I think one of the first questions that many people ask themselves when thinking of raising chickens is “where in the world are we going to put them?” You want them to have the most access to green grass, sunshine and bugs as possible. Many people don’t have the luxury of allowing them to range in a large pasture all day but there are some other good options!
The chicken tractor is a great choice and one that I use for raising my meat birds. It allows the safety of being enclosed from predators but also access to fresh grass each day. They can range in sizes and designs depending on your needs. Here is one that I have some egg layer chicks in temporarily. It can also be a good option to put them in before moving them in to a big coop with older birds. You can move this each day to fresh grass easily and it also contains 3 laying boxes in the back for easy access to the eggs each day.
There is also a bigger version of this that I use for my meat birds. This one can be a bit more cumbersome to move but it is wonderful to keep a large amount of birds in temporarily for them to have the access to fresh grass each day. I don’t have any egg boxes in the back of this one as it is mainly for the meat birds. They have a place to get in out of the elements and also lots of access to sunshine when they want it. I’ve raised several batches of Cornish Cross birds in this successfully and they seem to be very happy birds!
Then there is the permanent coop. This is one that is more like a building that wouldn’t move each day. In my opinion, this is one that is probably the most predator proof if built right, but it could lead to your birds being on mainly dirt all day and relying on grain provided by you! It is best to not overload your pen with to many birds so they wear the ground out quickly leaving only dirt for them to range on. This is hard to do for most chicken lovers! Once you get a couple of chickens they seem to multiply! At least they do at our home!
Whatever, you decide, it is imperative to make sure you predator proof the living quarters. From experience I can say that chicken wire is not the best barrier as a raccoon or large dog can chew right through it fairly quickly. Also watch out for any signs that something is digging under the fences. In my small chicken tractor it is reinforced with wire on the bottom of the tractor in case something digs under the tractor. Using a good galvanized small square fence, instead of chicken wire, that is attached with screws or nails is better. Nothing is absolutely full proof as far as this goes but if you suspect something stalking the birds at night a good trap set near the pen could save your flock from an early demise. That way you can catch the marauder and take him to a better suited place far from your birds!
I think anyone that has had chickens has had some casualties at some point. It’s part of being a homesteader, but you can significantly cut down on the probability with some careful planning. More to come in future posts to better “predator proof” your coop.
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