Polyface Millennium Feathernet MINI - Smaller design for less hens

This is our mobile laying hen structure based off of the Polyface Designs Millenium Feathernet by Joel Salatin. Our structure is modified to 10 feet wide to traverse our land bridge that separates the 2 sides of our farm. This structure will accommodate up to 400 hens, which is plenty for our small 20 acre farm. Hope this helps you in your farming and homesteading journey!

[@MelindaNeves-wb2ei]

Thank you for sharing! This is great and wonderfully appreciated.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thank you Melinda! Glad you liked it.

[@emilycrowell4749]

I’m always amazed at your designs and ingenuity of the structures you have on your farm! You are doing great things! Praying for you! ❤️

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Emily!

[@dianalowrie]

Great job! Looks good. Room to grow.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Diana!

[@rogerfranks5332]

Very helpful explanation of the Why of efficient equipment!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Roger!

[@yeboscrebo4451]

Great info, thx for sharing

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@Abdullah_M_T]

Amazing

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thank you Abdullah!

[@SuperMrgentleman]

Thought you'd call it the Centennial Feathernet. Nice!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

LOL I didn't think of that, but I like it! You can take that name for your build.

[@whitacresHeritageHomestead]

This is great!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thank you!

[@Nate503-1]

Great design! I read some of the previous comments and emailed you about the plans if they are still available. Thanks!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Hi Nate. Thanks for the comment. I just sent you the plans. Please subscribe if you haven't. It really helps out! Take care.

[@snuffcityrider]

​@stonepillarfarm9089 Good morning, could you please send me the plans for the featherweight chicken coop. Enjoying the channel and have subscribed. Thanks!

[@jeremyfranks24]

Your doing it bro!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Jeremy!

[@matthmanning]

LOVE THIS!!!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Matt!

[@matthmanning]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 we are going to build maybe a smaller version than yours and call it the half Arc

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@matthmanning That sounds great. I'd love to see what you come up with.

[@kevinholbrook7174]

WOW! I love your design of the Ark! I would love to have your blueprints for the Ark. I hope that you have a video on building one if not you should do one for us because your design is amazing!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thank you! I have a very rough drawing that I used to complete the build that I can send you. Send an email to [e-mail] and I'll send you the plan sheet.

[@kevinholbrook7174]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 Hey, Mike did you receive my email message regarding the ARK?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@kevinholbrook7174 Yes I did and I replied to your email. If you don't see it maybe try checking your junk folder. I sent it this morning.

[@kailisever5986]

Hi, there! My husband and I are really interested in your design as well. Would you be willing to share your rough drawing with us as well? We are working towards a similar design for our hens.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@kailisever5986 Thanks Kaili! I just emailed you the plan. I hope your build turns out well!

[@happyfeetacres3397]

I am thinking of doing the same thing but I’ve got to modify it a bit to make it a bit smaller width wise and I’ve to covered it at the sides due to raccoons and fox.. where do you buy the skid? Can I find it at Lowes?

[@bns8594]

Aloha, Stone Pillar farm. I'm so happy that I found this video. That's exactly what I want to build. I have 12 to 13 foot gates and I think that would be able to make it through. Please I would love to buy the plans from you. Please let me know Mahalo. From the Big Island of Hawaii Brandon 😁🤙

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Aloha, Brandon. I'm glad you found the video useful for what you're trying to do. I can definitely send you the plans. I'll need to do some work to clean them up and add labels and dimensions. I just got them good enough for my personal use which would be hard to follow. I'll message you when I have them ready. When are you looking to start building? You can email me at [e-mail] if it's easier.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

I have a rough drawing of the arc if you're still interested. Let me know.

[@jasonhatfield4747]

I wonder how hard it would be to cover the interior with hardware cloth or 1x1 or 1x2 wire netting for predator protection? It would require the addition of a door on both ends for hens and people, but otherwise could work. I would use a solar door for the chicken side door. Hmmm....

[@SarahPerine]

My context would require that

[@lynnnavrkal4963]

Thank you for sharing this video. Would you mind sharing your plans with me?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Sure. Send me an email so I can send you the plans [e-mail]

[@redslippersaloon]

Curious what your thought would be on a scaled down version of this, with the nest box facing the end, so no need to walk up inside..? If you had sufficient overhang to protect from weather?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Yeah you could scale it down even further I think. It would take more imagination because you would really be changing the feathernet design almost completely, whereas I just narrowed the steel pipe skids and changed the roof style. If you come up with something please let me know. I'd love to see it!

[@jasonhatfield4747]

I love this design. Unfortunately, in our area, I don't think we'd be able to get away with an open structure like this. Our predator pressure is much too high. We have so many coyotes, fox, mink, racoons, etc concentrated on our property that I'm certain this wouldn't work. We're located in an area that is completely surrounded by suburbs and we're the only farm with open land near by. That's why there's so many predators here. It's the only spot they have to live.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Hey Jason. Thanks for the comment. Our property isn't too different from what you described. We have a lot of communities around us and few livestock farms in the immediate area. We have trail cams out and have pictures of coyotes, foxes, raccoons, skunk, and even black bears. Not to mention a bunch of hawk nests in the forest conservation area behind our property. So far the electric netting keeps out the ground predators and the goose keeps out the aerial predators. It is very important to make sure you have a good spark in the net. If so, I wouldn't have any hesitation duplicating this system anywhere. Hope this helps.

