is there such thing as portable run 6ft tall ?

[patman75]

Quote:
A tractor for 24 birds means you need to go big.

The farmer I get my feed from uses an old camper that he moves around in his pasture and surrounds it with moveable electric fencing. The chickens spend the night and lay eggs in the camper that he has reinforced to keep predators out.

Or you can get a wagon frame and put what ever they coop you want on the frame and then use some sort of portable fencing for the run.

 

[shortstaque]

We built a portable coop with detatchable portable run for 25 chickens. I had the same problem, couldn't find anything big enough for the size flock I wanted. Here is what we came up with. It takes two to move the coop (which we do every 8 days in the summer). One person can move the run. It is not insulated, so we just moved ours into a fixed coop-- that is insulated, has more space and, and has electricity--for the winter.

ETA There is no reason why you couldn't make the portable run 6 feet tall, it would just use more material and be heavier.

More details on my coop page:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=68803-the-chicken-tractor

I also really like the model used by Fetzer vineyards http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs/movable-coop.aspx which would move easily with a tractor and there is no reason why you couldn't use a mobile run with it, or many with larger flocks choose to use a portable electric fence such as this http://www.maxflex.com/Nets_page1.HTM though I have no experience with it.

 

[Fenika]

I'm in the process of building a 'portable' run out of EMT panels.

If you look at the chicken tractor design that uses EMT, I'm highly modifying that system. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=47038

I've already got 13 panels, 10 long by 6.5 tall, with a cross bar horizontally across the middle (this will have a vertical bar supporting it's center too, if you are following). Right now they look really sturdy. I'm not 100% sure how I'll attach the hardware cloth, but I've got some ideas. We welded the pipes together, btw, to save money.

Once the panels are done, I'm going to make homemade insulators to run some electric along the bottom (and maybe the top). I'll also have an apron of 2x4 welded wire fencing, and a LGD inside, and deer/poultry netting at the top.

This won't be something to move weekly, but it will be large so I won't have to. The panels will go up, be fastened together with zip ties, and I'll add a few 'stakes' in the ground to secure the panels to the ground. I'll design something for the middle of the run to hold the poultry netting up too.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Does your coop have two entrances? If you could make a second chicken door you could buy two 6 foot high dog kennels, 6 x 12. But that would only take care of about 14 of your birds.

You could make a summer pen and a winter pen with permanent fencing, instead. Or rotate them so that the pasture recovers.

 

[MamaChic21]

all your feedback had been helpful, I appriciate it very much, although I've got more ideas now don't know what to do with it or where to start )

shortstaque; I saw your BYC page and I love what you've said "watching chicken t.v " loll, and thank you for the websites, so there really is a portable 6ft fences.

All of you guys has built a nice coop/run, hope to do the same. I really feel helpless when I see thos poor birds in a muddy, yucky, cold floor in the run. 2 coops/runs, couldn't say I haven't thought about that, but I have 3 locations that I'm indecisive about. This is surely killing me. I can't spend a moment not thinking about this. Not being able to sleep well, and everything that comes out of my mouth is about the coop and run, people around me started to get annoyed by it.

Thank you all and please pray that I'll figure this thing out soon, hopefully very soon.

 

[MamaChic21]

Quote:
The 2 floor coop has 2 entry doors, 1 is for the inside of the run and the other is to go out from the run to the playing area. And I've got 24 in all, 3 ducks and 17 hens and 4 roosters.

2 pens, not a bad idea, not bad at all. I will consider that, thank you

 

[Fenika]

When I get like that, I get on the internet and research research research. Then I stay up late sketching out ideas and thinking about how everything will work out short and long term, etc.

I still can't decide which breeds to get, but I have it narrowed down

 

[MamaChic21]

the breeds are extremely important as well. Their tempermant, behavior and etc. Hope you'll decide the best one that fits your needs.

I've been searching for several of months now and there isn't a single web page unlooked. I even moved on to shed, anything that has 4 walls and a roof ;-) But my main problem is where can I put it in my backyard ? The hill, perfect,but it has 2 huge trees that can't be covered with chicken wire. across from that is some what flat land, but it's too far away from the house and very challenging to walk during winter and carry water and food for them and that corner, the back of it is a small forest where we do have all the predators that chicken hate including foxes and owls. The other option is right of the deck, but that area is the first thing you'll see when you drive up or from the street. One last option is to put it close to the deck, like in the middle of the yard sort of. That is why I'm so confused and frustrated as to the perfect location really does exist or not.

 

[Fenika]

2 huge trees? You can't go around them, or you're afraid they'll let predators in?

If you put it by the deck, do you have a budget to dress it up and make it look really nice? My chicken fence will be readily seen when one pulls up the driveway (but maybe not the first thing) and I tentatively plan to weave in some bamboo and put a few potted plants by the door.

But since it will basically look like a dog run, it won't be too ugly. The coop is a bit of an eye sore, but it's free.

 

[MamaChic21]

hey you can't go wrong when it's free and useable I'm really confused and worried. The temps are really dropping and I did put big heated lights on their 7x7 shed and 1 in each floor of the chicken coop. The whole run is icy. I couldn't even open the front door today and still can't due to ice. I need to come up with the solution really fast before snow hits

The 2 trees, well it be a challenge to cover them all up so no predators won't get in.