r/Damnthatsinteresting 6d ago

Video This solar powered chicken coop that moves every day to a new location

22.3k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

2.6k

u/SeeJayThinks 6d ago

Jamiroquai Virtual Insanity: Chicken Edition

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u/TheAgreeableCow 6d ago

Fowls Moving Castle

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u/Orca_Mayo 6d ago

**slow clap**

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u/SeeJayThinks 6d ago

Cue music

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u/violenceistheQstn 4d ago

And Action!

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u/Apart-Link-8449 5d ago

Steven. You need to get up. The structure is moving.

Let me sleep. Let me die. The structure is always moving.

Don't do this, Steven!

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u/James-the-Bond-one 4d ago

And before we could say anything more, Steven's legs were caught by the slow-moving rear wall and dragged outside, while the rest of his body remained inside because it couldn't clear the gap between the wall and the ground.

Despite everyone's attempts to free Steven, the wall continued its relentless march, dragging the poor guy across the rough ground. Parts of his body began coming off, and I will never forget the last time his eyes locked onto mine, desperately begging for help.

But there was nothing anyone could do.

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u/GravelySilly 5d ago

From the mind of Hayao Teriyaki and the artists of Studio Giblet.

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u/Reinerei 5d ago

This is the one

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u/Macrophage_Mage 6d ago

Incredible.

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u/Kosbysweater91 6d ago

Underrated comment.

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u/notkeefzello 5d ago

I really hate how well this worked.

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u/HyenDry 6d ago

Fuck.. that’s peak

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u/Glittering-Walrus228 6d ago edited 6d ago

Chickens made of, virtual eggsanity, now

Always seem to be governed by the clucks we have

For beakless, chick'ning of our new eggnology

Oh, now there is no poop for we all live in a moving coop

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u/magusmccormick 6d ago

This deserves way more upvotes

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u/Altruistic-Wing-2715 6d ago

Internet winning reference. Think I’ll give the song a re-listen!

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u/mommiesgoodboy67 6d ago

Space poultry farmer

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u/QuicksDrawMcGraw 6d ago

"small farmers have also adopted this method"

-I'd be willing to bet that small farmers had been doing this for a very long time before a "big" farmer automated the task.

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u/XyRabbit 6d ago edited 6d ago

You'd win that bet. Moving the flock around is essential to keeping your grass. As a small flock owner for about 20 years I know they will absolutely decimate everything and have nothing else to eat. I love being about to easily move them around.

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u/icanfeelitcomingup 6d ago

It was absolutely done on a smaller and simpler scale long, long before industrial-scale farming tried it.

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u/The_Real_Kru 6d ago

Having worked on a factory farm in the past, I can confirm that those chickens do indeed have a great life compared to what's standard practice in the industry. And no, you don't want to know...

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u/bearlybearbear 6d ago

Yup, anyone who has worked in mass production of meat is very aware. It didn't stop me eat meat but it changed my behaviour like amounts, cooking from scratch over prepared, traceability, safe cooking practices... Fixed industrial chicken coops are hell.

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u/The_Real_Kru 6d ago

I got my own farm since and raise chickens free range. Even that seems like less work than what you said.

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u/bearlybearbear 6d ago edited 6d ago

Not everyone can have nor want a farm, most of what I do really should be common knowledge and just makes sense. Having your own farm and access to wonderful fresh produce os great but it's a lot of work.

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u/ISketchDinosaurs 6d ago

We don't really need everyone to have a farm to eliminate factory farming. We just need a farm in every neighborhood able to cover for that neighborhood.

I bet you could find one person per most neighborhoods who'd be happy to farm if they were given the means.

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u/Suspicious_Bet3623 6d ago

Yes, but also you need the backup farms on a state and national level for when local level fails for one of many reasons.

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u/Non_vulgar_account 6d ago

Also, people have gotten too familiar with eating different meals each day instead of the same thing over and over again. A farm doesn’t produce 40 or more different product products.

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u/ISketchDinosaurs 6d ago

Yeah, but that's why we trade. Besides, not everything needs to be produced locally if the goal is to replace animal factory farming. Most animals wouldn't be suited to farm in cities or suburbs anyway.

