Dsheaz Coop

April 4, 2012:  I am building a Tractor Coop on top of an old trailer that is made from pipe.  I will post pictures and description as I go along.  I am modeling it after bigoakhunter's trailer coop found on the tractor coop page.  Here is a picture of what I am starting with.  I am cleaning it up and painting it, then I'll fasten some 4 x 4 treated post on it as a base to build on.  It will be 4' x 8' square, haven't decided on height yet.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My helpers!:

April 8, 2012:  Like a lot of other folks, my plans have evolved as I progress, and my coop is now going to be 6' x 8'!  I got the trailer painted and almost the entire floor frame installed:

I figured the coop is going to be quite heavy to lift up and down off the hitch when I want to move it, so I welded a jack I got from the junkyard to the trailer:

Right now we have 8 chicks in the brooder, 3 Red Sex Links & 3 Golden Comets (which are in actuality the same breed) and two White Leghorns.  But now that the coop is going to be bigger I might try to get 4 more birds, maybe something different.  They are growing fast, so I have to keep busy on the coop!:

4/9/2012:  Coop floor finished.  Now to finalize the design and begin the framing construction.  The wall framing will have to be constructed in the garage and installed outside, since the height will be too tall to fit through the garage door!

A small cable is visible coming out of the deck frame in the foreground on the left, it is for the brakes on the trailer.

April 25, 2012:  Okay, I've got 3 walls framed out, the front, back and one side.  Here is a pic of the side wall with the framing for two windows and a sliding pop door that will be 9" off the floor to help keep bedding out of the slider grooves.  The windows will be hinged on the side, so I figured I don't need any "jack" studs to support the bottom sill on the right hand side one.

April 30, 2012:  I've got all the walls framed and erected, and the roof rafters almost all put on as well:

This is the front of the coop, with space for nesting boxes underneath two windows and people door on the right.  On the left side is space for another nesting box and another two windows above.

This is a rear view where there will be two large doors to allow for easy access to clean droppings board and bedding.  They are four feet high.  The coop is 8' wide, Almost 8' high in the front, and almost 7' high in the back.

May 6, 2012:  I have the metal roof on and 3 sides have siding complete, pics to follow later, but OMG I gotta get this coop finished!:

May 15, 2012:  I'm getting very close to getting enough done to put the birds in the coop, just the people door, pop door and some screen on the vents at the top and I think I can put them in.  I got the roosts up and droppings board today, pics to follow, but here are some pics of the coop back clean out doors, floor and the side with the pop door opening.  Back doors closed:

Back doors open:

Looking in through back doors at people door and pop door opening with nice new clean floor:

Here is a view looking towards the other direction, showing the nesting box openings:

May 17, 2012:  They're in!

May 31, 2012:  The run is nearly complete, I am building it in two sections in order to make it sizable yet easily moved around.  Here is a picture of the section that is high enough to walk into:

Here is how I attached the wheels, which I got on sale from Tractor Supply for $8.00 each:

June 7, 2012:  Finally got the coop in place with both parts of the run adjoined.  There is still some painting to be done and the nesting boxes to be built and installed.  It was a bit scary towing this thing through the yard, which has a bit of a slope.  I made the coop a little too big for the stability of the trailer, and I don't believe I'll be moving it around as I had originally intended, oops!  But I'm still very pleased with how it has turned out. 

You can see some of the Red Sex Links or Golden Comets in this photo, but they all haven't learned to come out yet.  They come out and then go back in again!  Funny birds!