Hi, I've been so busy between work and the work I do after work, that I haven't been web surfing much lately, and haven't been on BYC for a while, but a little thunderstorm brought me in and low and behold, you're all having a contest that involves some of the work that I've been doing after work - a new chicken coop/tractor. An Eggmobile!
Now I didn't have any plans or anything like that, but I did watch a lot of YouTube videos and borrowed a little from many, but come up with a coop like none I've seen before.
I got to give some credit to John Suscavich (I'll bet that's misspelled), I like the simplicity and design of his tractors, but he's making meat and I'm after eggs.
Also to Texas Prepper, that's how I got started bending cattle panels, but I needed to customize his ideas to something beyond different than his. In fact this is the fifth cattle panel coop I've made now, and each one has evolved to something different. #1 was almost like his - #5 is very different.
Well let's just see . . .
I didn't go with a Dutch door, I've had them on a couple of coops and they are very nice, however, they are sort of finicky too, and rather complicated, and may take a little more precision and rigidity than I've been getting on a big cage that roles around on a bumpy pasture. But I liked not having them push open in the snow, and I like not having hens trying to slip past me, so I compromised and just put the bottom of the one piece door 18" above the ground. It's still well below my knees, and easy to step over, but high enough to block a chicken from sneaking over, and only a few snows ever get over 18" where I live.
Also, I got tired of replacing tarps all the time, so I'm going to try these 10' x 26" panels on this one. They cost a few bucks (around $110 for 6) but hopefully they last many times longer than tarps do, and I think they look a lot nicer out in my yard. I was going to go red, clear, red down each side, but after red was back ordered three times, I went white, clear, white instead.
I also got tired of dragging/lifting one end of the coop on two wheels on the other end, especially since I have a tendency to add a lot more stuff (weight) than John S. or Texas Prepper did, my tractors get heavy! But with four wheels I can still push it around with one hand (straight lol), but with my little red cart here, I can aim either end pretty easily, or jack it up to take the wheels off quick and easy as well with one hand, and put a wheel on or off in a few seconds with that cordless impact laying there. I'm thinking of putting a little receiver hitch on one end so I can hitch it to my lawnmower for longer drags.
Here's the back door, and here's what's in the back door.
And here's what's inside the front door.
Everywhere a chicken can stand has been routed with a 1/2" round over, both sides, there are over 30' of roosts in here. It's 8' by 8'7" overall. So there should be plenty of room for a dozen, or 15 chickens. This is the coop, the run is made of two 165' electric poultry netting segments. I figure to clean this coop, I can replace the nesting box straw from time to time, and just roll it 8' every few days, as needed. As you can tell, I have began to use it just recently, but I still have quite a bit to do before it's done . . .
Where you see the plywood down low, an automatic chicken door will go.
A custom PVC pipe feeder with hopper will be added.
Some covers for most of the wire, less ventilation needs for cold and windy weather
Above the top two nests in the back, accessible to the back door, just under that piece of OSB, (that'll I'll replace or cover) goes a shelf, not accessible to the chickens, will be a place for a 12v battery, and my fencer. Just above that, on the roof, a solar panel, and some motion lights set for outside motions, like me coming to get eggs in the dark.
Oh, and BTW, for those of you who noticed the 1" hardware clothe, or the lack of the no dig skirting, don't worry, my defenses are more layered than that. After a varmint crosses the first perimeter, the electric poultry netting, he has to get through the second line of defense before he even gets to the outside of the hardware clothe. This is the second line of defense
This is Scrappy the Red Boned Coon Hound, who's only friends other than me, are a bunch of dumb chickens, and his doghouse keeps getting moved around to the same electric yard the chickens live in. I kept trying to get him to look at the camera, but every time that I said "Look," he said "What, you see a coon over there somewhere?" LOL I promise no coons or possums or foxes are going to have time to tear up that 1" wire or dig under that coop with Scappy's dog house less than ten feet away.
Now I didn't have any plans or anything like that, but I did watch a lot of YouTube videos and borrowed a little from many, but come up with a coop like none I've seen before.
I got to give some credit to John Suscavich (I'll bet that's misspelled), I like the simplicity and design of his tractors, but he's making meat and I'm after eggs.
Also to Texas Prepper, that's how I got started bending cattle panels, but I needed to customize his ideas to something beyond different than his. In fact this is the fifth cattle panel coop I've made now, and each one has evolved to something different. #1 was almost like his - #5 is very different.
Well let's just see . . .
I didn't go with a Dutch door, I've had them on a couple of coops and they are very nice, however, they are sort of finicky too, and rather complicated, and may take a little more precision and rigidity than I've been getting on a big cage that roles around on a bumpy pasture. But I liked not having them push open in the snow, and I like not having hens trying to slip past me, so I compromised and just put the bottom of the one piece door 18" above the ground. It's still well below my knees, and easy to step over, but high enough to block a chicken from sneaking over, and only a few snows ever get over 18" where I live.
Also, I got tired of replacing tarps all the time, so I'm going to try these 10' x 26" panels on this one. They cost a few bucks (around $110 for 6) but hopefully they last many times longer than tarps do, and I think they look a lot nicer out in my yard. I was going to go red, clear, red down each side, but after red was back ordered three times, I went white, clear, white instead.
I also got tired of dragging/lifting one end of the coop on two wheels on the other end, especially since I have a tendency to add a lot more stuff (weight) than John S. or Texas Prepper did, my tractors get heavy! But with four wheels I can still push it around with one hand (straight lol), but with my little red cart here, I can aim either end pretty easily, or jack it up to take the wheels off quick and easy as well with one hand, and put a wheel on or off in a few seconds with that cordless impact laying there. I'm thinking of putting a little receiver hitch on one end so I can hitch it to my lawnmower for longer drags.
Here's the back door, and here's what's in the back door.
And here's what's inside the front door.
Everywhere a chicken can stand has been routed with a 1/2" round over, both sides, there are over 30' of roosts in here. It's 8' by 8'7" overall. So there should be plenty of room for a dozen, or 15 chickens. This is the coop, the run is made of two 165' electric poultry netting segments. I figure to clean this coop, I can replace the nesting box straw from time to time, and just roll it 8' every few days, as needed. As you can tell, I have began to use it just recently, but I still have quite a bit to do before it's done . . .
Where you see the plywood down low, an automatic chicken door will go.
A custom PVC pipe feeder with hopper will be added.
Some covers for most of the wire, less ventilation needs for cold and windy weather
Above the top two nests in the back, accessible to the back door, just under that piece of OSB, (that'll I'll replace or cover) goes a shelf, not accessible to the chickens, will be a place for a 12v battery, and my fencer. Just above that, on the roof, a solar panel, and some motion lights set for outside motions, like me coming to get eggs in the dark.
Oh, and BTW, for those of you who noticed the 1" hardware clothe, or the lack of the no dig skirting, don't worry, my defenses are more layered than that. After a varmint crosses the first perimeter, the electric poultry netting, he has to get through the second line of defense before he even gets to the outside of the hardware clothe. This is the second line of defense
This is Scrappy the Red Boned Coon Hound, who's only friends other than me, are a bunch of dumb chickens, and his doghouse keeps getting moved around to the same electric yard the chickens live in. I kept trying to get him to look at the camera, but every time that I said "Look," he said "What, you see a coon over there somewhere?" LOL I promise no coons or possums or foxes are going to have time to tear up that 1" wire or dig under that coop with Scappy's dog house less than ten feet away.
