Backyard Farming Forum
Bringing food production home

As most of you know, I moved jobs a while ago and now work at a Farm School in the Perth foothills teaching in a Rural Skills Program for 15 year olds. I manage the workshop where we undertake tasks relevant to Agriculture such as vehicle and machinary maintenance and servicing and fabrication.

We have been raising Hy-Lines from day olds for a few years in our three permanent coups and decided it is time to move into some heritage breeds and incubation. Gold Laced Wyandottes are the first on the agenda. To house them we thought a large mobile coup would be best so we can make use of some of the orchard groves that we have to free range them. An add on Gumtree for dead trailers saw a rusted hulk donated from less than a kilometre down the road, unfortunately we were to excited to take photos of what it looked like before we began so the first I have is this one of the rescued sub frame and A-frame with new rails attached.

Materials have all been scrounged from reuse materials we have had donated and keep on site for such projects. Some old jarrah picket fence pailings from my own place came up a treat for a floor once ripped down and cleaned up before a coat of linseed oil. Students do all the work under my guidance - can't show you their faces.


Steel is all patio tube we have been stockpiling along with scrap steel bin finds from a friends steel fabrication business.

The whole thing has been designed with the WA aspect taken into account so should be orientated when parked up based on the design. The large mesh front is designed to be set up north facing and will have two levels of shutters on it to provide shade in summer when open and shelter in winter when closed. The A frame will have a water tank mounted on it and is designed to be south facing so as to keep the tank shaded in the most part. The southern wall will be laserlight to allow light in. The entire rear will be a door with a small chicken sized door in the middle of it. Longer term we would like to be able to get a hold of a solar powered automated door but at $250 plus shipping that will need to wait for a generous benefactor. Chickens will access the door via a ramp. The remaining (eastern) side has nesting boxes built over the wheel along 2/3 of the length with a self waterer and 100mm sewer pipe feeder situated on the remaining third just inside the rear door for ease of access. I will post more pictures as we progress.

Longer term we hope to build another for at least one more breed, but also hope to offer such units for sale to help fund the program or build on spec for people. If anyone has old trailers or steel they need to get rid of please keep us in mind, we are always happy to accept your rubbish for reuse Best way to do this is to PM me to arrange it.

I do like it a lot!


I will post pictures of our mobile chicken hut as soon I get home!

Moving along, nest box complete, rear service door is in place and chicken entry is under construction, waterer and feeder all complete but awaiting plumbing to the front mounted water tank. Top shutters are done on the North aspect side and some bottom shutters are in the making.