Integrated Pest Management and Protein Conversion System Complete

In other words, our new chicken coop.  I wanted something I could move around and through the orchard/yard as needed and as food was available, so as you can see it’s on wheels. By no means did I come up with the idea, there are some incredible resources on the web these days of people taking the idea of a “chicken tractor” and really running with it. My design was a combination of things taken from here and there filtered through the materials I had on hand to work with.  

I built it completely out of reclaimed wood and salvaged materials. I did have to buy the hinges, locks and tires though. I briefly explored the option of fabricating my own wooden wheels, and even began cutting some of the pieces for it, but quickly realized they would never support the weight needed.

Our chicks should arrive in the mail in a couple weeks or so.They’ll be a great help cleaning up the windfall fruit of pests and then converting that protein into tasty eggs for the family. The coop is designed to hold a maximum of ten birds, but more likely 6-8.

It pulls around quite well.  Movable by hand, but more likely I’ll use the garden tractor when any great distance will need to be covered.  We’ll use movable fencing to keep them contained and predators out.  Less infrastructure equals greater flexibility.

My family had chickens when I was very young, but I have no memory of them.  I’ve seen the pictures though, and I’m confident that not only will they be a great asset in our permasculpture plans, but our daughter will love them as well.