Chicken Dome
Maybe you’re already familiar with that classic Permaculture tool known as the Chicken Tractor / Chook Dome system. No? Awright – in a nutshell: In this context, a Chicken Tractor is any structure that can be moved from place to place in a garden with a bunch of chickens housed in it. The chickens living in the tractor do what chickens are so good at: scratching up the soil and turning it over, making short work of any greenstuff to be found, and spreading their manure the length and breadth of the space available to them (not to mention producing eggs and more chickens). By moving the tractor regularly you are left with a series of spaces for garden beds each the shape of the tractor, and each with the soil nicely prepared, the weeds and grass all pecked out, and a goodly amount of chook poo thoughtfully spread. Mulch each new area heavily, and plant away – a great way to start a vegie patch, or a food forest.
Linda Woodrow, in her very fine book The Permaculture Home Garden, outlines a chicken tractor system based on a thing she called a Chook Dome, which is basically a hemispherical chicken tractor. Chook Domes are great because two people can move them easily, the structure is reasonably strong, you can build them out of readily available materials, and you end up with circular beds – great for guild planting, and a more efficient use of space than say a rectangular bed…
Thanks Dave