When I brought four chickens home, I wanted them to be free to range around the backyard. Chickens are entertaining, and I wanted to be able to watch them peck and scratch and explore. It didn’t work out quite like that. They started free ranging over to the neighbor’s yard, even getting on their bird table where they enjoyed the plump sunflower seeds.

A good solution was a moveable chicken coop. There would be new ground for them every day, but I wouldn’t have to rescue them from the neighbors’. Maybe while I was around I could let them out for a while – then we’d all be happy. Picture the scene: a lovely chicken ark, with hens secure at night and pecking contentedly in the run by day.

The ready-built arks had big price tickets. The shipping on them added even more. So I researched plans for chicken arks. A set of simple plans and instructions were required (I only have basic skills). I found some clear plans with good instructions for a simple chicken ark, plus plans for a larger hen house and the ultimate chicken coop I could build when I get more chickens.

As well as materials lists and clear diaframs to explain the construction process, there’s loads of information on keeping chickens. The book of plans, instructions and chicken keeping information has given us all we need.

Now I have a handsome chicken ark with handles at each end so I can move it around. The girls are very happy. It has a cozy area for them to roost, a nesting area which they have now recognized as the place to lay eggs and a run for them to scratch and peck around in. I can put the chicken ark anywhere in my yard that I want cleared, and the neighbor’s bird table is back attracting wild birds, not backyard hens.

Now I’m planning to add to the flock. I could build the beautiful, palatial chicken coop with nesting boxes along the side, or maybe the simple rectangular hen house should be the next project? It does look splendid, and I feel confident that with the chicken ark plans, I could make it quite easily.

New! We've just starting a message board and discussion forum over on the Toxic Byte Pets Forum. It's a bit lonely over there at the moment, but feel free to join in and participate!

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 at 1:49 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.