backyard farmer: movable chicken coop idea

this was an article I found in a newspaper this morning. Apparently, more and more people want chickens to supplement food and to help with gardens. This article is about a local guy who made a movable coop, which are getting so popular, he is constantly selling out. They are small enough so that people with small lots could use them, and also renters because the structure isn't permanent. Photos at link, and they do look easy enough so anyone can make them. Just another idea to help us all who are looking for ways to, you know, survive...

I have to go to work but I'll check on the thread later today. Have a good day everyone

[link to www.onlineathens.com]

Backyard farmers flock to a new twist on the chicken coop

After years of wanting chickens, Comer resident Laura Osborne bought a chicken tractor a few weeks ago. She first saw one of the movable coops at a bird auction, she said, and immediately recognized why it would be convenient. "I can easily move them around," she said. "It's a super easy way to have them and not worry about them getting hurt." The chickens also eat bugs and fertilize her garden with their litter, Osborne said. "They cut down a lot on the insects and actually, I move (the chicken tractor) around my garden right now for that purpose," she said.

Osborne's movable chicken coop is a part of a growing trend here and across the country as people start to use chickens as part of the backyard ecosystem. Jason Maxwell, Chris Gibson and Chris Wade made Osborne's chicken tractor and dozen like it. They sell the tractors - usually priced around $150 to $200 - from the side of U.S. Highway 441 just inside the Nicholson city limits, and say they regularly run out of coops. "We did not foresee the amount of people who were looking for them," Maxwell said. "People wanted chickens in their backyards."

The popularity of the chicken tractors is a sign people want to know where their food comes from, and are interested in natural ways to keep their garden healthy without pesticides and chemical fertilizers, he said. Most of the tractors they sell go to urban or suburban backyards, Maxwell said. Athens-Clarke County bans chickens in single-family neighborhoods, but there are some, less urban places where it's legal, said Commissioner Kelly Girtz. He proposed changing the law in 2008 to allow some city chickens, but strong opposition on the commission meant his proposal didn't get very far. "I'm certainly going to be bringing it up in the future," he said.

Some city residents really like keeping a chicken and think the mobile coop is a good match, Maxwell said. The three men started making chicken tractors about a month ago to make a little extra money in the sluggish economy. Wade lost his job working on tractor trailers because of a lack of business and while Maxwell, a decorative concrete finisher, and Gibson, a carpenter, still have jobs, they say they have less work than usual. Besides the extra income, all three men said their children are enjoying taking care of their chickens.

They also enjoy the fresh eggs and the ability to supplement food from the supermarket with cheaper, fresh garden food, fertilized by their chickens. The chicken tractor is an exciting new experiment for her, said Rene Russo, who lives in Athens off Barnett Shoals Road. She enjoyed the fresh eggs from a friend's chickens and then her daughter began asking for a pet, she said. Russo saw the chicken tractors for sale on the side of the highway as she drove to work one day. "I wasn't really seriously thinking I would wind up with chickens until I saw the chicken tractor," she said.

Last Edited by Dread Pirate Roberts on 05/06/2010 06:33 AM