So my roommate and I decided that we wanted to get some chickens for fun, and because we both enjoy the eggs. He had a line on some peeps that needed a home from a local elementary school class, so I decided it was time to get busy building a tractor. I scoured the interwebs looking for designs, and really liked the "On Golden Coop" design I found here, but had my own ideas for how to make it best for us.
So. . . here is my tractor. I started out by making the run shorter, but taller. The entire tractor is 10' long, with the run being 8' long, 5' open and 3' under the coop, with 1' of the coop cantalevered out off the back. This set up actually made the tractor well balance and easy for one person to manage. The run is about 29" tall which gives the chickens more head room, and the coop is 4' tall at its front face. The whole tractor is 4' wide. I designed it with 3 nesting boxes (we'll never have more than 6 chickens, city ordinance), and one roost.
So here are the pictures.
I started out with the two sides of the base frame, the vertical pieces are 24" and plus the 3 1/2" of the 2x4 and 1 1/2" of the 2x2 gives a total base height of 29" The larger run section is 5' the smaller (which will be under the coop) is 3'
The completed base.
I ended up adding gussets to each end to add rigidity.
Cutting out the ramp.
Got the sides cut out and mounted and the door cut out.
Framing out the nesting boxes.
Jumping ahead, Got the tractor rest of the sheathing put on everything stained and the roof done. Got the door and ramps hinged.
Hinged the main roof for better access when necessary. Couldn't devise a way to hinge the roof over the nesting boxes that I was happy with, so it simply lifts off.
Wheels up, resting flush to ground.
Wheels down, ready to travel.
Finished tractor.
Anton and Killian taking the tractor for a spin.
Thanks for all the great coops designs and info, they really helped out.
So. . . here is my tractor. I started out by making the run shorter, but taller. The entire tractor is 10' long, with the run being 8' long, 5' open and 3' under the coop, with 1' of the coop cantalevered out off the back. This set up actually made the tractor well balance and easy for one person to manage. The run is about 29" tall which gives the chickens more head room, and the coop is 4' tall at its front face. The whole tractor is 4' wide. I designed it with 3 nesting boxes (we'll never have more than 6 chickens, city ordinance), and one roost.
So here are the pictures.
I started out with the two sides of the base frame, the vertical pieces are 24" and plus the 3 1/2" of the 2x4 and 1 1/2" of the 2x2 gives a total base height of 29" The larger run section is 5' the smaller (which will be under the coop) is 3'
The completed base.
I ended up adding gussets to each end to add rigidity.
Cutting out the ramp.
Got the sides cut out and mounted and the door cut out.
Framing out the nesting boxes.
Jumping ahead, Got the tractor rest of the sheathing put on everything stained and the roof done. Got the door and ramps hinged.
Hinged the main roof for better access when necessary. Couldn't devise a way to hinge the roof over the nesting boxes that I was happy with, so it simply lifts off.
Wheels up, resting flush to ground.
Wheels down, ready to travel.
Finished tractor.
Anton and Killian taking the tractor for a spin.
Thanks for all the great coops designs and info, they really helped out.