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u/DannyOdd 6d ago

Yeah, nobody would want a pig farm in their residential neighborhood even if it were feasible lol

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u/TommyTwoNips 6d ago

Some farms produce multiple crops, especially the larger operations.

I worked with an organic grower that would produce like, 5-6 crops at once, depending on the season. They grew several different types of squash (butternut, zucchini, yellow, spaghetti, and acorn), broccoli, onions, two different beet varieties, cabbages, lettuce, and some other leafy greens like mustard, kale, and lots of corn.

That's a pretty diverse set of staple veggies. They didn't grow any fruit, but this was in northern Colorado, so that's not really surprising.

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u/bearlybearbear 6d ago

I wa sraised on farms, I worked on farms, I can tell you: people think they want the responsibility... And then actually do it... That's why most developed countries nneed to import their farm hands from poorer countries.

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u/Automatic_Release_92 6d ago

Yeah, also raised on a farm, I really have to laugh at people that think it's just a thing that one person on every neighborhood can take care of for everyone else on the block. I dislike these huge factory farms, but there's a reason people don't want to work on farms.

Even my own family farm, it's not enough to make a living off of... maybe if it was closer to a major population center and was somehow connected enough for a farmer's market. But I can't just sell wheat at a farmer's market. Nor a steer. You still need a HIGH amount of processing to get this food on people's tables, one way or another.

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u/deelowe 6d ago

That word, "just" is doing some heavy lifting.

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u/Patient_Activity_489 6d ago

that's cool, most americans can't afford a house anymore tho so sadly won't work for majority of people

also lots of cities have regulations over how many and such

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u/BallsOutKrunked 6d ago

It's a volume thing. I have chickens myself, but there's having chickens and there's having 10k chickens a week for processing, literally like a factory.

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u/BallsOutKrunked 6d ago edited 6d ago

We have a small ranch and our livestock, I feel, is treated fairly well. I'll spend 10 minutes every day in the chicken run just feeding those lunatics leftovers from the table. It's funny because when I'm lucky enough to draw tags I'll get a mule deer and that's ~75lb of venison. Over populated animal, taken in a specific zone at a specific time with a specific weapon, all outlined by wildlife officials. Single shot, usually the animal is dead before it even hears the rifle report.

And I know people who thinks that's brutal, all the while they are consuming industrial meat production. People should go see a slaughterhouse. They should ask themselves where all the male chickens (cockerels, roosters) end up.

Not every family can purchase ethically produced meat, I get it. But if you have the means you really should do your best.

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u/picabo123 6d ago

Wait do people really think that hunting deer is worse than industrial farms? I've never heard that before.

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u/night-wolves 6d ago

I hadn't really thought about it until like a year ago, but when you're chowing down on chicken wings, if you eat 8, that's 4 chickens. Obviously the rest of the chicken is used, but still.

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u/Strong-Character1268 6d ago edited 6d ago

I just went vegan instead. You can make like 4x the "ground beef" at the same cost these days, just with Tofu. I hope more people at least learn that the factory farm industry is doing a lot to keep meat slightly more affordable but doing immense damage for it. It's a cancer for the consumer, the workers, the people that live around them... and hell on Earth for the animals. I'm glad you found your line and you're happy with it.

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u/Sir-Hamp 6d ago

I am not a vegan but love what I was introduced to. I was originally going to comment about how going vegan is kinda a privilege as not everyone has that option available to them but it would be stemming from ignorance. I have never considered making the products myself at home…

That being said I will probably never go full-on vegan but I’m sure an animal “would appreciate” me choosing vegan options every now and then anyway.

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u/Acceptable-Drive3781 6d ago

Thank you for actually caring about animals instead of just pretending by letting them walk around 20 more feet per day before getting slaughtered.

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u/homotopy_equivalent 6d ago

I'm vegetarian but I still understand harm reduction. The world would be a much better place if meat eaters only ate from farms that treated their animals kindly up until killing them.

