Woods Fresh Air Poultry House

You're right, I think the aprons are essential in a tractor, there're gaps under my skids all the time, caused by ruts in the dirt and uneven ground. Although people like Joel Salinger have thirty or forty light tractors, and don't use aprons.

I do pull my tractor once a week, and one thing that's different about my skids is they are 2x8's laid on their sides, and most important, I have wrapped the skids in a 60 mil PVC sheet (by the way, the same material that covers the tractor), that's screwed down onto the tops of the skids with deck screws and washers every six inches or so.

Most portable sheds use 4x4 skids, they have sharp edges that, as you put it, act as dozer blades.

Wrapping the lower profile 2x8 in the PVC sheet, which is fairly rigid, creates a rounded profile that doesn't dig in nearly as much. The wider 2x8 also provides plenty of space to screw down the sheet, as opposed to a 4x4. Since my main tractor frame is 2 inches wide, the 2x8 skid has almost 2 inches exposed on either side.

The side skids are connected together with 2x8's that cross just in front of, and to the rear of, the main tractor frame, which also keeps the main tractor frame from sliding forward or backwards. So the full dimension 2x6's of the main frame of the tractor, sit squarely on the two 2x8 side skids, and not at all on the front and back 2x8 cross overs. That does leave a 2 inch gap under the cross overs, as you mentioned. I cut a 2x6 the length of the gap on the cross overs and screwed it to the bottom of the cross overs, filling that gap. However, it probably wasn't necessary, as my anti-dig mats extend out 50 inches from the tractor. That's the reason I call this tractor the Flying Fortress Tractor, it's tough as nails, and has big wings (skirts).

I did cut a slope in the front and rear of my side skids, and again, the whole side skid is wrapped in the PVC sheet.

That makes it easy to pull the tractor by the front or the back. Even better, the rounded profile the PVC sheet creates on the sides of the 2x8's, also makes it easy to pull the tractor sideways in either direction. Ironically, because of my field orientation, and the need to keep the tractor facing south, I end up pulling the tractor sideways most of the time.

In the real world, on a sideways pull, the tractor is only moving over 8 feet a week, just far enough to occupy new fresh grass. A forward or reverse pull would only be a move of about 18 feet.

I've attached a few pictures of the skids. One of my goals in the skid system was to protect the main tractor frame from damage from any failures in the pull system. Any damage that might occur is limited to the skid system. The entire system has turned out to be very robust and there has been no damage from the pulls.

In the design of the skid system I use, I isolated the forces of the the pull strictly to the 2x8 skids and cross over connectors, by first placing the bolts used to pull, through the lap point of the side skids and cross overs. Second, the main tractor frame is isolated from these forces because it merely rides on top of the skid system. I used a few 90 degree metal angles to connect the skid system to the main frame along the side skids, so the frame can't slide off the side of the skids, the tractor frame can't go forward or backward on the side skids because the cross over boards hold it in place at the front and back.

When closing the 2 inch gap under the cross overs, I slid the 2x6 under the cross over board, then ran long deck screws down through the cross over board into the 2x6 that closes the gap.

One benefit of this setup is that even though the gap is now closed under the cross over, the gap is still available inside the tractor under the main frame of the tractor. That gap gives me a great start on getting a 2x4 lever under the main frame cross over, to lift the tractor and place it on cinder blocks if I ever wanted to work on the skid system. Blocking it on the cross over leaves the side skids completely exposed.

I didn't think of wrapping the skids with the PVC sheet until after it was completed, and I did what I described above to get the tractor up in the air, so I could wrap the skids. Thank goodness it was before I put the anti-dig mats on, although raising them isn't that hard, as you can see from my post about moving the tractor on a roll back wrecker.
Here you can see the 60 mil PVC sheet coming up and wrapping the side skid. You can see where it's secured with screws and washers to the top of the skid.

Here you can see the front of the side skid and the PVC that wraps it. I screwed down an extra piece of the five quarter by six inch decking to lock in the wrap. This photo also shows you how the mats are able to fold up.

Another shot of the wrapped side skid.

