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Chicken coops/pens??

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8:57 am
December 6, 2011

Kat43082

Central Arizona

Mighty Chicken

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Our coop is technically movable, I built it in panels for easier moving if needed but it doesn't move. :) It weighs to much, the moving was more for when we move from this house. We can access the egg box from outside the coop, this was a must feature for us. I had fun planning and design our coop, I hope you do as well.

http://www.firehorsestudioaz.etsy.com

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9:06 am
December 6, 2011

BuckeyeGirl

N.E. Ohio

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It IS possible to have room for lots of birds in a mobile coop if you have lots of room to move it around on and can pull it with a tractor… larger farms do that for the summer, and since they just go in it at night really, and under it for shade and shelter from rain in the day time, it's doable, but NOT for something they're going to live in for the winter. That's the time you need the square footage really, they get crabby when locked up together and start picking and pecking at each other when they're in close confines for very long… you remember your college roommates don't you? laugh chicken chicken chicken

If tomatoes are a fruit, then isn’t ketchup technically a

smoothie?

11:07 am
December 6, 2011

Leah's Mom

Northern Indiana

Mighty Chicken

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A note on 30 chickens….

My original intent is to only have 5-10 at the most. However, when I look at the possibility for the future, I can imagine having as many as 30 at some point (probably a long way off!). The idea of having a moving coop also is very attractive to me.

I wish I just had an old shed available that I could use as I get started so I have something to try out without having to make a decision!!!!

My plan is to totally free-range during the day and lock 'em up at night. There is fencing on the larger property so we should be able to accomplish that. I had hoped to be able to move the coop from time-to-time for various reasons.

As a side note – I have even been looking for old "yard barns" that people may be getting rid of that I could haul in a pickup truck and bring home to repurpose as a "first coop". There are a couple of neighborhoods where the state has purchased the houses for road widening that have yard barns behind them I've had my eye on…

2:49 pm
December 6, 2011

SarahGrace

Mighty Chicken

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I can totally understand ending up with 30 chickens! We started out with 12 and now have 44! I have a very good excuse, really! cool

I think you could do a movable coop for 15 birds, but a coop large enough for 30 might be tougher, especially if you want to walk in it. Of course I'm thinking along the lines of moving it by hand. Moving by tractor or vehicle would open a lot more possibilities for you. I saw an article one time where a man had taken an old travel camper and turned it into a nice coop. Very movable! The coop you linked to was gorgeous!

3:11 pm
December 6, 2011

BuckeyeGirl

N.E. Ohio

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That's called 'chicken math' SarahGrace! It means that when you are building a coop, and plan on getting 6 hens, always build the coop large enough to hold at least 20 or 25. And then plan on where you will be building your second coop, because you will need a brood-house, an isolation pen and a place to put the next batch of pullets where they can get away from the bullies in the older flock… and then of course come the ducks or geese, or maybe turkeys!!!

If tomatoes are a fruit, then isn’t ketchup technically a

smoothie?

3:18 pm
December 6, 2011

SarahGrace

Mighty Chicken

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Chicken math indeed! You'd think that 44 would be enough, but I'd love to get some fancy footed ones! We put in a "penthouse" this year to separate out chickens or use as a place for a brooding hen. Next year we hope to enlarge the coop or build a second coop. sun2 We're thinking of doing meat birds next summer (all depends on how often dh can get home) and if we do will use chicken tractors for them.