I recently had a meat chicken as a pet. (Yes I know that was a big mistake) Well she was trained to knock on the door of our house, wait for us to put her in her tote, and then we'd bring her inside. Might I add she was a very spoiled chicken. Anyway, in the spring I plan to get a couple chickens and I was wondering if a mobile coop would be a good idea to have. I have ducks and they roam around the yard, but they do not travel very far from the house. Would it be good for around the garden? And do they keep the chickens safe? Any replies would be appreciated and any suggestions on good, hardy, and nice chickens would be appreciated as well.
You are in the right place. Study this forum and look at pics of other's coops. I built a 8'x7' coop with a dirt floor. Later I added a 12'x8' cow panel hoop run. I like having a dirt floor and I use the deep litter method. I toss in leaves, grass clippings, pine shavings, pea hulls, corn shucks, garden trimmings, anything and everything organic vegetable matter. What they don't eat, they poop on and scratch to bits. The hens make me lovely compost for the garden. I dig it out 3-4 times a year.
Here is a link that inspired me to build a hoop run.
Mobile coops come in all shapes and sizes mines a bit bigger than average but small by commercial standards!
The coop part has a 2" square mesh floor so cleaning is minimal and I have used it as a brooder coop for 8 week olds up and currently it has all my roosters in it
