Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there.
Did you know that you can look right at the sun when you’re wearing a welding helmet? Lovett’s creativity brought me back from my focus and hurry as we were trying to finish welding the frame of the first Mobile Range Coop (MRC), or pasture shelter for some added chickens this year. I’ve been wearing that helmet for hours each day this week and I had not once admired the sun from behind the safety and comfort of the welding helmet.
Lovett tried it on and immediately exclaimed, “Papa, I can look at the sun and it doesn’t hurt my eyes! …. The sun is beautiful…”
Unlike cattle and pigs, who enjoy our summer pastures without the aid of any infrastructure, chickens are more vulnerable. Having chickens on pasture requires protection from predators, both aerial and terrestrial. Chickens also appreciate some shelter from the elements, shade in the heat of the summer, shelter from the wind and rain, and warmth during the cooler months of spring and fall.
More than 99% of chickens, even Organic Chickens, are raised in barns, never experiencing sunlight, fresh air or green grass. With the help of many pasture raised poultry farmers before us (thanks Dave at Wrong Direciton Farm) we’ve designed and built what is essentially a hoop house on a metal frame.
With a lightweight hoop house on top we get the flexibility of shade and ventilation and we can keep the opportunistic predators out. The metal frame allows us to easily and quickly move the whole group of chickens every day. Daily moves and low density in the MRCs gives the chickens fresh and clean pasture every day, and their manure adds fertility to our pastures.
In my opinion, this is an elegant solution to the nutrient pollution and animal welfare problems of animals confined in a barn.
Our first task is to build the metal frame, which provides rigidity so we can easily pull the coop forward each day. We have four coops to build this spring, so we spent this week cutting and preparing all the pieces of the frames.
This involves lots of cutting, grinding and measuring…and some re-recutting and re-measuring:) I took this picture after a day’s work. The tool in the lower right is a magnetized holder. I loved the hairy geometry of the metal dust and shards attracted to the handle of the pliers under the magnet.
Our deadlines are waiting eagerly in the brooder in the form of 450 chicks waiting to go to the field. We have one week to have the first coop ready for the chicks, so the race is on.
We also have our first chickens to process next week so be on the lookout for an update on chicken inventory!
Reber Rock Farm Blog 