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u/Randallman7 6d ago

Right? "They must have a happy life" then they get slaughtered

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u/The_walking_Kled 6d ago

how does onme contratict the other lmao? They can have a "happy" life,whatever that means and still be slaughtered at the end?

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u/PancakeParty98 6d ago

You’re right. Since they’re being slaughtered anyways, we SHOULD just keep them in the cheapest, least humane living conditions possible. It doesn’t matter how they lived if they die, I guess.

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u/sl33ksnypr 5d ago

I just make sure that if I'm going to waste food, I always make sure to eat the meat, wasting bread/veg/pasta/rice isn't as much of a concern. An animal died for me to eat it, I'm not going to let any of it go to waste.

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u/Viiven 6d ago edited 6d ago

We rescue battery hens and the state they are in when they come to us is heartbreaking. Always rewarding to see them get their feathers and enjoy their last few years with us (although sad when they go). Images from factory henhouses are like something from a horror movie

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u/GeraintLlanfrechfa 6d ago

Good deeds, thank you for that.

And yes, if you’d handle a human being like those poor animals in the industry, you’d get a 54x lifetime plus 1000 years, or even death sentence.

It’s just gruesome how little life is being respected only for profit, fuck those who’re responsible..

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u/MettaWizard 6d ago

Producers and consumers go hand in hand. One can't exist without the other.

I want to mention this because we point fingers at the producers while somehow not being aware that we are the consumers. If we don't stop buying this shit we are also responsible, and no, we don't need them.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/Humblebee89 6d ago

As somebody who raised a dozen chickens every year as a kid. Chickens are dumb as fuck, but man they don't deserve the factory farm life.

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u/MrShrek69 6d ago

Exactly what I’m thinking. I don’t think people have seen inside the coops they always drive past on the highway lol

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u/Morazma 6d ago

The fact that this is considered a "great life" shows how absolutely messed up we are as a species

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u/25rublei 6d ago

And what is considered "great chicken life" by you? Like chickens in the wild won't do exactly the same, roam around searching for food?

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u/krupta13 6d ago

I have 40 chickens and they have a massive farm to roam. they play and frolick and eat bugs every day. they are super pampered and only used for egg production. but all is not perfect. they still get picked off by foxes if the dogs area way for more than a day or 2. they are relentless. the only 1000% fool proof way to secure them is an enclosed coop like in the video. so there really is no such thing as great chicken life. only as good as it gets lol.

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u/Misses_Ding 5d ago

We have an automatic door that closes at night. Chickens tend to go inside when it gets dark and the door closes automatically because of a light sensor (and reopens in the morning Ofcourse)

We only have a few chickens though. Three currently. Haven't had one being picked off in 10+ years though and we live next to a forest.

That's still not a solution against dogs though

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u/krupta13 5d ago

at my place I've had foxes camping the entrance to the coop. they know they like to linger around pecking before going in. the only thing that keeps them at bay are dogs.

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u/pm_bouchard1967 6d ago

More than 50 days alive I'd say.

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u/Tallowo 6d ago

We have lots of ducks in our neighborhood because people feed stray cats.

The new hatchings start in the double digits and a few days later there are one or two left. Very few of the ducks born in this neighborhood make it to 50 days, and I'm in the suburbs.

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u/LambdaLambo 6d ago

predators exist in the wild

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u/ConfusedSimon 6d ago

At least the male ones don't end up in a shredder.

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u/iam_Mr_McGibblets 6d ago

Well it depends on the breed of chicken. I'm not 100% sure what the name of the breed is, but your standard chicken you see at the supermarket was bred to grow fast to maximize profits. Problem is, a lot of them grow so fast, many will die of things like heart attacks because their body will grow too fast for their heart to keep up. The more wild breeds are much healthier and take longer to mature.. though they have a much better quality of life than the feeding chickens

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u/slarker22 6d ago

For the most part this may be an alright life when you factor in the intelligence and pyramid of needs that a chicken has. But no one can deny that factory farm life is living hell and anything from there is objectively living terribly.

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u/kakihara123 6d ago

Do you understand that we are not forced to keep breeding those animals? We can simply stop doing it.

Neither life in the wild nor exploitation.

