Ok, so we have been keeping chickens for several years now, but we have always had a few issues.
Enter the 8x8 Poultry Pen.
This pen is large enough for us to put the current coop inside while still allowing enough room for the chickens to have plenty of space to scratch and explore. We can also add larger food & water sources, so we don't have to worry about these items every day any more. We can also add items such as branches and swings for them to play on/in. Once we have everything in the yard sorted, we will be able to move the coop out of the pen and attach it, using the pen as a large run instead of a housing. One side of the pen has a removable panel which is meant to be attached to a coop for this very reason.
Since the original coop could not be moved, we also purchased a new coop to go along with the pen. Knowing we wanted to attach it to the pen (eventually) we started looking for a coop which would suit our current and future needs, and ultimately settled on the Producer's Pride Sentinel Chicken Coop.
The run detaches allowing us to then attach the main portion of the coop directly to the pen, but for the meantime, it fits inside the pen making all of it one big run * coop. Throw a tarp over the top (of the pen) to add some protection from the sun & our neighborhood hawks, and the girls have a nice large, new home.
We are re-using the same water system we have used for the past few years, though I will need to redesign the cup system at some point, as they tend to break he cups to often. Next we will need to get a larger feeding system, so we can handle a larger flock in the near future.
- Food & Water have to be cleaned/filled daily, and sometimes multiple times a day
- The coop has a small run, so the chickens have to be let out to roam the yard frequently
- Food & Water containers have to be rather small to fit within the coop
Enter the 8x8 Poultry Pen.
This pen is large enough for us to put the current coop inside while still allowing enough room for the chickens to have plenty of space to scratch and explore. We can also add larger food & water sources, so we don't have to worry about these items every day any more. We can also add items such as branches and swings for them to play on/in. Once we have everything in the yard sorted, we will be able to move the coop out of the pen and attach it, using the pen as a large run instead of a housing. One side of the pen has a removable panel which is meant to be attached to a coop for this very reason.
Since the original coop could not be moved, we also purchased a new coop to go along with the pen. Knowing we wanted to attach it to the pen (eventually) we started looking for a coop which would suit our current and future needs, and ultimately settled on the Producer's Pride Sentinel Chicken Coop.
The run detaches allowing us to then attach the main portion of the coop directly to the pen, but for the meantime, it fits inside the pen making all of it one big run * coop. Throw a tarp over the top (of the pen) to add some protection from the sun & our neighborhood hawks, and the girls have a nice large, new home.
We are re-using the same water system we have used for the past few years, though I will need to redesign the cup system at some point, as they tend to break he cups to often. Next we will need to get a larger feeding system, so we can handle a larger flock in the near future.
