I’m sensing that a few of you may be brewing a little chicken ideas in your mind, dreaming up having a backyard brood of your own. After all, it’s a great idea. Pest control. Companionship. Eggs. That cute sound of gossiping hens in the middle of the day. It’s really cute. Well, if you are thinking about housing options, let me share a few links I’ve used.
We’re building what they call a chicken tractor. It’s a henhouse that you can move throughout the yard, so the chickens always have a fresh patch to scratch on. They’re just as safe as a regular henhouse.
I like the ones below, which obviously required more time and labor to build. We don’t have much of that around here, which is why ours is, well, amateurish. But the hens will love it anyway. Here’s my thirty second link list:
Chicken tractors
Chicken tractor project idea
& etc
And here’s an article about the benefits of using a chicken tractor to benefit your soil.
I’m sure you can google all you want and find a good clutch of ideas out there. I say go for it. And let me know if you, too, decide to get a few chicks. We’re having a blast! Now, off to add the chickenwire…
love the links. your coop looks great. curious how big your yard is (sorry if you have already mentioned this i have been away… and out of the coop loop!)
No, I haven’t mentioned it, but the chicks have about a half acre to roam around. I’m hoping they stay away from the road. I think their boon will be the woods, where I’m moving the tractor around, and where they should be able to find a whole slew of insects and protection from roaming dogs (we have those in our neighborhood, unfortunately). This is a learning experience.
We want chickens but our yard is a few feet too narrow for the laws. Frustrating. We have friends who have lots of chickens though, so get eggs and can go out to the farm to visit and collect eggs from the hens. Still, would love to have some right outside. Some day homes might start to sell again and we will be out on some land though, so nice to dream! 🙂