If you expand this photo, you'll get a good view of the lap of the side skid and the cross over board. At the lap of the two boards, you'll notice the four 3/8 inch carriage bolts coming up from the bottom of the skid, with a larger 5/8 inch carriage bolt in the center, which is used to pull the tractor. Use this same configuration on all four corners, and you'll be able to pull your tractor in any direction, that's important.

The 5/8 inch bolt has a washer and nut, then a shackle, then another washer and nut. The bottom nut should be very tight, while the top nut it's not as critical. The bolt that is in shackle on the 5/8 inch bolt is too big to fit into the chain, so I used a smaller shackle through the big shackle, that has a bolt small enough to go through my galvanized chain. I found the chain and shackle selection at Tractor Supply was much better than Home Depot.

Have the shackle set up at all four corners and leave it there. Whenever you want to change the direction of the pull, just take the bolt out of the small shackle, move the chain to the new corner, and slide that small shackle bolt through the chain. You don't want the hassle of messing with the big shackle every time you change direction, that's why I have each corner fully shackled, so I don't have to move hardware around to change the pull direction.

Also in this photo you can see the 2x6 I used to close the gap under the cross over, it's under the mat.


In this photo, you can see how I overlapped the half inch hardware cloth from the side mat, over the front mat by about 16 inches, then zip tied the hardware cloth down to tie them together. When I first made the tractor, I had a butt joint where the mats met and used cable ties to hold them together. I redid the side mat to overlap the front mat, like you see here, later. I like the overlap much better, it makes the anti-dig mat completely seamless around the entire tractor, which will be very discouraging for any predator looking for a place to try and dig in.

You'll notice I used the Tractor Supply 50" cattle panel as the substrate of the anti-dig mat (that's the same panel the hoop of the tractor is constructed from). I put 2x4 welded wire on top of that, but later added the hardware cloth because I felt the 2x4 wire gaps were too large and wanted the half inch of the hardware cloth. If I did it again, I would simply use hardware cloth over the cattle panel, eliminating the 2x4 wire.

The cattle panels give the skirt weight and also a slight bend, which keeps the skirt from digging in when I pull the tractor. I don't raise the mats to move the tractor. I like the wide width of the skirts because even if there's a gap under the skid, it's closed by the time you get to the edge of the wide skirt.

One thing I've noticed, when I'm on good grass, during the pull, the tractor slides along very nicely. On more barren ground, if there's a bump in the ground, there's a chance the tractor will try to level it during the pull, resulting in a little pileup of dirt in front of the skid. If that happens, I lift the skirt, toss under one of the cinderblocks, then run a regular metal rake under there and pull out the dirt. It's rare but it can happen on less grassy ground. Also keeping in mind, the tractor is usually only being pulled a few feet.

I secured the mat to the tractor using long screw hooks. I screwed them in, just leaving the hook exposed, then placed the cattle panel wire into the hook, then used heavy pliers to close the hook into an eye. That converts all the hooks into hinges, allowing you to raise the mats, without the mat coming out of the hooks.

My Woods house was made to be moved......I based my skid design on a hog house I helped my dad build over 50 years ago. It was 10' x 16' shed style and we moved it all the time. One or two planks, with narrow edges down. A couple 2 x 8's nailed together would make a good one. Front tips cut to a 30 degree angle....front and back so you can move it both ways......to act like ski tips. Basically works just like a kids snow sled. I think this is shown in some detail on my Woods build link. Connection points to pull it....the tow straps......are nothing more than a couple loops of #9 wire. There is a commercial outfit near where I live that does the same thing with the portable houses they build.

I have only moved my Woods house once.......when I originally moved it into place. The skids are 4' x 6' (nominal 3.5" along the bottom......same as a 2 x 4 laid flat) and I was concerned about how much damage the skids would do to the grass turf. It turned out to be none. They skimmed along and didn't cut the grass once. A couple days after it had been moved, you could not even tell where it had been dragged.

Tractors that are moved often are both good and bad. Good in that the birds are always on fresh grass and if there is a high population, they kill the grass, fowl the area and are moved to fresh ground where the cycle repeats itself. Bad, in that what they leave behind is a dead zone......at least for a short while until things recover. So if you have one of these, best to also have a plan for what you are going to do with the dead zone. Doing this in a crop field, or large garden area would be ideal. In your back lawn area.....maybe not so much. Most would not want a checkerboard pattern of dead spots. My daughter found that out in a hurry with hers.

