Chicken Dreams

A couple of years ago I lived on a property that allowed me to have chickens.  When I left there I couldn't take them with me and I have had some serious chicken withdrawal to deal with.  I miss being able to gather fresh eggs (still warm) and cook up the best breakfasts I have ever had.  I miss their silly antics and "grasshopper football".  I also miss having a place to put my kitchen scraps without feeling like I am wasting useful material.

Happily I have moved to a place that will allow me the joys of chicken keeping once again.  The only obstacle to chicken ownership is that I don't have an area to house them yet.  I will probably let them free range a little bit when I can be outside keeping an eye on them, but for the most part I want to house them in some type of chicken tractor.  I toyed with the idea of building a coop and a stationary pen, but I wanted to allow them to have a more flexible set up.  I think I will make the run portion of the tractor the same size as a garden bed.  This way I can use the chickens efficiently to fertilize and weed my garden.  The coop area will attach to one end of the run and will provide nest boxes, shelter and protection from predators.  I have seen quite a few foxes in my area so I will need to make the coops and runs fairly sturdy.

I have been researching the various ways to build efficient chicken tractors.  The PVC pipe framed runs make the most sense economically, though I worry about their strength.  The upside to PVC pipe is that the chicken run could double as a hoop house for my vegetable beds as well.  Wood framed runs would be sturdier, but they would also be a lot heavier, which could make moving them more difficult.  I am going to try to find some salvage materials to build the coop for the chickens.  I like the idea of keeping costs down while reducing waste at the same time.  I was thinking about using pallets to build the coop itself.  That wood is fairly sturdy, and many places give pallets away for free.  

The last, but most important decision I need to make is how many chickens do I want to have.  The last time I had chickens, I mainly only used them for eggs.  The only chickens I ate were the roosters, and I only had two of the course of several years.  I don't think I ever had more than ten chickens at a time either.  This time around I am toying with the idea of raising some chickens for meat.  I'm not fond of the idea of growing out the frankenchickens that are normally raised for meat purposes, so I am leaning towards getting dual purpose breeds of chicken.  I know they take a little longer to reach eating size, but I want my chickens to be healthy so they can lead happy chicken lives.  

I think that I will probably keep a main laying flock of four or five birds and then raise small batches of chickens for meat birds throughout the year.  Raising them in small batches will help keep my feed costs manageable, as well as making butchering day less stressful for me.  I am debating on weather or not I want to keep a rooster.  Roosters can be real jerks, and they can stress out the ladies if they are overzealous in their mating habits.  The chickens also won't be far from the house, and the idea of waking up to a rooster at 4 in the morning isn't as nostalgic as it sounds.....roosters can be irritating when you appreciate your sleep.

I will be putting some time into this project in the coming months and will keep you posted on the progress.  First step will be planning out the finer details of things.  Then I will gather my materials and weather permitting, get the chicken tractor ready for chicks by spring.  I can't wait to have chickens again!