two story story chicken tractor

[Kimberly4403]

I want to build something like this for 3x largebreed hens what dimensions would you recommend including how big the nest boxes, height of coop etc as we only have a small backyard atm needs to be a tractor style coop thats easily moveable

 

[Kimberly4403]

3 Hen tractor do you think these measurements would work roughly?

1.5x1m (4.5x3ft) =4.5sq feet/hen
1.5x3m (4.5x9ft) = 13.5sq feet/hen
61cm (2 ft) space under coop
1m (3ft) from coop floor to highest point of coop
5ft at tallest part
Nest box x2= 14"x12"x14"H each

 

[Howard E]

Kimberly:

Your sizes look correct to me, except for that many birds, you only need one nest box. But having them on the outside does no harm, so you can do both with no ill affects.

Aside from that, please don't take this the wrong way, but if you only have a small backyard, where are you going to move it to?

Tractors are moved and moved often as the birds quickly consume......actually, I think they trample as much as they consume or rather foul (fowl?)......but at any rate, the green that was lawn or whatever quickly goes away and is replaced with yucky filth with flies. So you move it to a new place, let the old recover and so it goes.

Do you have enough space to keep moving this to, and all the while the old places are healing and recovering and ready to take their turn again?

If not, perhaps you may want to consider a structure that is more fixed......perhaps a slightly larger coop with run that would sit on the sacrificed area of your backyard? Runs of this type are covered with a roof and the floor is often covered with a deep layer of litter (some are using sand), which can be kept cleaner and more sanitary that dirt alone. Daily, or now and then, depending on a lot of variables, the birds can be let out to roam around in your small backyard.

 

[Kimberly4403]

Yeah we have "pockets of grassed areas" that woll alow us to move the tractor regularly however due to council lae a fixed coop snd run needs to be a minimum of 2 meters from any boundary fence hence why something moveable will allow us to usr all available space. This will just temporary as next year we move to acreage and ill be setting up a 3x3m coop and 2 6x6m runs for a max of 8 to 12 birds then this will be used as a flock inregration/hospital and quaranteen coop

 

[slipry]

I started with the same picture. I have 5 BO in it and they seem to be doing fine. It is 4' X 1

2'

 

[slipry]

99% recycled material from an old fence

 

[Kimberly4403]

This is a rough design it will be 4x4ft coop and 4x8ft downstairs run runand planning on a total of 4.5-5ft tall and will be on wheels so moveable for 3 hens.. I want to put a meshed ventilation opening at the top of the highest and lowest walls can this be open 24/7 throughout the year in Gympie queensland? Also what size pop door into run for large breed birds? Was thinking about using a milk crate for a nest box? And running a shelf along the tallest side above pop door and running a roost above that? Is a 1.2m roost big enough for 3 hens? I was also thinking of having a large door in each side for easy access and cleaning of coop and I wanted to put a mesh window on the opposite wall to the pop door below the ventilation window that could be closed with maybe some plexiglass? Need advice and suggestions

 

[slipry]

my only suggestion is i used 1/2" x 1" hardware cloth on the floor of my 4'x4' coop. that way all of the poop falls through the floor and on the ground. what does not go through on its own is easy to scrape through with a putty knife or a stiff brush. This also means a well ventilated coop. The wire floor can be covered with wood in the winter but here in south Louisiana I will probably never have to cover it. My total footprint an the ground is 4'x12' and i need to move it every 3 days to keep it clean

 

[slipry]

my only suggestion is i used 1/2" x 1" hardware cloth on the floor of my 4'x4' coop. that way all of the poop falls through the floor and on the ground. what does not go through on its own is easy to scrape through with a putty knife or a stiff brush. This also means a well ventilated coop. The wire floor can be covered with wood in the winter but here in south Louisiana I will probably never have to cover it. My total footprint an the ground is 4'x12' and i need to move it every 3 days to keep it clean

 

[Kimberly4403]

I saw another post with idea of wire floor but i would worry bout foot iuries