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Molnut
Songster
I've personally got a small set up on 1/3 acre as I'm a hobbyist. I've got 3 coops...2 connected with a run in between and the 3rd across the property as that is my brooding hutch. (I also have an isolation coop around the opposite side of the house behind a heavy fence that has access from the house so I never cross range ground to tend to isolated birds).
I have a pretty sophisticated gating system so I can close the run, block off one coop or the other, or divide out the broody hutch, depending upon breeding situation, broody situation, or grow outs.
Sadly, I simply can't get good field rotation on 1/3 acre, so I do the next best thing. We bark chipped the whole range (they still have lawn access) and deep litter compost. Every spring, I call up my gardening friends and neighbors who come over and scoop out the runs for their gardens. I then refill the runs with fresh bark chips. Not perfect, but does turn over the ground and allow better field control. (Also makes for fine compost for gardens).
However, my grandmother owned a chicken farm for egg production. Also, I started my hobby flock in response to my daughter's desire to be a vet tech (I grew up in ranching/farming country with ag family, and she got the "bug." Me...I married a computer geek and moved to the suburbs of all places
We did a lot of work together on our 1/3 acre to establish a flock with good principles as she learned the basics for vet tech school. Her ultimate desire was to become a farmer.
Which she has accomplished. She married a fine young man from Tennessee...they even pulled a trailer with a small flock of my best hens as a wedding gift...all the way from Oregon to Tennessee...the RIR's didn't stop laying the whole trip! Now that's stamina!
My daughter and SIL now raise organic vegetables and chickens for eggs and meat. (And a very fine grandson
They have 5 acres under cultivation on a 90 acre farm. They use the chickens for organic fertilizer as well as weed/bug control.
The birds are in a large tractor system that is pulled to different parts of the farm, so the birds can do what they do. The tractor system has nest boxes so the hens can lay properly.
I'm not sure what there numbers are right now, between layers and meat birds, but I know she sold and processed a bunch of meat birds for her CSA orders...enough to pay for all the birds she kept for the family freezer.
I'll try to dig through my photos to find some to show some of their set up. It really is nice. If I remember correctly, they also have a hoop house for the birds. They have a misting system as Tennessee gets really hot in the summer.
So sadly, my personal photos of my personal set up would probably bore you as I'm on a very small scale here in Oregon....but my daughter's farming plan has been fun to watch unfold as they grow and improve for long term sustainability and organic production.
My grandma? She was the old timer commercial set up....large hen houses, lots of nest boxes, your typical commercial operation in the early 60's. (I even grew up in feed sack dresses and play sets.
Post photos of your operation. I'd love to see what you are doing...and I'll do my best to find where I put their farm operations....somewhere under all those baby pictures, I'm sure.
If interested in my small field op, you can see my story and photos on my profile page here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/lady-of-mccamleys-member-page.53374/
LofMc
