Need plans & ideas for a portable chicken coop & run. Any suggestions or comments? Must be predator proof.

-- Carl Sears (jcsears@magma.ca), February 19, 2001

Answers

Carl, this is a good site with links for many kinds of poultry housing, including portable.

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/4175/housing.html

-- Laura Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), February 19, 2001.

I built a 4'x8'x2' portable chicken "tractor". It works really well for up to a dozen layers. It was really easy to build- took me about 3 hours to build by myself out of mostly scrap materials- my total cash outlay was $3.81 and that was mostly for paint. I built 4 panels; 2 @ 8'x2'for the sides and 2 @ 4'x2' for the ends. The panels were made from 1"x3"'s and then covered with chicken wire. Once all the panels were built I used L-shaped mending braces to attach them at the corners. The top is made of one 4'x4' panel covered with chicken wire and one 4'x4' plywood panel. the top panels just sit on top of the pen. The pen is very lightweight and is easy to move. I made mine 4'x8' to fit over my garden beds, but the size could easily be expanded to accomodate a larger flock.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), February 19, 2001.

I built a 4'x8'x2' portable chicken "tractor". It works really well for up to a dozen layers. It was really easy to build- took me about 3 hours to build by myself out of mostly scrap materials- my total cash outlay was $3.81 and that was mostly for paint. I built 4 panels; 2 @ 8'x2'for the sides and 2 @ 4'x2' for the ends. The panels were made from 1"x3"'s and then covered with chicken wire. Once all the panels were built I used L-shaped mending braces to attach them at the corners. The top is made of one 4'x4' panel covered with chicken wire and one 4'x4' plywood panel. the top panels just sit on top of the pen. The pen is very lightweight and is easy to move. I made mine 4'x8' to fit over my garden beds, but the size could easily be expanded to accomodate a larger flock. I'm not sure that I trust this pen to be completely predator-proof, so I put a temporary electric fence wire around the area to deter attacks. So far, so good.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), February 19, 2001.

Elizabeth, whatever did you use the paint for?

-- Earthmama48 (earthmama48@yahoo.com), February 20, 2001.

I made mine with PVC pipe and orange constuction netting. Held it all together with zip ties and PVC glue. Lightweight and easy to move. I do have a shelter inside that has to be moved separately, but it's still great for young batches of chicks.

-- glynnis in KY (gabbycab@msn.com), February 21, 2001.

I painted the bottom boards- was afraid that continuous contact with the ground might cause the unpainted wood to rot, so painted to protect it a bit.

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), February 21, 2001.

Here's a couple of ideas:

http://www.gsu.edu/~biojdsx/fowl/tractor.htm

http://www.utm.edu/departments/ed/cece/idea/mopens.shtml

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), February 23, 2001.