[@user-kv2pt4lu9y]

LGD's to protect the flock.

[@ray330]

Really cool design. Approximately how many sq ft of pasture do they stay in on any given day? & how often do you move them?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thank you! It seems to be working really well. The hens get about 3,000 sq ft to roam, and we move them every 2-3 days. It doesn't seem like expanding their area to roam makes much of a difference in the amount of disturbance they do to the ground, since their dirt baths are always located right underneath or next to the structure.

[@ray330]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 you mention you use 2 electric wire nets to make their perimeter.. Are those 160' each net?

[@jeremiahmostrom6445]

This design is great! I have the Polyface Designs book and was trying to figure out how to make it smaller. Would you mind sending me the plans you came up with?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Plans sent! Please subscribe to the channel and enjoy the build.

[@Gladrim56]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 Im also very interested in trying this design if i could get the plans. The one in Polyface's book is much too large for my 1 acre plot.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@Gladrim56 Yes of course. I just ask that you subscribe to the channel. Send an email to [e-mail] and I'll send you the plans.

[@DP-wq4dy]

I love this design but I am concerned about the cold, where are you located?? We are in South Eastern PA. Zone 7a

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Yes, this is not a cold weather shelter. We bring our hens into a hoop house during the winter months. I think it would be very difficult to come up with one system or structure that works year round. We're in Frederick Maryland, so not too far from you and definitely not very different weather.

[@boykalmado5340]

what is the mininum capacity of your design?

[@JonSkelley]

This is really awesome. Great design modification. I'm looking to do something similar since I dont need one that is as large as the Polyface one. Curious if you used 2x6 like the original design or if you scaled down to 2x4s? I also need to come up with a do this with wheels or something. I'm in SC and the ground is so soft that I think dragging this around would destroy it. I know it opens up the possibility of running over a chicken, but I dont see another way that wont gouge the pasture.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Jon. I kept all of the board dimensions as specified in the Polyface Designs book. It's not that much different in terms of cost and I wasn't worried about the weight. If you're going to put it on wheels you may want to lighten it up with smaller dimension lumber. It does gouge my pasture some, which I'm not super happy about, but I've basically just gotten over it. My hens do so much damage to the pasture that I've come up with a process for repairing the pasture after a move anyways. I give them a bucket load of compost in their new location for them to take dust baths in. After the move I put a bucket load of compost in their old location to fill holes. I smooth this with a drag harrow and spread pasture seed then drag again. If you come up with a design on wheels let me know.

[@JonSkelley]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 Thanks for the info. Where we are at in SC, the ground is so soft that I'm really concerned that the front touch points would sink and then dig in. Im not fond of the wheels, but not sure of another way. Still researching. I'll let you know if I find anything and will share either way once we build it.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@JonSkelley Do you have a tractor to pull it? If so I wonder if there's a way to utilize the 3-point hitch to provide some lift while you pull? Just a thought

[@JonSkelley]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 That was my thought as well. I currently have my meat birds in a suscovich style tractor where I put the wheels on when I move it. I was thinking something similar to this concept. I suppose it could work without the wheels as well though? I suppose I could build it without the wheels and test it. I can always add wheels afterwards if needed.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@JonSkelley That could work. Although this will be significantly heavier than a suscovich tractor, so adding and removing wheels each time will be a much bigger job.

[@SuperMrgentleman]

Do you have the sense of the weight of that or the millennium Feathernet? Could you move it with a pick-up truck?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

I added up the weights of the steel and wood members and estimate my feathernet weighs about 1 ton. I think a pickup could easily move it so long as you have good traction.

[@kaicarlson1223]

Do you have any plans or measurements for the modifications you made. This is the size I was thinking of building and was wondering if can share the mods you’ve made. Cheer

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Yes I do and I saw your email. I'll attach the plan I used to complete the build.

[@joshua511]

I was thinking of something similar for 100 hens on probably 3 acres (we have a total of 5ac). Have you ran into any issues? Predation?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

We haven't had any predation issues yet. The electric netting protects the hens from ground predators, and we keep a guard goose (or geese) with the hens at all times out on pasture to protect against aerial predators. We have plenty of predators to include coyote, fox, bear, and enough hawks to start a hawk farm. So far no issues. Keeping a guard goose kind of ruins the magic of being around laying hens in my opinion, but I have to remind myself that my goal is to produce eggs, not to have a magical time around my hens. It is disappointing though that the goose makes it so my kids won't go inside the netting.

