- Apr 14, 2014
- 17
- 8
- 77
Hi,
I have 17 hens and one rooster that are in a small field of 3000' sq ft. They share with two small goats and a ewe lamb. We have a large garden area that I just finished fencing and want to move the chickens to the garden so they can munch, till, and fertilize before planting.
My coop is a small portion of a barn that is next to the field, so I just open the door and they pour out to peck and enjoy the day. I tried to herd them the 50' from field to garden the other day but most scattered. I don't have time in the morning to throw seed and have them peck their way across to the garden, then reverse the process at night. I don't want to make a 2nd coop ($ and time) , so decided to make a chicken tunnel on wheels. I would open the coop door, they would go into the "tunnel" and then I would pull it across to the garden and set them free. Has anyone tried something like this? I have searched the internet to no avail for something similar, but can't find anything.
Is this a viable idea? Building a second coop in the garden would take too long as I want them to get the garden ready, not during the growing season. An actual tunnel would cross a driveway, so I would have to swing part of it away 2 sections of (20') from the driveway so cars, kids on bikes, dogs, horses, etc don't crunch it. Again, a pain.
I plan on making a frame with 2 x 4s and put 2' of plywood on top for the birds to stand on, then cover that in chicken wire.
Reasonable, crazy, or brilliant?
I have 17 hens and one rooster that are in a small field of 3000' sq ft. They share with two small goats and a ewe lamb. We have a large garden area that I just finished fencing and want to move the chickens to the garden so they can munch, till, and fertilize before planting.
My coop is a small portion of a barn that is next to the field, so I just open the door and they pour out to peck and enjoy the day. I tried to herd them the 50' from field to garden the other day but most scattered. I don't have time in the morning to throw seed and have them peck their way across to the garden, then reverse the process at night. I don't want to make a 2nd coop ($ and time) , so decided to make a chicken tunnel on wheels. I would open the coop door, they would go into the "tunnel" and then I would pull it across to the garden and set them free. Has anyone tried something like this? I have searched the internet to no avail for something similar, but can't find anything.
Is this a viable idea? Building a second coop in the garden would take too long as I want them to get the garden ready, not during the growing season. An actual tunnel would cross a driveway, so I would have to swing part of it away 2 sections of (20') from the driveway so cars, kids on bikes, dogs, horses, etc don't crunch it. Again, a pain.
I plan on making a frame with 2 x 4s and put 2' of plywood on top for the birds to stand on, then cover that in chicken wire.
Reasonable, crazy, or brilliant?