“Made-It-Myself” Mobile Coop
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Charlie Harrold, owner of Charley’s Chicks, has a backyard chicken farm where he raises about 50 different breeds of birds for the North Florida region. He designed and built an open floor mobile range coop (MRC) to withstand Florida’s weather and provide his birds with 24-hour access to pasture.
Harrold built his 12 by 24-ft. MRC with 2 3/8-in. pipe attached with interior sleeves and bolted together for skids and corner braces. He cut 16-in. pieces of the 2 3/8-in. pipe in half lengthwise to create a “pressure” fitting squeezed inside the skids. The base was drilled out for 1/2-in. bolts to hold everything together.
Hoops for the roof were standard 1 3/8-in. chain link fencing pipe and 12-in. long sections of 1 5/8-in. dia. pipe were used as adapters to connect the roof to the skids with end rail clamps.
Harrold purchased greenhouse-style pipe benders from Colorado Metal Worx (coloradometalworx.com; ph 719-766-6017) to bend the roof pipes himself. He built a “buck” on a 4 by 8-ft. plywood with a 2 by 4-in. frame. Using large 10 to 12-in. C-clamps, he fastened the pipe bender to the buck and bent the pipes uniformly.
A hydraulic press was used to put a 20-degree upward bend on the skids to keep them from digging into the ground when moving from one spot to another.
The MRC was assembled without welding, using only chain link fencing material and adapters such as purlins, pipe ending straps, and self-tapping screws sourced online.
Harrold spaced the roof hoops 3-ft. 4-in. apart and fastened a center purlin support. He added another support pipe 5 ft. from the top on either side. The hoops slipped into the 1 5/8-in. adapters which were drilled for a securing bolt. A 14 by 14-ft. UV-rated blocking tarp covered the entire top, wrapping the sides and keeping rain off the birds.
Large eyebolts were installed in the front and back of the skids to connect shackles and aircraft cables used in towing the unit behind a truck or tractor.
“I wanted to have all waterers and feeders hung from the interior of the roof for ease of movement, so I cut short sections of pipe to install above the purlin side straps and hold 30-gal. drums of water,” says Harrold. “Bell drinkers and feeders were also hung from the ceiling and the drums gravity feed the water. I also installed a four-way manifold system to connect a garden hose for refilling the barrels from a portable IBC tote using a generator and pump.”
The 12 by 24-ft. MRC holds four 30-gal. water drums and handles approximately 200 broiler chickens. One water fill lasts the birds about three days.
Harrold estimates about $1,000 of equipment is needed for fabricating the units and approximately $4,000 worth of material is required. Including labor, he says $6,000 is a conservative estimate of the total cost.
He built the two units for his own pasture poultry operation, but given the right opportunity, he would gladly build kits for any interested customers.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charlie Harrold, Charley’s Chicks, 17615 W. Beaver St., Jacksonville, Fla. 32234 (ph 904-449-0523; southernacrefarm@gmail.com).
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“Made-It-Myself” Mobile Coop LIVESTOCK Buildings Charlie Harrold owner of Charley’s Chicks has a backyard chicken farm where he raises about 50 different breeds of birds for the North Florida region He designed and built an open floor mobile range coop MRC to withstand Florida’s weather and provide his birds with 24-hour access to pasture Harrold built his 12 by 24-ft MRC with 2 3/8-in pipe attached with interior sleeves and bolted together for skids and corner braces He cut 16-in pieces of the 2 3/8-in pipe in half lengthwise to create a “pressure” fitting squeezed inside the skids The base was drilled out for 1/2-in bolts to hold everything together Hoops for the roof were standard 1 3/8-in chain link fencing pipe and 12-in long sections of 1 5/8-in dia pipe were used as adapters to connect the roof to the skids with end rail clamps Harrold purchased greenhouse-style pipe benders from Colorado Metal Worx coloradometalworx com; ph 719-766-6017 to bend the roof pipes himself He built a “buck” on a 4 by 8-ft plywood with a 2 by 4-in frame Using large 10 to 12-in C-clamps he fastened the pipe bender to the buck and bent the pipes uniformly A hydraulic press was used to put a 20-degree upward bend on the skids to keep them from digging into the ground when moving from one spot to another The MRC was assembled without welding using only chain link fencing material and adapters such as purlins pipe ending straps and self-tapping screws sourced online Harrold spaced the roof hoops 3-ft 4-in apart and fastened a center purlin support He added another support pipe 5 ft from the top on either side The hoops slipped into the 1 5/8-in adapters which were drilled for a securing bolt A 14 by 14-ft UV-rated blocking tarp covered the entire top wrapping the sides and keeping rain off the birds Large eyebolts were installed in the front and back of the skids to connect shackles and aircraft cables used in towing the unit behind a truck or tractor “I wanted to have all waterers and feeders hung from the interior of the roof for ease of movement so I cut short sections of pipe to install above the purlin side straps and hold 30-gal drums of water ” says Harrold “Bell drinkers and feeders were also hung from the ceiling and the drums gravity feed the water I also installed a four-way manifold system to connect a garden hose for refilling the barrels from a portable IBC tote using a generator and pump ” The 12 by 24-ft MRC holds four 30-gal water drums and handles approximately 200 broiler chickens One water fill lasts the birds about three days Harrold estimates about $1 000 of equipment is needed for fabricating the units and approximately $4 000 worth of material is required Including labor he says $6 000 is a conservative estimate of the total cost He built the two units for his own pasture poultry operation but given the right opportunity he would gladly build kits for any interested customers Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Charlie Harrold Charley’s Chicks 17615 W Beaver St Jacksonville Fla 32234 ph 904-449-0523; southernacrefarm@gmail com
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