three chickens somewhere in their own region, they can build up a flock and feed many people.

 

[Hoosiermomma]

Quote:

Great point, HippieChickens. Heifer Int'l is our 'go to' gift for much of our family - most Americans don't need more 'stuff' and what better to do with your gift dollars than provide sustainable sustainance to the 'less fortunate' in 'third world' countries (I hate that term).

That's what we are planning on doing this year. I wish more people would consider it. I think the one we are going to go with is Oxfam.

 

[wbecca52]

Hi, all
I did contact Heifer International, but they said, (as you all did) that they could not help individuals as I asked for that help.
This would be in Liberia, Monrovia, in the city. The woman they live with will not let them keep chickens in the house, and they need to build something that is secure, yet not real ugly, as it needs to be (as my 19 year old said) "desent. (decent)
I have not totally figured out about getting chickens to them, yet, although having them buy them locally sounds like the best plan. Do not want to "count my chickens" until they have an appropriate place to roost.
If any of you live near them, it would be great if you could help them build the enclosure. I would send any money they need to get supplies, as long as the price is reasonable, as I am not that rich, although much better off than they are.

 

[Klorinth]

As with building here, it all depends on the local conditions. By that I mean what their home is like and what kind of yard they have. I have lived in Sub-Saharan Africa. The kind of coop you might have in a city is completely different then what it would be in a remote village.

In the villages I would go with mudbricks. Maxximum strength and insulation, minimum cost and effort.

In a city there may be lots of shade and less need for the insulation value. More materials available? Neighbors that might steal them? And by neighbors I mean both the two and four legged kind.

I hate to say it, but we need a lot more information to work with here. There are too many variables even for those who have lived in places like that. I also think it will be hard to give a detailed list of materials. Might be better to just give ideas of size, shape, accessories. Design details would be more useful to them then material suggestions. They are going to have to search for materials that they can use. They may not have access to what we have. A basic example is no plywood or OSB in many places. Minimal dimensional lumber as well.

Feed will also be totally dependant on what is grown locally.

 

[lizbert2k]

Kk, I registered just to reply to your post. This is a very worthy project, and I suspect with a little guidance, the boys will surprise you with their innovation.

You're boys are city kids, so they should have access to building scraps from construction sites and so forth, so if I may point you to the following website:

http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/index.html

I found it a few months back and I was impressed by the ingenuity used in creating a functional and overall inexpensive housing for a backyard flock. This site has a lot of possible designs pictured of coups that are small, mobile, and easily suited to a back yard flock in the city. The author has a pictoral history of the coups she has tried (everything from a discarded metal gazebo frame, to construction leftovers from a home across the street to a Rubbermaid tub) and cautionary tails of what has and has not worked for her. The predators they will be thwarting are different, but the methods of attack are probably similar (i.e. burrowing, chewing and squeezing through the fences, etc.) and so the precautions she outlines are very likely still useful. She also has a gallery of intriguing chicken tractors she has seen and admired. Ideal for a city yard.

Ventilation will be key in the heat!

Good luck to you!

 

[wbecca52]

Thanks for the web site. I will send that to my fellows. Thanks for signing up to talk to me. Makes me feel special.