Moveable hicken "closet" for my barn?

[Ruthj]

I inherited six chickens about a month ago, and I was surprised to find out that I have the perfect free ranging situation for them in my deer-fenced orchard adjacent to a concrete-floored barn. I leave the door open to the barn, and they coop themselves at night. Right now they coop themselves in a dog kennel with roosting bars and shredded paper. During the day, they are in the orchard with plenty of cover, especially along the deer fencing. At night, we lock them in their kennel and shut the barn door. Hard to imagine a more secure coop.

My question is this: since I can't keep them all in a dog kennel on a garden cart (with classy hot-tub steps to assist their self-cooping!) forever, it's time to make a permanent structure inside the barn. However, I would like to be able to move the structure up to the garage attached to the house in the winter (I have an extra bay and the whole thing has radiant heat, not that they have to have it.) We'd rather keep them close by in the winter for egg-gathering and socializing. Also, there isn't water to the barn when it freezes; we blow out the pipes for the winter. We plan to add six more hens.

The advantage of the kennel-on-cart isn't lost on me (easy to access and clean, move, etc.). But it's too small, and now my garden cart is filled with chickens.

Any idea what would make for the best "light" chicken tractor? It doesn't need to protect them from the elements, but I would like them contained and feeling cozy. I also don't want them to poop on our cars, although I'm getting pretty fond of them so they might end up in the living room. Big doors for easy cleaning is a must, since this thing will be in the garage in the winter.

Suggestions?

Ruth

 

[DanasChicks]

Hi Ruthj,

We have used the 3 x 5 ft.dog kennels with great success, but you are right, it's not ideal for too many hens all at once. With the number of birds it sounds like you will have, you may want to build your own hardware cloth run or see about finding someone who builds them on CL. The lighter the material the better. Nothing fancy, something with handles on both sides so you and someone else can easily move it about. I have seen some really nice A frames that are low cost to build. They have just one roosting bar running the length at the top of the A frame and it easily moves about the garden and locks up for safety. It can fit up to 12 birds. A friend of mine built one for just over 100 dollars out of cedar fencing and hardware cloth. It's 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. Another idea is using chain link fence panels that attach together to make a large kennel. It may not be ideal looking, but provides lots more room. Chain link panels are 6 foot long by 6 foot high, and one panel has a gate for access. It's so nice and easy to feed and water them. We use two 3 x 3 ft. dog kennels inside the chain link panels set up on some blocks so they can still access the space underneath. The small dog kennels are used like you are using yours now, to provide shelter and roosting bars. They are great for safely locking up the hens at night. More importantly the whole contraption is easy to move. Some attach netting or wire to the top for security from predators. There are lots of great ideas out there. I hope you get other ideas from some of the more experienced BYC members. Take care.

 

[Ruthj]

Thanks Dana. We already have a large A-frame from Handcrafted Coops. We immediately saw that it was too small for 4-6 hens, despite what they say on their web site, so we use it as a kind of "playpen" in the middle of the orchard. The two smaller pullets sleep up top at night, but in the first week a raccoon pushed through the "hardware cloth" (ha!) and got into the run, so we don't really trust that structure long-term. So much for the hipster chicken coop! Excellent design, though, and that coop would be fine for 2-3 hens if you replaced the thin hardware cloth with something heavier, and patrolled intensively for predators.

I think the problem for us is that we have to choose between (a) something on wheels, like the kennel-on-a-cart deal we have now, or (b) something less portable with run space for the winter. They won't free range in the winter, obviously, so their structure is going to have to have more space for them. But then it probably won't fit on a garden cart.

Have to go let the girls out!

Ruth