Well, several of our readers probably already know this, but I thought it was time to share the bad news with the rest of you… in a seriously hard wind storm (hard enough to blow our stock trailer across our parking area), our chicken coop was lifted off the ground and thrown about 150 yards down the field.
We had brought the coop in near the barn for the winter, but unfortunately, did not anchor the coop down with stakes. We had used it in the pasture for an entire season, so we thought it was heavy enough to make it through the winter unscathed. In order to provide more warmth and the height to add deep bedding under the coop (a way to capture/compost manure and keep the birds healthy), we put the coop up on a ‘frame’ of straw bales. This situation was working perfectly for both purposes, but unfortunately, it probably contributed to the coop catching the wind and blowing away.
Some of the parts are salvageable – the nest boxes were largely undamaged, and some of the wood is unbroken. But many pieces are busted, the wheels were ruined, and the cattle panel hoop seems hopelessly misshapen.
The good news? We’re hard at work on coop 2.0 – it will be lighter, stronger, easier to move, and will make the chores simpler… will post pictures/plans soon.
Youch! Looks like it was a welding wire mesh job. Looking forward to seeing Coop #2. We are busy moving our “herd” into a new, old building, that will have runs coming from it. Should be windproof and we get some strong ones here. Behind every windblown cloud..