Egon, I recall the pleasures of the chicken coop through the mist of time. I was young enough to be a bit afraid to risk a hand to reach under a sitting chicken to get an egg. I hope to apply a little science and engineering. I know you can't account for all the droppings but hope to rig a means of partially automating disposal, along the lines of the "pan/cookie sheet" under the wire bottomed rabbit hutch. I hope to collect a decent percentage from under the roosts. I know I won't get it all under control because I am not willing to keep chickens in the environment/containment enclosures required to really automate cleanup. That would be too sterile/modernistic/factory like for me. There has to be straw involved or I won't like it. The above comments relate to inside the coop.
Outside the coop, I think I like the movable enclosures that I have seen where the chickens "free range" but inside a five sided rectangular box open to the ground so they can go "peckin' 'n' scratch'n" as desired. I have seen some large ones that were easily moved by tractor. Left in one spot they will make a bald spot but moved along every few says they will just lightly fertilize the swath covered while removing insects.
My concern was for the success of "cooping" them up with automated feeders/waterers for 2-4 weeks during the NASTY part of winter when I might want to be somewhere else like maybe my leasehold in the desert of Baja California bordering the Sea of Cortez near San Felipe.
Patrick
Reply With Quote
