I recently built a mobile chicken coop for my neighbors. They're an older couple with some health issues, so I needed a way to make the coop easy to move without bending down. I came up with this system. The white board is the handle, about 4' long so it's easy to grab while standing. Rotate it forward until the locking bar drops into place, then repeat on the opposite side, grab the handles at the front of the coop, and away you go. The wheels are placed very close to the balance point of the structure, so one only has to lift a couple pounds of weight at the front end to move it.

Not shown in these photos is that, once the hardware cloth covers the coop, a rope runs over the top between the two locking bars. Then you just tug the rope to lift the locking bar out of the way and rotate the wheel back into the raised position.

I also built a shelf on the inside of the door, for the food and water to sit on. They can just swing open the door and have easy access to that. I'm hoping that maintaining the chickens every day gives them a little sorely-needed exercise and outdoor activity. I built garden beds for them last year, and that's helped a lot to get them on the path to healthier living.

http://nostr.build/av/6f292f9e4fd9428f15b4c47ebdcbf24c7843fe20e7b0a08287bfed28cfa0f230.mp4

#grownostr #chickens #coop #homesteading