Heres my egg layer operation, I have 20 mixed variety hens in there and am currently getting 16 to 20 eggs per day. I move the pen daily onto fresh grass. As you can see its still winter here in North Carolina and the grass is still gold in hue. This pen was converted from the pigtiller by adding the milk crates in the rear of the pen and adding a 2 day feed hopper in the front. My pens are all self contained to carry my poultry for at least 2 days. If i need to take off for a weekend get away and go surfing or something i have a little buffer built in to accomodate me. Farmers work too hard and need time off to reflect and play once in a while. The watering tube mounted to the back outside of the pen has a 6 gallon of good quality H2O or 2 to 3 days of water, the feed bin carries a 5 gallon bucket of feed. Friday evening I move my pens fill the water, feed, then pack up the surf board and return Sunday evening and collect the eggs or return Monday morning and refresh everything. That is if i dont breake my neck surfing or something silly like that. Its a great life if you streamline your operation. My book The Low Tech Farmer has all the detailed plans for building and setting this system.
