Check out our latest project, constructing a new nest box facility for our youngest batch of layer chickens. It will provide shade, night protection from predators, mobile feed, nesting space, roosting space, and of course will be totally mobile so it can be moved across pasture easily. Regular movement of chickens across pasture encourages healthy growth of grasses and non-toxic incorporation of manure into the ground. Plus it gives the chickens lots of forage space and keeps predators confused! We expect this Egg Mobile, affectionately known as the Land Ark or the Egg Ark or the Chicken Ark (“Chark”) due to its massive size (it’s almost 40 feet long!!), to house around 550 chickens. But you never know until it’s done!
How does a busy momma find time to do construction? Technology helps!
You might not be able to appreciate its monstrosity from this picture, but this thing is HUGE! Hence the name, Egg Ark. The big flap is the lid of the feeder, which closes. We were just testing our clearance.
This gravity-fed feeder will reduce labor and feed waste tremendously. It can hold about a ton of feed and keeps it nice and dry and at beak-level.
Matt chops off some loose ends. These slats are made from repurposed wood spacers we used when we milled lumber that burned in the fires of 2011.
A close-up of the slatted floor. This will allow the manure to drop through to the pasture below with *hopefully* minimal work!
Matt plans the next step for constructing the Egg Ark.
Here’s what the chicken mobile will look like AFTER it is built–haha! Lots of eggs, lots of happy chickens!
Farm life is lots of things. Most folks know and reaffirm to us, “Farm life is so busy!” Yep! 100%!
It’s also very cyclical. Certain things happen alongside the seasons, and it really is so interesting to witness the ebb and flow from year to year. Sometimes we change things to better mesh with seasonal changes. And sometimes we find a groove that we really like, and we try to stick… ... Continue reading
Haha! I love the last picture! The Egg Ark is going to be as big as our cabin, so I thought to myself, “Wow! Our house will hold 550 chickens!” I’ve never though of my home in terms of “chicken capacity until now. Thanks for the laugh, and I hope the chickies enjoy their mobile mansion. 🙂