Has anyone thought about building handicap accessable coops?

[daddy_roo]

Probaably a strange question but it makes a lot of sence if you think about it. Elderly people sometimes raised chickens when they were kids and would like to continue to do so as adults. Only differance is now they can not manuver around as well as they used to. So what are some of your sugestions as to making a coop handicap accessable?

 

[Animalian]

I design coops just for fun all the time!

I'd say a BIG door or doors, and raised to a height that you don't have to stoop over to clean the floor/fill feeders etc.
Also if it were raised, someone in a wheelchair could work with it by rollling up to and under it like it was a desk.

I'd also have automatic feeders/waterers because that will mean less labour, eg you only fill up the feeder once every two weeks rather than every day or so, and a waterer attached to a tap/hose.

I'd also get a docile breed of poultry that won't run away, so they are easier to catch etc.

 

[Carols Clucks]

I designed the one I built so both ends can be opened wide and the floor cleaned by pushing everything from one side out the other side and in to a wheel barrow (it is raised)

The egg box is accessed from a patio on a terrace that is higher than the yard the chicken coops in in.

Not really handicapped accessible, but designed so my late 80's mom can have chickens and an easy coop to use and clean.

 

[Gingerlilypad]

My chicken pen is handicap accessible, because I am. I use an electric scooter to get around. Although I tend to walk into my coop.,I could take my scooter in if necessary. It has a short ramp on both sides of the door (because I can't step high). The door can swing wide. The nesting boxes are buckets with cut out lids, and sit about waist high, so I can reach in without bending. I don't use a feeder, because I scatter the food. My babies tend to like to scratch around, rather than eat from a feeder. The only big problem I have is the waterer. I use a five gallon waterer, and have to empty it before I can pick it up to move or clean it. But my pen has a slight depression where the water flows outside the pen and down a hill. The depression spot dries quickly. I have also recently found some plans for another waterer that looks like it would be much easier to use.
As for the cleaning and poop. I have sand and hay on the floor, so there is no odor that I can smell. The poop dries quickly and is not a problem. I have a neighbor (that I pay) that gives it a through cleaning once or twice a year as needed.

I don't use a coop per say, since winters as a rule tend to be short and mild here. I do have plastic put around 3 sides of the outside during part of the winter to cut the wind, and add an extra layer of hay. My chickens roost on narrow logs put through the wire.

Because I use an Ipad,it is difficult to post any pictures though.

I love my babies. They are very tame. I now have 22 chickens and 5 guineas. 8 of my banties and 4 of my guineas free range. The rest stay locked in their pen. The free-ranging birds will come running when I beep the horn on my scooter and three of the bandies will jump on it and ride around with me.

 

[daddy_roo]

That is adorable. The reason I asked about them is I have recently discovered the joy of raising back yard chickens and was talking to my mother who wished she could do the same. She has more of a respritory problem than a mobility one. But if more handicap people know how to design a coop for their needs I think more handicap people would enjoy chickens. Does anyone agree with me?

 

[WoodlandWoman]

If your mom has respiratory problems, a small elevated coop that has service doors would be a good design. Getting eggs, feeding and watering can be done by reaching into the coop from the outside, without the need to go into the coop. She could visit them outside in the run or the yard, where she wouldn't have to deal with dust. There are also good disposable dust masks and excellent respirators available.

In addition to the other suggestions, for gathering eggs, there's also a nice reacher available, that has round rubber cups on the tips. It works great if you aren't as mobile or eggs are laid in a difficult to reach place.

 

[jjrose]

I'd love to see a coop design for someone in a wheelchair. That way I might have an opportunity to start keeping my own small flock.

 

[otteramie]

Glad I found these posts from awhile back. Encourages me to think about having some chickens as I get more elder and less mobile and flexible!

 

[Wise Woman]

I am in the process of doing this right now. While I am not handicapped per say, I have a Lyme disease co-infection that mimics malaria and causes me to have chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and joint and back pain. While I do hope to recover, it is taking a very long time. We currently have a coop in a shed that was on the property when we moved here. It is a very nice shed and my husband would like to have it back as his workshop. So we thought why not make the chickens a new coop and make it easy for me to care for them since I enjoy doing that.

We are currently in the planning stage. We are on a tight budget as well, so this will have to be done step by step as we get the funds. Luckily, the chickens have a nice coop and we don't have to rush. We can take our time and really think it through before we build anything.

We will be putting our new coop right off our patio. It will be mere steps from our kitchen door and there is a water spigot handy as well. No more hauling a hose or gallons of water. This will enable me to take care of the chickens even when I don't feel well and in all types of weather. The entrance to the run will be a few steps past the coop. We will be making an enclosed, covered run this time round as well. For the chicken's comfort and for mine as well since I intend on keeping all their food and water in the run. I will also be using several smaller waterers instead of one or two large ones.

We are still undecided on a couple of things yet. A raised floor and nest box access. The coop will be 8' x 8' and have a shed roof that will be 6' high at it's lowest point. We can do a dirt floor lined with hardware cloth and the DLM, or put stall mats over the hardware cloth and then pine shavings or make a raised floor. If we make a raised floor we will then have to have some sort of external access to the nest boxes. I do have good days and my husband is available for the once or twice a year clean out the coop will need, so cleaning it out is not an issue. Which ever way I decided, I will make sure the coop opens wide where it is attached to the run so the shavings can just be raked or swept right into the run. No hauling old litter around for me.

Once we start working on building the coop, I will post pictures. While it won't be a true handicapped coop, it will be made for ease of use. I too want to keep raising chickens well into my dotage. I will be watching this thread to see if there is anything I am missing.

 

[Blooie]

There is a thread, I'll leave the link below, where folks were discussing just that. My good friend Deb has some ideas on there, as do lots of other folks! Check it out!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/893225/how-about-a-new-thread-for-those-of-us-in-wheelchairs