A Portable Chicken Coop – The Simple and Cost Effective Option

Are you looking through the different chicken coop plans and wondering which is best for you? Are you looking to farm a couple of hens or have section that won’t support a large coop?

For those people with smaller backyards or that are only wanting to keep a couple of chickens a portable chicken coop is an ideal option. The chickens love it because they get a clean environment and a constant supply of fresh grass, and feed variety. You will get an easy care coop, you’ll spend less on feed, fertilizer for your garden and building materials, while still getting those great fresh eggs. If you are really lucky your hens will also help to maintain your lawn.

This may sound silly and obvious but don’t overlook the advantage that having a coop that you can move closer to the house, under the shade, or into a temporary shelter at a moments notice brings. Imagine a freak snow storm or flash flood, or a day where the mercury shoots through the top of the thermometer, (don’t laugh, they happen more and more frequently these days). If you had a static hen house chances are that you could lose the whole flock, but with a portable chicken coop you can move your girls into safety quickly and easily.

You also get the added advantage of not having to deal with a large coop that you have to work around or consider every time that you want to rearrange the garden or mow the lawn.

Making a portable chicken coop is easy but you will need to move it every couple of days so there are a couple of things that you will need to do to make sure that your coop is simple to build and easy to manage.

Weight and Size:

Have a look at the plan that you are using and check the materials. Make an educated guess how easily the coop that you are building will be to move. It is possible to substitute some materials for lighter ones – in some cases PVC piping makes great framing that is also light and durable.

A portable chicken coop that is around 3ft x 8ft should be OK for most people to move easily. Any larger than this and maybe you could look at either putting wheels on it or looking for a plan where the house separates from the run so you can move both segments individually.

Wheels:

Putting wheels on your portable chicken coop is a great idea and can solve a whole lot of hassle! Make sure that the wheels that you use are tough and easily replaced. (Psst – skateboard wheels are brilliant – just don’t tell your kids where their favorite sporting accessory has gone – they’ll never look under the coop!)

Push or Pull?

Most plans for a portable chicken coop require you to push the house around but in some cases this may not be the most practical option. Those with a slight rise in their yard will appreciate the ability to pull the coop uphill or push it back down again!

Collecting the eggs and poop from the coop.

Something that you may not realize is that chickens poo alot. This is one of the reasons that it is really important to move them often. Be aware of this and imagine how you will collect the eggs, scoop up the poop for your garden and move the coop without having to step through the poop!

Fortunately there are a great selection of plans available for when you want to build a portable chicken coop that contain all the essentials with easy peasy step by step instructions. This makes building your own fantastic chicken coop a breeze – In fact I bet it even makes your neighbors jealous and your eggs taste better!

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Ok so 3 more posts today that I’ve dug up – I’m an information JUNKIE on this stuff lately. Give em a browse and let me know what ya reckon. They’re just from a few different sites I’ve been surfing lately that are generally good for information like this…

“Cleaning out the chicken coop, making sure that they have heated water during the winter, and that they are fed and secure at night so the critters can’t get to them, it takes a little work,” Crutchfield said. …

How to Build A Chicken Coop In Australia | Chicken Coop Plans 4U

Trying to find a good chicken coop in Australia ? There is some value to be obtained from building your own coop.

The Green Phone Booth: Bawk!! Adventures in Chicken Farming

Well, not after this super cute chicken coop that Mr. Bean built me! But if I had to do it all again, well, I would have paid a bit more attention to that note you hear in the voice of other, more experienced chicken keepers. …

Hope you enjoy the read as much as I did and please if you have something to say, use the comments form below to let everyone know your thoughts.

Have a great day!

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