Chickens roam at Sudbury farm thanks to mobile coop
Coop will be towed around farmer's field by a tractor to create free range for the hens
Stuart McCall's farm is known for its local produce, but this year the Sudbury farmer is venturing into livestock by adding chickens in a unique mobile coop.
McCall, who focuses on sustainable farming methods at his McGrows Farms in Garson, is trying out a movable coop that looks like a small green house on wheels.
Right now the coop is located inside one of the sheds at the farm, but when the fields dry out a tractor will be used to move it around outside to provide a free range for the chickens. The hens will in turn provide nutrients for the soil in the fields.
"It's a pest control system that produces eggs," McCall said.
"They will be able to eat the bugs and the leftover plants from our harvest. Also we will get the benefit of the chicken manure as well, so that will help our fertility quite a bit on the soil."
CBC Reporter Megan Thomas took a tour of the mobile chicken coup:
McCall said he plans to grow his flock to around 90 chickens, the limit for farmers who do not have a chicken quota, and he plans to sell the eggs at his farm gate.