ALSO, your tractor design has a high degree of similarity to what Woods put in his book and called a "southern" house. Basically, one that was wide open on all sides. For those raising birds in the south.......in areas that only sometimes dip down to freezing.....a house of this type is what most growers should be looking at. Almost ideal. Portable or fixed........a great place to raise birds in down south.

Good morning Howard,

I love history, so your extensive knowledge of the Woods House is interesting to me.

Unfortunately, in Virginia it does get cold, it was 22 degrees this morning, and minus 5 degrees a couple of weeks ago, but the tractor did a good job of protecting the chickens, and they came through fine.

For their comfort though, next time we get a subzero snap, I'm going to add a couple of bales of straw to the tractor for them to stand on if they want, rather than the freezing ground.

I'm not even going to unbale it, just set it in there. When the snap is over, just take out the bales, put them in the shed and wait for next time.

I haven't read the Woods book like you, but it seems he's using mostly big windows, good for circulation.

On mine, the north side is mostly plywood, but the door is an open design though, but like the east and west sides of the tractor, that's only from around March til November. Those months it has really good air circulation from all sides.

During the winter, I cover the open door, and the 18 inches of open hardware cloth on most of the east and west sides with clear roofing panels, even in winter, that floods the tractor with sunlight. That gives the tractor a windbreak on all but the southern side.

The south side is full open and also floods the tractor with sunlight. I've got lots of perch space on the south side, and the chickens enjoy sunning there.

The tractor seems fully enclosed to us because we're so tall, but to an 18 inch tall chicken, even in winter, it appears to them open on three sides, with lots of sunshine.

I have friends around here whose chickens don't lay in winter, but this system seems to be working very well with me getting eight or nine eggs a day out of twelve hens. I must say though, I do let them free range most days, if it's in the upper 20's or higher, and the ground isn't snow covered, so I can't say I know for sure my production would be that good if they were confined to the tractor alone.

I read on the forum, as long as they're out of the wind and rain, the chickens can handle cold. That's been true of my chickens.

The chicken nipple bucket works well if the daytime highs are in the 40's or better, and the nighttime lows are in the upper 20's. Though without some warming during the day, the metal in the nipples freezes first at night.

Then I just put out a big bowl of warm water next to my front porch when I let them out in the morning, like today. We're headed for the 50's today, so that'll thaw everything.

Thanks for your information, it's always interesting to learn how our ancestors coped with weather (hot or cold), by working with the sun. Central heat and air conditioning has removed that knowledge from the general public.

South facing is such a powerful tool. Most people don't realize the sun is much lower in the southern sky in winter, flooding south facing rooms with sunlight and warmth. Yet in the hot months, the sun is very high in the sky and all the heat loads shift from the south side of a structure, to the east side in the morning, and the west side in the afternoon.

So south facing gets warmth in winter, but gets minimal warmth in summer. That's so powerful, and yet free to harness, if you use good, smart architecture.


The chickens enjoying some warm water this morning, theirs froze (22 degrees).

Hey Howard,

Regarding your question about the origin of the name "Colony House" for the Woods Houses, back in reply number 87, I think I found an answer for you.

I'm reading Dr Woods original book from 1912, apparently it's open source now, being over a hundred years old. Here's the link for anyone interested, I'm enjoying it.

https://books.google.com/books?id=o...X&oi=book_result&ct=result#v=onepage&q&f=true

You mentioned you'd never seen an explanation of why it's called a colony house, and your question stayed with me. As I am reading his book, he infers right along that these relatively small poultry houses are each home for a colony of birds, each independent so to speak, as a colony.

He also says he prefers this method of housing chickens, as opposed to a continuous house hundreds of feet long. Although he says if a continuous house is desired, he feels it should be made up of individual modules of his 20 foot by 20 foot open air design, and while being continous, there should be a solid wall between each module, if for no other reason than from ruining the length to depth ratio, which in a long open house, would allow the wind to reach the back wall, which is impossible in a 20 x 20 module.

