Suggestions for building portable ___ so hens can get to new grass?

[bathsheba8542]

I have this fantasy...we have a beautiful coop, and an incredibly secure chicken yard, designed to keep the fox and coyote at bay. So far, with the hotwiring, etc., it's worked. However, our hens quickly ate through every green thing in their large yard, and now I really want them to enjoy what their pesky roosters who got kicked out now have. Without putting them at risk, however.

I wonder if anyone has come up with a portable shelter - maybe PVC and fencing - that can be moved around, of a reasonable size (maybe 4x10), that can be accessed through a collapsible, expandable tunnel that I can put from the door of the henhouse out to the fields, and move it around so they can get to fresh grass during the day, but be back in the coop at night.

Is this just crazy? Should I just let them out and get over it?

Thoughts, suggestions, appreciated.

 

[elmo]

Lots of people build tunnels. There was a cool picture of a moveable tunnel made out of wire posted here, but I can't find it again. The chickens were lined up in it like drivers in a tunnel at rush hour.

As I recall, it was build just with wire (chicken wire, possibly, bent into a circle and attached at the seam).

Right now, I ferry my chickens out to their tractor by putting them in a small travel cage. It's not ideal, because I get bitten by mosquitoes at night as I'm scooping them into the cage. A tunnel would be terrific.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I found this one that is kind of neat. We still have lots of pvc from our former plumbing company so I am going to have my husband make me one.

 

[GardeNerd]

I like the PVC pen Cammy posted!

I use fold up wire dog (or pet) exercise pens to tractor around my chickens sometimes around the yard. A single one has 8 - 2 ft wide panels, but I have four pens and I make all kinds of shapes and sizes with them around my yard. They fold up to 2 ft. sections. It gets covered with bird netting each time using chip clips and clothes pins. I am sure it could be adjusted for a tunnel too. I especially like it because it fits the weird shapes in my yard.

Here is one from when I used it for the big girls to meet the babies

 

[Elwar]

That's the setup I'm currently working on. My run is 4X8. I still haven't built the tunnel between the two. The chicks go into the coop for the first time tonight and I'll probably just hand move them in the morning and evening until it's built.