If you want to provide animals with a great life, the first step is to accept that they won't get you money, but cost money. They only viable rescource they should provide is companionship and only if they want it.

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u/Puzzle-Necked 6d ago

Yeah but they get to see the sky

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u/Morazma 6d ago

Chickens in the wild are not imprisoned and systematically killed 10% into their usual lifespan. So no, they won't do exactly the same. 

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u/Top_Protection2539 6d ago

Wow your comment really brought out all the idiots, huh?

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u/SuchParsnip8070 6d ago

Exactly, wild chickens sing songs with the other animals and talk to princesses and dance on rainbows all day.  

Nothing bad ever happens to wild animals

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u/theboozemaker 6d ago

Even these chickens seem pretty cooped up

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u/The_Real_Kru 6d ago

Yeah, but they eat grass and bugs, not processed feed and have space to walk around. None of those are a given.

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u/hey_there_moon 6d ago

I come from poultry country. When I was like 4 yrs old, for some reason that I never learned, my dad and maybe another elder in our congregation made some deal where all the local congregants got together one Saturday and transferred a tractor trailer shipment of chicks into a local broiler house. Adults and children alike.

It was legit traumatizing and most of my life I've hated being around chickens, I am an animal person to the extreme degree, like I'll cuddle snakes and spiders and insects and possums etc but I've always struggled to find affection for chickens.

I assume child me's brain built that disconnect as a way to not have to unpack the trauma of what those poor poor chicks went thru.

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u/The_Real_Kru 6d ago

Now imagine that on an industrial scale with hundreds of millions of chickens processed each month, and then you see the reality of the situation.

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u/hey_there_moon 6d ago

Most definitely. Like I said poultry is the life blood of my county. From hatching to "processing" I'm fortunately and unfortunately very acquaintanced with the process. I developed a hate for factory farming at a very young age.

Most of the people I knew growing up worked in the poultry industry because they had bills to pay and kids to feed. Ironically tho, most of them raised and slaughtered there own chickens at home, they wouldn't eat meat from the very plants they worked at, even tho they could get it at a deep discount.

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u/The_Real_Kru 6d ago

I do the same.

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u/iwaslikeduuude 6d ago

But you should know if you take part in it

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u/CtrICErcUlARickl 6d ago

High school friend once took a job where he had to shovel dead chickens in a farm. He said it's the most disgussing thing he ever did and he stopped eating meat because of that.

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u/christiandb 6d ago

Yeah for real. People don’t really know the absolute horror just to keep eggs at 3 bucks a dozen.

I also dare anyone who defends meat to go through a slaughterhouse tour. Had to do one for a job, yep, vegetarian/vegan now.

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u/leyorcoe 6d ago

Yeah, seeing industrial farms made me switch to free-range chickens only. I'd rather bulk up on beans and eat fewer chickens than eat cheap chicken.

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u/olivebranchsound 6d ago

Your gut will thank you too haha seriously everyone needs more fiber. Beans are dope

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u/deafblinddame 6d ago

And no, you don't want to know...

And that is exactly why you should tell. Be the change you want to see in the world.

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u/KV_86 6d ago

I still have hard time eating pork after working in pig farm. Poor poor animals

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u/Spacemonk587 6d ago

That‘s backwards. Mobile chicken coops have been a thing for a very long time.

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u/rearwindowpup 6d ago

Came to comment this, chicken tractors are extremely common in smaller setups, much moreso than large industrial scale ones like this.

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u/AgreeAndSubmit 6d ago

Agreed. That is one very large, very expensive chicken tractor. 

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u/Spacemonk587 6d ago

I would even expect that this has been done for thousands of years.

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u/rearwindowpup 6d ago

Right, its a logical end result.

Hey, look at this box I made to keep my chickens safe!!

Next day

Dang, all the grass under it is trashed, let me pull the box onto some fresh grass.

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u/Old_drums 6d ago

We were doing it 30 years ago. Smaller coup, just two long handles for two people to pick it up and move it along a bit. Long established practice even then.