[@SarahPerine]

@@stonepillarfarm9089I don’t know what you think but when I saw the amazing eggs my geese laid… I rethought guard geese. Plus I never liked the idea of the poor gander by his lonesome. I have my hens in with one gander and 5-7 geese. Then the geese are happier (I have zero aggression issues) and no hawk flying overhead is going to fly into a flock with all those geese. My only aerial predator has been the great horned owl who will try to take a goose. But as long as I’m out there at dusk and dawn, I have no issues. Goose eggs taste amazing!! So for me this is win-win. I also really think that creating huge fenced areas for them is a mistake (even though it feels more free to me). I think the aerial predators are less likely to fly into densely populated areas and will pick your chickens off when you have big roomy areas. But this is just my observation and I’m not sure if it’s true!

[@SarahPerine]

@@stonepillarfarm9089I don’t know what you think but when I saw the amazing eggs my geese laid… I rethought guard geese. Plus I never liked the idea of the poor gander by his lonesome. I have my hens in with one gander and 5-7 geese. Then the geese are happier (I have zero aggression issues) and no hawk flying overhead is going to fly into a flock with all those geese. My only aerial predator has been the great horned owl who will try to take a goose. But as long as I’m out there at dusk and dawn, I have no issues. Goose eggs taste amazing!! So for me this is win-win. I also really think that creating huge fenced areas for them is a mistake (even though it feels more free to me). I think the aerial predators are less likely to fly into densely populated areas and will pick your chickens off when you have big roomy areas. But this is just my observation and I’m not sure if it’s true!

[@SarahPerine]

@@stonepillarfarm9089I don’t know what you think but when I saw the amazing eggs my geese laid… I rethought guard geese. Plus I never liked the idea of the poor gander by his lonesome. I have my hens in with one gander and 5-7 geese. Then the geese are happier (I have zero aggression issues) and no hawk flying overhead is going to fly into a flock with all those geese. My only aerial predator has been the great horned owl who will try to take a goose. But as long as I’m out there at dusk and dawn, I have no issues. Goose eggs taste amazing!! So for me this is win-win. I also really think that creating huge fenced areas for them is a mistake (even though it feels more free to me). I think the aerial predators are less likely to fly into densely populated areas and will pick your chickens off when you have big roomy areas. But this is just my observation and I’m not sure if it’s true!

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@SarahPerine Yes, I also think that a large area with few birds is a perfect target for aerial predators. We did like the eggs from the geese, but it was seasonal, and was never enough to make a difference to us.

[@cacosta6294]

Will this work for broilers ?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

I guess so, but it seems very overkill for broilers, especially if you're raising Cornish Cross birds. That breed doesn't move much, so they don't need that much space. You can make a Salatin style broiler shelter for less money than this structure costs. Let me know if you try it for broilers though. I'd like to hear how it works!

[@kylesnyder3757]

Not sure if you mentioned, but how much to build?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Ooh that's a good question. I don't have a final number right now, but I'm doing taxes (yay) so I should have a number soon. The cost is going to be very skewed though because I built this in the throws of COVID when a 2x4 was around $11. I'll work on getting you a number though.

[@kylesnyder3757]

You mentioned you drew this up…do you have drawings or a sketch up model showing the dimensions that you might share?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@kylesnyder3757 I have the drawings I used to build it, and I'm working on putting together a better set of drawings to share with people. When are you planning to start your build?

[@SarahPerine]

I can’t figure out how Joel runs 900 on his pasture. My pasture would get ruined in an hour with that many birds! I have flocks of 60.

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Yeah I know what you mean. I do that he gives them a huge area when there's that many birds. I've also heard him say that his pastures at Polyface are extremely rough.

[@wiki6494]

name of the glasses??

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

They are Costa sunglasses

[@boykalmado5340]

mininum capacity?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Do you mean minimum number of hens? If so there really isn't a minimum number, although it's not economical to build this large of a structure if you don't have many layers. Maximum capacity is 400 based on a 10:1 hen to nest box ratio since the structure can take four 10-hole nest boxes.

[@boykalmado5340]

@@stonepillarfarm9089 how many hens can you hold in this pastured coop?

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

@@boykalmado5340 400 hens.

[@SarahPerine]

Do you have problems with owls? We have a ton of owls🤬

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

We don't have owls, but we have a couple hawks that torment us all season long. We tried keeping a guard goose, which was a miserable experience that I'll never do again. I'm thinking either guard dog or donkey is next. Let me know if you find anything that works!

[@SarahPerine]

My Brown Chinese geese keep the hawks away but dusk and dawn we have owls so I have to always be present those times or else! You built a really nice tractor 🙌🏽 success to you!

[@littleridgefarm4073]

Nice job taking a design and making it work for you .. This is what everyone needs to do to make things work for them .. Thanks for another build and update .. I would like to do a livestream interview with you about your farm and builds .. You can email me through my about page .. Thank you

[@stonepillarfarm9089]

Thanks Little Ridge Farm. I'll definitely get in touch with you about the livestream.