Chickless

[JonGee]

Hi folks,
Opportunity shines again,blessings from above. In need of about 400 eggs per day to start, ( big back yard) and was thinking of converting an old cattle trailer into a hen house. Any ideas on how to do it on the cheap? The trailer is 26 feet. Figured I would let them run around with the cows. Poke some holes in this idea for me. It would be greatly appreciated. Also, please tell me why did the chicken really cross the road? I have to know this because I live close to a major highway and cows get out to eat grass, but chickens... I don't know. Thanks and have a great day.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

There are people who have converted campers and trailers to coops - you might try posting in the Coops section. 400 eggs a day? Wow!

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Goodness, 400 eggs per day? Even if you have very good layers you'll need about 450-500 hens! That's a big coop... As for the chickens and cows idea. There's a guy in South Africa who started keeping chickens to help control the ticks on his farm. He put mobile coops in the veld with his cows. It worked very well! The chickens loved the ticks and the cows didn't mind their oversized tick birds. Win-win. As for the chicken crossing the road... I had a hen that used to do that. I didn't know why until she hatched out some chicks and one grew up looking exactly like the neighbour across the road's rooster.

 

[Judy]

Welcome! I used to free range mine, and they could have crossed the road but never did, to my knowledge. There's a line of trees at the back of our property and they much preferred to wander in that direction and scratch in the little "woods" back there. I did have a broody who made a nest near the mailbox, though -- unfortunately.

One way people build coops cheaply is use shipping pallets -- free wood. Sometimes the people will let you haul off scraps from construction sites. Craig's list can be a great source of cheap materials as well, especially if you can provide the labor to tear something down. People new to chicken keeping often believe they have to protect chickens from cold weather more than they do. The truth is, even where it snows, they tolerate a somewhat open design. What they don't tolerate well at all is a weathertight, unventilated building. The old fashioned way of keeping chickens where I live is often a wire pen with a piece of plywood across the top of one end to keep some of the rain out. Hardly an ideal coop, but chickens can live that way for years.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, JonGee, and

! Pleased you joined us. I think it would take more like a semi-trailer - 400 is a lot of birds. Good luck to you!

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC, and GOOD luck with your proposed undertaking.

 

[country chicks]

Welcome from Pa

 

[liz9910]

from California! Wow I can't even fathom how much feed that many chickens would need! Hopefully free ranging them will help.

 

[roostersandhens]

i would go free range! with a coop at night! 400 eggs a day? you are crazy! that will take alot of chickens! why do u need so many eggs anyway i have 13 chickens 11 hens 2 roosters an i get too many eggs i do not eat the eggs much though! 400 chickens that is going to be alot of work

. well good luck and welcom to BYC!

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.