Measuring 18' X 36', this unit is big enough to house a small family. Instead, it will be a four-room building for housing different kinds of poultry. Little chicks that will become laying hens will be the first inhabitants. The plan includes nesting boxes, a roost, little chicken-sized doors, and a large run outside when the notion hits them. (No, the ducks won't live there. Chris is designing a kind of movable playpen for them that will include a wading pool.)
When this chicken house is finished, most of its inhabitants will be chickens we plan to raise for meat. The process is designed to give them comfortable and healthy living conditions and we plan to do this for several years.
There has been quite a bit of interest as people pass by the farm. Some stop to inquire. We're finding out several people, whether city dwellers or country dwellers, are interested in poultry. Some want a few laying hens in the new "urban farm design". Some want to duplicate what we're doing but on a smaller scale, and some want to enjoy the produce from ours. Occasionally, people take pictures of it. One new friend said he wanted to use some of the design ideas Chris has in the chicken condo for his family home but I'm not sure whether it's the piers he likes or the steel supports for the floor. Maybe it's the ample lighting, complete with skylights. See why I call it the Chicken Condo? By the way, a friend called it that, just in passing, and it stuck.
Whatever the reason, the chicken condo has attracted some attention. Some people are still wondering if it will be for rent soon. If our plan to supplement our groceries with good and good-for-you home-grown produce doesn't work out, it just might!
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