The idea of free range chickens brings to mind images of hundreds of chickens wandering at will across the prairie. But in reality, free range chicken coops are necessary for these birds as much as for their barnyard counterparts. While you want your chickens to wander at will, you don’t want them wandering onto a busy highway or into the neighbor’s lawn or garden.
Not all neighbors appreciate stepping in chicken manure first thing in the morning. Plus you want to keep your chickens together as much as possible, for safety’s sake. Cats, dogs, coyotes, raccoons…there are any number of predators just waiting to find a few chickens wandering free. So coops are as necessary for free rangers as they are for barnyard chickens. There are simply differences in the types of coops for each.
Free range chicken coops can be made of many different materials. Wood is commonly used, as is aluminum or other lightweight metals. A combination of wood and chicken wire is another common type of coop. Some free range chicken coops are even made of plastic. You can construct large, permanent free range chicken coops that have plenty of ground space inside for the chickens to wander around.
Resembling large storage sheds, these usually contain several pens inside for the birds to nest and roost. But the bulk of the space is open ground. There are also usually shutters that can be opened during the day to allow the chickens to go outside into enclosed pens. There, they can get fresh air and sunshine…and have opportunities to scratch up fresher insects for their dinner.
You can also build a chicken tractor. These are usually small and lightweight enclosed chicken coops that are portable. They have wheels that allow them to be moved but they don’t have bottoms. This lets the chickens get to the insects and the vegetation on the ground. Their manure, in turn, fertilizes the ground under the coop periodically; you can move the chicken tractor to another location on your property to give the bird’s access to fresh vegetation and more insects.
This lets the previous location regenerate new grass and weeds, which draw in more bugs for the next go-around. These are simple free range chicken coops for anyone to build, and many are available for sale at local feed stores. A chicken ark is another option for free range chicken coops. These are shaped like the letter A, constructed of wood and chicken wire, and contain two layers inside. The bottom layer is the ground, where chickens roam around, pecking for insects and dining on vegetation.
The top layer contains the roosts and nests for the chickens to rest and lay eggs. A walkway connects the two layers to allow the chickens to move from one to another. At night, the walkway can be taken up and the chickens can be closed in for warmth and safety.