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u/crabbydotca 6d ago

Chicken tractor! I’ve also seen rabbit tractors and even a very tiny Guinea pig tractor hehe

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u/zhulinxian 6d ago

Exactly. Small farmers invented this method.

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u/badger2000 6d ago

I saw this and thought "this is what happens when Tim 'the tool man' Taylor builds a chicken tractor." More power!!!!

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u/IDontSellMolly 5d ago

The fact that this is a hugely upvoted thing is crazy. So where do you get the software and how much a month/year are you willing to pay to keep your mobile chicken coop moving? Idk, this is cringe.

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u/Ambitious-Set-4070 6d ago

As someone who raises chickens (for eggs not meat birds), this is such a great way of caring for them at scale. We have about 40 chickens and treat them more like pets, although we’re very clear eyed that they are all destined for dogfood or the freezer. And to answer the other Redditor: yes, about half of ours have names.

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u/crabbydotca 6d ago

It’s even great not at scale if you have to worry about predators etc. Chicken tractor! Most of the ones I’ve seen are very small for 4-6 backyard chickens

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u/tandemxylophone 6d ago

To add to that, chickens instinctively prefer shade compare to open ground. Getting the view, air, shade, and cycling through grass almost mimicks rotation farming for animals (One where you unleash the chicken after the cows so that they eat to maggots in cow pats).

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u/crabbydotca 6d ago

I didn’t know that! Makes sense because of predators.

I had a friend with a “bunny tractor”, so cute

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u/Irisgrower2 6d ago

The vid has it wrong. Large scale adopted this from small scale.

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u/Denimao 6d ago

I'm getting more and more interested in getting chickens in the future. I've been thinking about getting some at a small scale after finishing saving, and purchasing a house in a year or so.

Allthough, I might need some additional permanent options for their housing due to my country's harsh winters.

But I'm honestly a tad skeptic if I would manage to even send my chickens for processing, as I'm a bit of a softie when it comes to animals. But something about raising for food seems pretty peaceful.

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u/BallsOutKrunked 6d ago

Just get laying hens. You have years to sort out what to do with the meat / animal part once they give up laying. Don't worry about the cold, they can handle pretty brutal conditions. It gets down to -10f where I'm at and they're fine. I know people in colder climates without issue. Keep the roost from getting drafty and absolutely keep it dry.

They're a very chill livestock animal.

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u/TheGokki 6d ago

You give them utopian life and vow to preserve the family lineage and whatnot, protect from predators (ironic kinda) and inclement weather, keep them vaccinated. In return they have a (hopefully) quick death.

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u/TryToChangeUsername 6d ago

"what is it now?"

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u/Rizeres 6d ago

Love his videos. Lot of very grounded well-documented information about the poultry industry as a whole. Also, he's pretty funny and crazy.

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u/purplepistachio 6d ago

Yeah that's right.

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u/bit_pusher 6d ago

His Warburton is on point

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u/xroninbladex 6d ago

For those who don't understand, YouTube "Farming While Beige"

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u/Canaanchaos 6d ago

I was HOPING someone would reference the king of farming (while beige, of course) on YouTube.

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u/DJOMaul 6d ago

-dumps a bunch of unseasoned chicken into hot motor oil-

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u/osudude80 6d ago

IT BURNS'S US!

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u/Impossible_Fig3072 6d ago

"Cooking Hobbit Legs with yo funky ass-......."

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u/NetworkMachineBroke 6d ago

Yeah, that's right

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u/V-ZoD 6d ago

This chickens must have a great life. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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u/GooseMan1515 6d ago

The tragic thing is that this is insane luxury compared to how battery chickens are raised.

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u/iKnowRobbie 6d ago

I'm all out of AAA chickens, and these AA ones won't fit my remote control...

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u/tired_Cat_Dad 6d ago

Get the chonky lead acid ones. They won't fit either but are great value for money!

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u/__Osiris__ 6d ago edited 6d ago

All 28 days of it, yup.

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u/resaki 6d ago

and only the female ones, males don‘t make it past day 1

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u/StevieWonder557 6d ago

I guess it could be worse?