Take a look at page 59 of the 1912 edition, in the middle of the second paragraph, here's what it says, referring to the Woods Open Air concept:

"It has been built in many sizes, both as a colony house and as a long "continuous" poultry building."

That's the sentence that made it clear to me, that a single building represents a colony, as opposed continuous buildings, which no longer have that status.

He was definitely a fan of the colony house, also because he felt it was much better at containing the spread of disease, as opposed to a continuous house.

He felt having many colony houses was better than a few continuous buildings.

I love history and how everything interacts together.

So it's interesting to me that as Woods book was being published in 1912, the following year Henry Ford fired up the world's first moving assembly line. America was awakening as a great international power, and would enter World War One within five years, ensuring victory for the Allies.

Industrial and production miracles were occurring on all fronts, fundamentally changing us from an agricultural society, into city dwellers. Even in Woods book, he's addressing this challenge, as he endeavors to adapt his colony house to the new demands of higher production, by pointing out how it can be used in continuous buildings, hundreds of feet long.

It's interesting that a hundred years later, those most interested in his work, are individuals with small flocks, looking for not only the rewards of watching our flock thrive, but the far superior quality of our eggs and meat, as opposed to the factory systems that came to practically monopolize these products during the last hundred years.

We're rejecting the idea of cheap, low quality, factory agricultural products, and are looking for the best practical ideas that give our birds the best life, and in turn, us much higher quality products from our birds. The yolks on my eggs are practically orange, there's so much beta carotene in them from the grass my free range chickens eat.

Woods work was almost lost in the tumult of the coming factory farm system of his time. It's great such good ideas like his, have been rediscovered.

His Open Air design is such a leap forward over a closed coop, and removes so much risk from the birds regarding waste and ammonia because it's a more robust and less fragile system than a closed coop. Closed coops are so dependent on absolutely perfect care and cleaning from their owners, if they even hope to maintain a healthy environment for their birds.

The Woods system is more tolerant, and far easier for the owner to maintain, which translates into it also being inherently less risky for our birds, due to the reduced risk of human failure.


Now those are eggs worth eating, orange yolks!

You'll never get yolks that color from a factory egg, unless they introduce coloring into the feed.

Haha, they do put pink coloring in the feed of farm raised salmon to make it pink, wild salmon is pink because it eats plankton that's pink, farm raised salmon is pink because they feed it pink colored dog food, otherwise it's the meat would be gray, so I guess it's not out of the question, one of these days, factory eggs might have orange yolks too!

If you are a sucker for history......I am about to cost you a few days time.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/historic-chicken-house-info.1142519/

So much was known about how to properly care for chickens....as far back as 100 years ago....during a time when it really mattered. It has mostly been forgotten, ignored, or more likely most folks never knew it existed in the first place. But the wheel was invented a long time ago. Yet we insist on doing it time and again, and most of the time, screwing it up when we do. A lot of wheels we invent today turn out to be rectangles, squares and triangles and they don't roll very well.

Almost all of the problems folks on BYC seem to have with their housing are problems of their own doing. Not on purpose, but generally out of ignorance.

There are a few basic parameters......rules of thumb as to space requirements, etc. but then there are subtle tricks that make all the difference in the world as to success or failure. The good news is that was all worked out 100 years ago, and they wrote it down so we could follow. Looking back, so you can go forward, is generally a good plan to follow.

I'll start a new thread but this is exactly what we want to do. Two 8x14 or 8x16 so total building outside is 16x16 or 16w x 14 deep. Solid wall at the 8' marks then sub divided at 4 ' mark in each side with chicken wire. That will give us 4 stalls 4x14 or 4x16. And I think that will keep the function like a woods. He mentioned that idea using a 20 wide and 10x16 building. Then I'd take down siding on one exterior wall. Put up plywood and addanother 8' wide section. Till we got a 100' long woods coop.lol
Some reason I was thinking 8x14 would be the right proportions.
And I'm about half way done reading the book for a 1st time. I do want to go back and read on the 10x16. Although that would be a little more as ft needed for breeder pens.at least that will be what the first section is.lol

Thanks
Scott