Sometimes insights are to be had and reflection is in order. Other times it is good to simply enjoy the scenery.  But this time of year, it’s mostly work work work. Our new batch of Easter Basket chicks are growing up fast and ready to move out on pasture, so it is time to finally unveil this year’s mobile poultry housing design.  And by unveil, I mean get it done and checked off the list so we can get on with the other 57,892 things waiting impatiently for our attention. 

To truly appreciate the new model, it helps to understand its origins and evolution.  We have an obsessive design team here at Star & Sparrow that never stops thinking about ways to improve upon accommodations for our fine feathered friends.  Starting about 3 years ago, the team’s original Model 18-3 Urban Chicken House came in a rustic modern shape — square sleeping/laying quarters above a run which extended under a sloped roof of redwood planking.  It was designed for only 3 hens and did the job well enough, but left a lot to be desired in terms of access and mobility.

Then came the model 20-12 — a simple boxy run wrapped in chicken wire and enclosed on one end with sub-flooring for walls.  Originally intended for our first 12 chicks here on the farm, it features a removable horizontal door (huh?), a heavy hingeless plywood roof, and spare oak floor boards for roosts 2 inches off the ground, which is why the chickens often look at me as if to say “why bother”?  Though much maligned over the last 16 months, this gremlin of a poultry palace has satisfied the needs of over 60 birds and continues to provide utility even today. 

Seeking to redeem itself, the design team quickly rallied and followed up the clumsy Model 20-12 with the celebrated and sporty model 20-Twelve-1 Chickshaw.  This sporty little mobile unit ditches chicken run functionality entirely in favor of pasturing birds for a free-range lifestyle.  Built from custom locally cut lumber riding on two airless 20 inch wheels, the Chickshaw provides sleeping and nesting quarters for at least 12 hens and 1 rooster, with a luxurious 2-to-1 hen-to-nestbox ratio.  The big wheels allow the birds to hide or find shade under the half inch hardware cloth floor that supports the hay on the inside.  Birds access the house via a ramp on the front while the hinged roof provides easy access for egg collection and clean-outs.  A vinyl corrugated roof keeps the weight down and the birds dry. 

The Chickshaw has been fantastic for our original Easter Basket flock.  But then we got a few more birds. And then a few more after that. And then for some reason, even more birds.  While enjoying the 40 days and nights of rain per week over the pandemic winter, the design team realized that custom one-off housing units would not be sustainable.  So Star & Sparrow initiated operation Standardize the Dang Bird Houses Already. 

Going forward, the housing units would need to adequately meet the needs of both ducks and chickens, with occasional adaptability for use by younger geese and turkeys.  Quackers (typical mallard-type ducks) don’t climb well and never go anywhere without a buddy, so they need wide entryways with low steps or slight ramps. Mufflers (Muscovy ducks) like shelter with open sides, enjoy a roost like chickens but are much more picky about nest boxes.  Young geese and turkeys function much like quackers and chickens, respectively, but will often shun many housing options as adults, so their long-term needs are out of scope for this new model.  While the Chickshaw has been a great leap forward for us, the mobility aspect is not as good as hoped.  Those big wheels are better than most, but can still be challenging to roll over rough pasture, and the hardness of airless tires bouncing over the terrain takes a toll on the overall structure. The new design needed to use the same materials for every unit, have the same overall dimensions on each build, and require as few variations for different species as possible, all while providing ease of use on both pasture and within enclosures, since birds are sometimes kept in poultry runs during bad weather and breeding season. 

And now the moment you’ve been waiting for... 

Behold — the new Model 21-773 Poultry Sleigh!  The wheels have been replaced by four 2x6 lumber skids, two on each side near the corners, allowing for easy dragging over rough pasture. The gap in the middle helps to achieve a more level placement on uneven ground while keeping the base up off wet turf, and the skids are not actually part of the base frame so they can be replaced as needed without having to dismantle the main structure.  Since framing for hinged roofs adds weight, hardware, and complexity, the new metal roof is fixed directly to the frame.  Access is provided on 3 sides — a full-width ramp on the front that also spans the full height of the structure, making for a wide ramp with a low angle (happy ducks), contrasted by double doors on the back end for access to the nesting area and to allow for bedding and litter to be pushed out by a broom from one end to the other.  The wall on one side is removable for three quarters of the length, allowing for easier access to the middle if needed, and also creating an open side when being kept against a wall or fence when security and weather protection are less critical. The only two variations are with the nesting area at the back end — option A provides two stacked rows of nesting space for up to 8 chickens at a time; option B allows for open nesting space on the floor for ducks (the roosts are also left out when used for quackers and young geese).  The primary roosting space as been changed from the Chickshaw design to be oriented lengthwise through the house, so two roosts can run parallel for 64 inches, with a perpendicular roost 33 inches wide to hold up the other two and provide a little separation from the nesting area.  Roosting space is intended for 7 chickens on each long roost and 3 on the short roost (7+7+3), accommodating up to 17 adult chickens.  The entire house is nearly double the square footage of the Chickshaw, as is the total length of roosting space.  However, we’re only allowing for an additional 4 birds because we increased roosting space per bird by 12.5% (due to inflation –– there’s a lot of that going around these days).   

The new model has now been deployed and the young chickens like it so much, some of them rarely leave it to go outside.  Could it be because it has rained every day this week?  Maybe.  Or maybe they’re like us —enjoying the smell of fresh cut wood, the security of a sturdy house, and the feeling of hope that comes with seeing improvements to the world around them.