Chicken Mobile Home, Part 2

We are pleased with the way the new mobile chicken coop is shaping up.

Doors
We don’t anticipate using the front door much since egg collection is all done from outside.

We welded in new angle iron floor bracing, then installed slatted floor.  The floor is only rated for 10 pounds per square foot, so working inside the coop requires us to carefully keep our feet over the steel bracing.  The weight restriction won’t be a problem for the chickens, but I am wary about its ability to withstand clumsy humans (myself included).

The cats approve of the floor, especially if there's a discarded sweatshirt on top.
The floor is strong enough to support sunbathing cats.

Walls are up, hoops are up, doors are installed.  We went all-out and bought an automatic light-sensing door.  It cost $225 for the door and battery, but it will be worth it if we can eliminate the chore of opening and closing the chicken coop each day.

The two five foot sections on the right are the external access to the nest boxes.  The two foot section on the left is a storage cabinet for egg brushes and empty egg cartons.
The two five foot sections on the right are the external access to the nest boxes. The two foot section on the left is a storage cabinet for egg brushes and empty egg cartons.

We installed ten feet of roll-out, community-style nest boxes.  The roll-out feature is new for us, so we’ll see how that works.  We covered the nest box floor with a outdoor doormat sliced in half.  All the roofing is offcut scrap from last fall’s barn repair project.  If we decide to add more chickens next year we can easily build another row of nest boxes down the right side of the trailer.

Roost poles fit loosely into joist hangers for easy removal for cleaning.
Roost poles fit loosely into joist hangers for easy removal for cleaning.

Remaining items:

  1. Paint the plywood in a few weeks when the weather is above 50 degrees and dry.
  2. Build a roll-up tarp wall for the back of the coop.
  3. Install flashing over the top of the nest boxes.
  4. Install the roof covering.
  5. Add a few wood steps to the front of the trailer.
  6. Install birds.

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