Heritage Large Fowl - Phase II

[gjensen]

Right now it's about cock storage and isolating hens to collect hatching.

It was easier the year I had just a trio. Then I had one cockerel and a cock who both needed their own space. Now I've got two generations of cocks plus a batch of cockerels still in consideration. Housing needs seem to grow exponentially each year. How people do more than one breed is beyond me.

I have a row of fixed stationary pens for this. They are temporary pens for extra males, and for single mating, or for mating trios. Unfinished.

 

[gjensen]

I have three 8'x8' pens in my breeder barn. I have one cock and five hens in my "A" team pen and one cock and four hens in my "B" team pen. I have two back-up cocks in a small pen and about six back-up hens in my egg flock. I use the third pen for a pair of nice RIRs that are trying to talk me into breeding them. All the other pens are used for chicks, juveniles, segregation, etc., as needed. I rotate letting the breeders out to free range so they usually spend all day out every other day.

I do not tolerate a mean rooster on my place. In all the Silver Campine roosters that I have raised, I have only had one that followed me and looked like he was thinking about rushing me. He never did. He did, however, chase my 12lb house dog around the yard several times. He stayed for a while, but didn't make the final cut. Pity, he was feisty.

I have two pens that are 4'x8'x4' with half covered and walled and the other half wired. I cut holes in the plywood walls and slide a 2x4 through so that a couple of feet stick out on both sides. I then hook a strap onto the ends and hook the strap over the teeth on the bucket of the tractor and pick it up to move it. Its best if someone walks along to steady it, but I CAN do it alone if I have to.

Here is my 8' x 10' walk in tractors.




The inside of an old 54" x 10' tractor that I took the top off and installed a gable roof. Note the ventilation at the top and bottom. The gable was a large improvement over the flat roof. The flat roof was a mistake that I regretted.





Another improvement that I made to this small "tractor", was a hinged door on the back. This allows me to pick birds off of the roost at night to inspect etc.

 

[gjensen]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/i/4818385/uploads/sort/display_order/ffff

Here is a row of 8' x 8' houses. Unfinished in the picture above. They have small runs on the backside.

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

I might suggest that you make the top in two (or three) sections that all lift for access. I have a couple that open the way you mentioned and if I need to catch a bird it has room to run to one end and fly out the top. I like having one end closed and only a smaller opening that I can block with my body. I have one that I call the "ground run" and it is 4'x8'x2'. The top is divided into thirds and the middle section is divided in half the other direction. (It has an "H" in the middle.) Only one of the halves of that middle section opens and I use a fishing dip net to catch birds out of it if needed.

Good idea, I'll do that, split the top into liftable sections. Thanks!

 

[CanadianBuckeye]

The inside of an old 54" x 10' tractor that I took the top off and installed a gable roof. Note the ventilation at the top and bottom. The gable was a large improvement over the flat roof. The flat roof was a mistake that I regretted.

What was it about the flat roof that you didn't like?

 

[finnfur]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/i/4818385/uploads/sort/display_order/ffff

Here is a row of 8' x 8' houses. Unfinished in the picture above. They have small runs on the backside.

I have "Insufficient Permissions" to view that link. I must be on the bad guy list

George what is the covering on the 8x10 roof ?

The flat appears to be the corrugated plastic which I have used with great results - holds up better than I thought it would. Its very durable but not as good as the metal on the coop trailers. however metal is to heavy for the drag around coops.

 

[gjensen]

What was it about the flat roof that you didn't like?

The elevation. Sides that are too tall do not provide adequate shade. Short and with a flat roof, the heat radiating from the roof increases the temperature in the enclosure on the same level the bird is. A gable roof balances the two. The heat rises above the birds and can draft through the ends. I still like the front third flat and hinged for watering and feeding. Regardless, any bird confined to a small enclosure should be in the shade. As described, under a tree, they are fine on the hottest days.

 

[gjensen]

I have "Insufficient Permissions" to view that link. I must be on the bad guy list

George what is the covering on the 8x10 roof ?

The flat appears to be the corrugated plastic which I have used with great results - holds up better than I thought it would. Its very durable but not as good as the metal on the coop trailers. however metal is to heavy for the drag around coops.

It is. I do not get especially excited about the material, but it is fine with adequate support. The structure has to be framed accordingly. It is a "cooler" material than metal. I absolutely do not like metal for small enclosures.

The 8' x 10' is a white tarp on 1/2" rigid insulation. Again, the tarps are "hot". I like that the white tarp is reflective, but it does allow too much through. The 1/2" insulation adds shade, and makes for a cooler enclosure with adding weight. I do not have it on the sides.

I could not get the other one to post. It is as described. I have many more, but these are the pictures that I had on this site. I should take some pictures and explain why I have what I have. It is a system of sorts. It is not perfect, but I like seeing what others have done. It gives me ideas.

 

[MagicChicken]

My hoop coop goes through 2-3 tarps/year. Even UV resistant tarps can't take the sun and the heat here in southern Arizona. Over the long term the hoop coop has been way more expensive than my frame coops that have plywood and shingle roofs, due to the constant need for tarp replacement. I won't build another.

 

[gjensen]

My hoop coop goes through 2-3 tarps/year. Even UV resistant tarps can't take the sun and the heat here in southern Arizona. Over the long term the hoop coop has been way more expensive than my frame coops that have plywood and shingle roofs, due to the constant need for tarp replacement. I won't build another.

If I take care of them, I can get three years out of them. I purchase them online for half of what I would spend locally. It would seam that the sun's intensity would be similar here, though we are not as hot or dry. 2-3 tarps a year is outrageous. I would not use them either. I wonder why I can get three years from one, and you would get one year with three. It is not UV. That is interesting.