Portable Poultry- Why it's ideal
Raising chickens can be challenging. There are a lot of things to consider, and without the right setup, you’ll likely be feeding the local wildlife, creating a mud pit, or stressing out your flock.
Here at Second Breakfast Ranch, we have found that is has been best to make our poultry setup portable. This alleviates many of the problems that are associated with chicken raising (or duck, guinea, etc.).
First and foremost, we use a portable electric net. This can feel like a large cost at first, but it is well worth it. We have never had a 4 legged predator problem. Making sure your fence is “hot” enough is important. I like to try and use AC powered chargers, and the more power you can afford the better. Keeping grass and brush away from the fence helps significantly as well.
Next, we use an open bottom portable coop. Many people get carried away with a giant shed-like coop that weighs a ton. We found that method limits many of the benefits that rotating poultry has. Moving the chickens to new grass/pasture allows for the following:
New forage, which creates a better diet for the bird. Also helps on feed cost!
Allows regeneration. Chickens like to scratch. Their manure is very strong and can burn grass over time. Moving them allows the grass come back, even better than before!
Prevents predators. We love the idea of free ranging. But we don’t love the idea of a neighbors dog, cat, coyote, raccoon, etc. helping themselves to a delicious plump chicken. Using the netting and portable coop, it allows the birds to forage while being in an area of relative protection.
Egg quality. This is hard to quantify. Try eggs from the store, or a friend who raises them in an enclosed non-movable structure. Then try some from a rotational or pasture raised setup. There’s a difference.
Lastly, some people seemed concerned with the amount of time it takes to move the chickens from one location to the other. However, I rarely (if ever) have to clean our coop out. The floor consists of 1x1” mesh that allows the droppings to fall through. So I don’t have to constantly replace bedding, scrape corners, wheel barrow the mess to the compost, and so on. All in all, I believe I save time by simply moving our coop a few feet every week or so, and the whole set up monthly. This frequency could change based on the amount of birds you have, so getting to know your land and what it can handle is beneficial to planning chicken moves.
Tells us your experiences and thoughts!