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/12/09/mercy-for-animals-north-carolina-chicken-processing-abuse/77049796/

N.C. poultry worker arrested after video shows him stomping, throwing chickens

Greg Toppo   | USATODAY

A graphic undercover video depicting a poultry worker stomping chickens, breaking their necks and throwing them against a wall has prompted authorities in North Carolina to file criminal charges against the worker, the latest in an ongoing battle over animal rights playing out in U.S. factory farms and slaughterhouses.

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u/FrazzleMind 6d ago

Something wickedly tone deaf about considering that animal abuse but the rest of the operation is just fine.

If he got paid for stomping chickens snd throwing them against a wall it would be fine, apparently.

Hell the male chicks are tossed live into a meat grinder.

Really not seeing a distinction except the profit motive.

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u/CactusFromFern 6d ago

The crime isn't the cruelty.

It's doing it for free.

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u/protopigeon 6d ago

oh yeah, living the dream lmao

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u/Chaines08 6d ago

Better than caged for sure, but there is a lot to improve I agree

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u/mycorgiisamazing 6d ago

As somebody with a small hobby farm and chickens myself, I'm not sure what you'd improve here. Those chickens have everything. It looks like that structure even moves air and fume extracts. It looks like the ultimate large flock setup to me, the only thing they're missing out on is availability of stable places to bathe, but with a setup this extreme it is hard to imagine they don't have a solution for this too.

Even I can't provide this level of care for my chickens and I've spent thousands upon thousands of dollars to house them safely and provide medical care. When I let them out to play in the grass, I have to stay with them like a shepherd with his sheep, or the hawks will be right there to take from me. 

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u/Moon-Amoeba 6d ago

My bf is a tech on these exact farms. He makes sure the birds are as well taken care of as they can be. The houses are maintained at around 70F year round. He absolutely loves chickens, he wouldn't be a part of more cruelty than necessary

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u/Hello_World_Error 6d ago

Im sure there could be improvements but I'm not sure about a lot. Those chicks would have a much shorter life with no protection from overhead predators. At least they have protection and fresh grass everyday compared to a stationary coop.

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u/Dag-nabbitt 6d ago edited 5d ago

Not much better, no. Did you notice how the door was wide open, but the chickens were staying inside? They LIKE being in there. They don't like being in the sun, and they don't like being eaten by chicken hawks.

This is by far and away the best feasible way to ethically farm chickens, whether for eggs or meat. They do not give a clucking fuck about seeing the open sky or open grounds. They want to walk around, eat, and feel safe. This gives them the trifecta.

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u/Sennten 6d ago

I think aside from being raised to be slaughtered they actually are?

Chickens love picking through the grass, running around with other chickens, and being protected from predators. All thats missing here is getting to nest with chicks, which some of them dont even like and obviously isn't the point

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u/SillySpoof 6d ago

it's kinda morbid saying "they must have a great life", but compared to chicken farming in general this is true.

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u/rj319st 6d ago

This means they’ll put a free-range chicken on the bag of chicken nuggets. They’ll have a good life compared to other chickens, but it won’t be a long one.

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u/Fuzzy_Adagio_6450 6d ago

Yeah just like prisoners in the hole vs prisoners who have access to the yard.

Those prisoners with yard access must have a great life!!

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u/Arya_Ren 6d ago

You can tell that it's the farming industry propaganda by this one line

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u/leyorcoe 6d ago

They very likely have a great life compared to most other chickens. Google industrial chicken coop and see the difference...

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u/FlyingKittyCate 6d ago

No, they have a less awful life. Pedantic, I know. But nothing about these chickens lives is great.

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u/leyorcoe 6d ago

They have light, space to move around, and the ability to be chickens. That's better than 90% of the farmed animals in the world. I think it's okay to acknowledge that there are some ways that are better than others to farm animals, and this is one of them.

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u/City0fEvil 6d ago

I think some people will never see anything besides "abuse" when it comes to having animals. I have pet chickens and treat them very well, and I can't really think of much better than the setup in this video.

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u/NZsNextTopBogan 6d ago

Good Agritech like this has to be one of the coolest things about the 21st century. Straight up science fiction stuff.

