coffeenutdesigns
Well-known member
I currently have 2 trios of Californians, so 2 bucks and 4 does. Only 1 doe has had litters and she has become a good mom and had litters of 9 both times. The others have never been bred. I don't really have room in my shed for an extra set, so I think this might be a good time to start a colony, maybe tractor pen style so I can move the pens around the pasture.
The thing is, I have no idea where to start. I have some existing structures that have a 4 poles and a roof that I can convert to fairly large pens easily, but they don't move. These are inside existing corrals, which already keep out most predators. I also have 3 sided lean-to type barns I could close in with cage wire or fence wire at the front, also not portable. My thought is, I could make a few different stationary pens and move them from to the other, OR I could make a portable pen I could move around where there is more forage. I life in the dessert, so forage is scarce anyway.
I also have 2 large hutches I could use to put them in. They are crazy heavy, but well built. One I use as my chicken run when I have babies I am transitioning to outside. The other I got from a friend who was using it for her yard bunny. It is easily 5 or 6 feet long and probably 3-1/2 feet wide.
What kind of things do I need to consider for colony or tractor pens?
The thing is, I have no idea where to start. I have some existing structures that have a 4 poles and a roof that I can convert to fairly large pens easily, but they don't move. These are inside existing corrals, which already keep out most predators. I also have 3 sided lean-to type barns I could close in with cage wire or fence wire at the front, also not portable. My thought is, I could make a few different stationary pens and move them from to the other, OR I could make a portable pen I could move around where there is more forage. I life in the dessert, so forage is scarce anyway.
I also have 2 large hutches I could use to put them in. They are crazy heavy, but well built. One I use as my chicken run when I have babies I am transitioning to outside. The other I got from a friend who was using it for her yard bunny. It is easily 5 or 6 feet long and probably 3-1/2 feet wide.
What kind of things do I need to consider for colony or tractor pens?