Zip tie dome

Are you going to provide a weather proof coop for them also? They are going to need a safe place to roost/sleep and to lay their eggs. What climate do you live in? If you get snow or cold winds, they probably won't want to go outside and will stay huddled in their coop. They need at least a completely water/wind-proof area, even in a temperate climate.

In that size area(78.5 sq ft ground space if my math is correct), I wouldn't have more than 10 at the most. I think 6 or 7 would be comfortable and not be crowded. You especially don't want to crowd layers as they can aggressive with each other and you'll be doctoring pecked up birds before you know it.

 

I think you might be better off if you would build a hoop coop. Those zipdomes look rather flimsy. THey might keep chickens in but wont keep a predator out. Also, how do you get in there? Do they have a door, or do you have to lift and crawl in ?

 

TThere was a little section in a magazine on these- it is held together with zip ties. The magazine had a close up of the connector pieces that the six pvc pipes per shape (?) fit to that the creator is trying to patent but anyone with a drill bit and 2" wide round of pvc can make them but previous posters are right- you still have to cover it with wire, etc. Those are about the same as a tractor with the exception of maybe not being as stable. You could put more meaties in than layers. I wish you luck and hope all turns out well for you

 

Geordonbuck223,

The standard for any chicken is 2 - 4 square feet per bird, with at least 4 square feet being preferred.

I have a 10' Zip Tie Dome with 90 square feet, and a 16' Zip Tie Dome that has 200 square feet of ground space. We do pastured poultry for Black Copper Marans, Muscovy Ducks, and Bresse chickens.

Last summer I put 100 Cornish Cross broilers in the 16' dome, and that was almost too much. Unless you move it twice a day, the chicken manure will start to burn the grass up when it gets dry in the heat of the summer. 50 chickens in the 16' dome works perfect. (4 square feet per bird).

For the 10' dome, I would suggest not more than 20-25 chickens. That is all I put in mine.

My 10' dome is easy for one person to move around. My 16' dome can be moved by one person by spinning it around, but it is better to drag it straight with 2 people. (My son helps me with these.)

We took all of our chickens through this past winter by just covering the domes with plastic.

We did have to attach 3 concrete blocks to every dome with bungee cords, because once you put the plastic on the domes, the wind can blow them away. We tried using just one concrete block, but that was not sufficient when they are covered with plastic and a storm hits. What a mess. They are a very large structure, and act like a parachute in high winds if you don't tie them down.

In the Spring, when there is no plastic on the dome, just chicken wire, the domes don't need anything at all to hold them down. You just pull them around each day. The wind runs right through them.

We have tried other PVC pipe coops, held together with plumbing joints. The problem with plumbing joints is that they are meant for plumbing, not building structures. Plumbing joints with a "square box" design have a lot of leverage on them, and get brittle and crack, especially in the winter. They don't hold up, and they start wobbling after a while.

The Zip Tie Domes joints are made to build a dome made out of triangles, not squares. They don't crack, and you can do a chin-up on the dome, they are so strong. They have a video on their website of a guy doing a chin-up if you don't believe me. I think it is more about the geodesic structure, that is a very strong design. I don't think anyone can do a chin-up on a PVC hoop tractor.

I like domes because I am a Buckminster Fuller fan myself...

The Zip Ties they give you are not like you find at Walmart, they are 120 lb UV-resistant Zip Ties. They have a 2-year guarantee, so I feel pretty safe. And, it took no tools to build the thing. The instructions were easy enough too.

They include a door with the kit. It was easy to add the door to the dome.

I like it because I could build it myself, it is way cool to look at, I can walk inside the dome to work with the chickens, and being circular, there are no corners for the chickens to get smothered in. It is the largest tractor for the money I have seen.

For the perches, I hung 10' sections of 1/2" PVC with wire inside the dome. For a nest for eggs, I wired a cheap plastic basket to the side of the dome and put hay in it. I still need to get hanging waterers, I am still using the 5 gallon kind that sit on the ground. That means I have to pull the waterers out every time I move the dome.

ChickenLady1957