Chicken Coops: 45 Building Ideas for Housing Your Flock by Judy Pangman

Author:Judy Pangman [Pangman, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781580176279
Amazon: 1580176275
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2006-07-02T04:00:00+00:00

FLOOR PLAN

FRONT ELEVATION

Beck-Chenoweth Broiler Skid

HOLDS:

300 broilers

AT HIS FARM IN OHIO, Herman Beck-Chenoweth developed a free-range poultry-production system for broilers. In it, a series of 8-foot × 18-foot skid houses that hold up to three hundred birds each are placed 100 feet apart in the pastures. They are towed by tractor every few weeks to new pasture.

The floors are wooden skids enclosed with chicken wire and covered with litter. The gable roofs can be covered with tarps or plastic or metal roofing material. The front and back walls of the house lay flat on the ground during the day and are tied upright against the walls at night. (The walls can also be built with a regular door instead of the drop-down feature.) A secure perimeter fence or electric poultry netting can surround the entire setup. The meat birds free-range about 40 feet away from the skids during the day and are closed in at night for added predator protection. Keeping the skid houses at least 100 feet apart ensures that the birds won’t confuse one house for another, thus making sure that they return to their own house at night. Water is provided by automatic watering systems in the pastures.

“The low stocking rate, four hundred chickens or one hundred turkeys per acre, allows the birds plenty of area to exercise and deposit manure,” says Herm. “As a result, free-range birds develop excellent muscle tone. Since the muscle is what we eat, this development is very important. Combined with proper aging after slaughter, meat quality is firm but smooth — second to none.” This method is described in detail in his book; Herm also provides chicken information on his Web site (see page 162).

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