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u/crabbydotca 6d ago

It’s not exactly a new concept! It’s called a “chicken tractor” - this one is just really huge and autonomous!

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

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u/jtv123 6d ago

Solar panels + electric motors aren't that complicated - you could argue they're simpler and easier to maintain than a diesel tractor.

As for cost, I can't speak to farm economics, but paying for tractors and people whose sole job it is to pull coops multiple times a day certainly isn't a trivial expense.

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u/SartenSinAceite 6d ago

Solar panels and electric motors vs John Deere locking you out of your tractor

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

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u/GrandmaJR 6d ago

Why did the chicken cross the road?
Because its solar panel chicken coop that it resided in was programmed to cross.

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u/No-Plane-8824 6d ago

My dad made one of these when we were kids. Although it wasn't solar, rather child labor powered. Thing was heavy...

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u/Growing_Trash_417 6d ago

Small farmers also adopted this? I’d bet small farmers did this long before large farms had these solar powered chicken coop movers

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u/Gryptype_Thynne123 6d ago

Yeah, they're called chicken tractors. Little A-frame structures covered in wire mesh to keep out predators. Your birds get fresh air, sunshine and insect treats, and you get to market them as free-range.

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u/00to60eventually 6d ago

As someone who grew up on a farm with a lot of chickens, I just wonder how many are going to get stuck underneath that or killed. Chickens aren't the brightest and they tend to squeeze into areas they shouldn't when they're young. Guarantee they will have to clean smeared chicken off that every now and then.

Interesting idea but I would be intrigued see more

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u/Bashka_ 6d ago

My grandma used to have backyard chickens when I was a kid. The coop they lived at was on wheels and moved to a different part of the yard every other day. We were moving the coop in the morning, before letting the chickens out for the day. Chickens go to sleep in the coop every night when it gets dark (as a person who grew up on a farm you should probably know that) and after they do, you close the door for their safety. In the morning when we went to feed them and it was a moving day, we would move the coop with chickens inside it and the enclosure to a new spot, let the chickens out, refill their food and water. The coop itself was on wheels and the enclosure was built out of very light PVC piping and thin plastic netting, so even as kids we were able to move it with no issues.

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u/00to60eventually 6d ago

I don't understand what that has to do with my concern about these? This is obviously:

-not lightweight PVC. It literally has feed bins attached which weigh multiple tons (ours held 40ea)and the whole thing is motor driven -the birds are alert and moving around while it's traveling -its daytime

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u/Head-like-a-carp 6d ago

Of your farmland is flat as a parking lot. Any elevation dips let the foxes in.

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u/Reasonable_Date2870 6d ago edited 6d ago

Funny that it says that small farmers have "also" started doing this

Mobile coops at small farms came FIRST and then the solar situation.

Mine is sitting in the driveway about 85% finished, just needs the wheels and the hardware and vents in the gables and we're off to the races.

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u/narfoleptix 6d ago

Honestly those of you that can afford yo install solar? It'll change your life. In some cases the power company ends up having to pay you.

In SOME OTHER CASES the power company invents new fees.

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u/AlteredStateReality 5d ago

I saw a rural farmer several years ago with a mobile chicken coop. He also made meth, but the point is, he was efficient.

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u/NASATVENGINNER 5d ago

How many get run over?

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u/lurkynumber5 6d ago

Comparing this to the normal battery raised chickens that get mass produces and butchered...
These chickens really do life the best life for the short time they life.

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u/jayphat99 6d ago

This is also wonderful for the grass itself. It spreads the manure around, fertilizing the grass.

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u/Any-Locksmith-4925 6d ago

Fowl's moving castle

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u/MrNMTrue505 5d ago

That ain't tyson

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u/Superman101011 5d ago

How do you stop the morons from letting themselves get run over, though? That's the biggest hurdle for us moving our chicken tractor, stupid birds just lay there and refuse to move as the edge hits them. If we weren't constantly chasing them along from inside they'd all die in the first week 🤦

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u/MyPigWhistles 6d ago

Yeah, great life... 

