We are on the verge of accomplishing something I have been looking forward to for a long time—pasturing chickens. As omnivores, having access to pasture provides an opportunity for chickens to vary their diet, express their natural behaviors, and help out the farm with pest/weed control and direct deposits (fertilization). We started our first Star & Sparrow flock three months ago with a dozen chicks, so it was time to end the mobile chicken house planning phase (about five years worth of dreaming and sketching) and move on to the building phase.

After putting up the primary poultry run for winter confinement, quarantines, and nighttime protection, we began construction of our first Chickshaw. Actually, construction really began a bit earlier, when a local friend offered to mill wood to our specifications in support of the project. Our Chickshaw design could be built from standard dimensions of lumber readily available at home improvement stores, but the custom option allowed us to beef up some parts of the build and lighten others where strength and durability weren’t as crucial. It also allowed us to use local resources and limit environmental impacts, such as driving to the store (emissions) and buying lumber from far away (emissions) while risking the ‘Rona (viral emissions).

This is yet another example of our great fortune to find such a collaborative and resilient community with a ready willingness to support the success of others. When I say ‘we’ built it, I don’t just mean Farley and I— ‘we’ involves our household, local community members, and the many farmers, homesteaders, and poultry hobbiests all over the world that have shared their designs, failures, and successes. What a remarkable, multidimensional village we live in! 

With only a few store-bought items (wheels, roof panels, a pipe handle, and hardware cloth for the bottom), building the mostly-local-wood-and-repurposed-hardware Chickshaw took a week to complete on about four hours per day. This includes a few mistakes, do-overs, and pivots due to accidental features. A skilled maker could probably replicate this in about half the time I spent on it if all parts were available and ready to go. For those that are technically inclined, the two biggest differences between our design and the more popular designs you will find online are that 1) peripheral parts were designed to be made from a single piece of wood where possible, instead of attaching them with hardware (note the legs are part of the vertical structure, the arm supports are part of the base frame, etc.) and 2) it’s smaller than most.

We went with 4x4x2 foot dimensions for several reasons — to keep it light and maneuverable, to limit the need for additional structural supports (again, reducing weight but also saving resources) and to be ideally suited for an average flock size of about 12 dual purpose chickens. I do believe this design can be scaled up quite a bit without any changes, except possibly the need to add a few diagonal braces on the frame. 32 cubic feet turned out to be pretty spacious for 12 chickens that only use the space for sleeping and laying. We have since added a rooster and still have a bit of room to grow before needing new accommodations. 

If you’re inclined to try making one of these yourself (or if you just like watching people do farmy stuff), I recommend reviewing the resources linked below. Justin Rhodes has a bazillion helpful videos on homesteading and farming, including several on chickshaws. If you prefer written how-to’s, you can follow his recipe at abundantpermaculture.com, complete with supplies list, tool list, cut list, and step by step instructions with pictures. Feel free to email us if you have questions about our design changes or, if you’ve built one of these yourself, please send us pictures!

Justin’s Videos 
ChickShaw 2.0: https://youtu.be/mTnpvzh3iVM
ChickShaw MiniMe: https://youtu.be/MbhCe12M1bo
Justin’s Recipe: https://abundantpermaculture.com/mobile-chicken-coop/