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This started simply as two 3 square metre garden sheds (about 10 feet x 10 feet) bolted together.
The unit on the left was made into an avairy style and houses our training pens and any other equipment associated with training our poultry.
We have power to the units and a large fluero light so we can train our birds at night.
The unit on the right is still used as my "home" tool shed, but it's a little better organised. It also houses all the poultry feed and chemicals.
Some sections of the roof area are done in green shadecloth. My wife bought some bloody big rolls of this at an auction about 12 years ago. We are still using it! What about the predators !! What about the predators !!
The sheds are set on concrete floors, and should have ratwalls, but the secret to stopping rats and mice is to give them no access to food at night, including the eggs.
As you will see further on all the night time areas are totally mouse, rat and snake proof.
We have a major problem with bloody big snakes in this area, and those that share our farm include Carpet Snakes, Taipans, Night Tiger Snakes, King Browns, Whip Snakes, and Tropical Green Tree Snakes.
The "four-legged chicken" is my Schnauzer. He is amazing with the chickens, and is no threat to them. We had some beautiful native rainbow lorakeets that fell victim to Carpet Snakes and Night Tiger Snakes. They lived happily on the farm for over 8 years before the snakes got them.
We only kept them caged because they fell out of their natives nests as babies, and couldn't fly.
It was very traumatic to see these sweet little guys as a snakes dinner, however snakes are natural predators and hunters and we trapped the guilty snakes and moved them on, quietly and humanely, to another property several kilometres away in another valley. Back to the Chicken Houses We bought some second grade 2.4 metre 100ml treated pine Koppers logs and with the post driver on the tractor we put 26 posts into the ground exposing 1.8 metres.
The side rails are all 2.4 metre 75ml treated pine halves which are perfect as side and roof supports. We used 48 of these all in total.
The total area of the Chicken run about 12 metres by 7 metres, and is divided into 6 different modules, each module roughly 2.4 metres square. Inside are housed the two 3 metre square sheds.
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Tools and Materials This was all made from seconds, and second hand materials obtained from our local tips, plus a few trash and treasure markets.
The wire, of course is all brand new, as are most of the hinges and fittings.
The doors to each area are made from cut down aluminium doors all found at the tip. Amazing what people throw away.
All we did was add a heavy wire mesh and they are so light and user friendly.
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IS IT FOXPROOF?
Yes and No!
...And I was skeptical as to how it would work
The security team of Slipper (left) and Schnauze (right) having a little rest with part of their fox-hating alpaca herd. We haven't bothered to drop our wire into the ground as per usual to elimate fox threats. It's a well known fact that foxes just love fresh chickens, so why take the risk?
We have the most amazing fox haters known to the animal world. They are called Alpacas.
Our stud males are right next the the chicken coops on three sides. They are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On the fourth side is an Australian cattle dog, who just adores the chickens as her mates, and detests the local foxes.
Around the outsides of the pens are 40 breeding female alpacas who just hate foxes.
The alpacas are natural enemies of the fox. As cunning as they are, and as much as they love fresh chicken, the foxes are not game to step within the boundaries of the alpaca pens, and to get to the chickens they have get past the females first, then the stud males.
We have observed the foxes looking in wonder at these "strange" South American Alpacas, and believe it or not, so far it's a no contest.
 Above is the farm manager (my wife) on her horse. They are enough to scare any fox or snake away! |
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