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u/leyorcoe 6d ago

I know you are being ironic, but yeah, they very likely have a great life compared to most other chickens. Google industrial chicken coop and see the difference. The way we treat our farm animals is atrocious.

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u/jtv123 6d ago

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Until people quit consuming meat (which is... highly optimistic) the goal should be reducing animal suffering.

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u/25rublei 6d ago

And what is actual great life for chickens?) Maybe they need cars, loving partner? What?

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u/Gunmetalstorm 6d ago

"these chickens must have a great life"

I feel like we're setting the bar in hell here.

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u/Crawlerado 6d ago

Chicken Tractor

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u/musicaleffervescence 6d ago

imagine being woken up to your house being moved around you

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u/Dubious_Titan 6d ago

They don't have a great life.

Seeing and DOING the slaughter and processing of chickens at commercial industrial scale first hand, you want the ignorance if tou plan on still enjoying animal products.

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u/tannercolin 6d ago edited 6d ago

'These chickens must have a great life'

Come on now. They are alive so we can kill them.

They have a great life in comparison

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u/Novafro 6d ago

"What is it now?"

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u/cazdan255 6d ago

“These chickens must have a great life” Doubt

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u/Savings-Entry2550 6d ago

Great life =Short life in A barn on wheels

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u/Gladukame 5d ago

To think we could have innovative ideas like this if we spent our collective dollars on encouraging this and not pointless unnecessary ego-soaked wars halfway across the world!!! 🤬🤬🤬

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u/MoJoe-21 5d ago

That’s pretty awesome

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u/Mrs_Truthseiyer 5d ago

Hey u/truthseiyer this is what we saw by the way during our trip last month.

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u/Fireflash2742 5d ago

They only have one bad day.

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u/HappyFamily0131 5d ago

"These chickens must have a great life! They never see the sun nor the sky! This box is their entire world!"

I'm still eating chicken, I'm no saint here, but let's not pretend they're all beloved pets. Let's not bullshit ourselves here.

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u/D47k0 5d ago

Yeah it's their dream to be on a KFC bucket.

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u/stprnn 6d ago

Ok but the final sentence is bullshit. They don't have a great life they have a slightly better life than chickens in worse conditions.

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u/Early-Usual-3269 6d ago

I don't doubt at all that they have a much better life than traditional factory farms, but great seems like a stretch compared to free-range.

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u/G3nghisKang 6d ago

What if the chickens want to take a nap?

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u/EspectroDK 6d ago

I don't think they have a great life....

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u/Nokxtokx 6d ago

Must have a great life, gets head lopped off every few weeks.

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u/frostwhitewolf 6d ago

I just expected a bunch of Amish men inside moving it

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u/GoDM1N 6d ago

What is it now....

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u/RedSix2447 6d ago

I want “Farming while Beige” to expand on this.

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u/PuzzleheadedPart196 6d ago

So this is the “free range” eggs meaning

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u/Awake_b4_Sunrise 6d ago

They still lack sun, right?

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u/Spczippo 6d ago

I need that what is it now guy to comment on this. Black bird farms i think his name is.

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u/1nd3x 6d ago

"These chickens must have a great life"

LOL no. You can still overcrowd a mobile coop, and the automation likely means that chickens near the walls get stuck/hurt/killed when it suddenly starts moving.

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u/Skylantech 6d ago

-Tornado's and hurricanes have entered the chat-

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u/Callidonaut 6d ago

Interesting subject matter. However, AI narration = instant downvote from me.

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u/gurknowitzki 6d ago

Wonder if any of those sweet little chicks get runned over by moving shed contraption :/

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u/steaklovingdude 6d ago

What is it now?

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u/Ctowncreek 6d ago

"Small farmers have also adopted..."

Small farmers initiated this.

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u/Cptawesome23 5d ago

Looks like such a fun hobby

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u/GhostDoggoes 5d ago

this has been reposted since late 2010s numerous times to the point where every time I see it I block the OP because their post karma is brain rot levels of mental illness.

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u/bodybycarbohydrates 4d ago

Can I ask what prevents predators from digging under the side and getting in at night? Thinking about doing this at home but worried about the heavy predator pressure we have.