Last month (May 2012), I bought a small hutch on eBay, which didn't include a run. I thought it would look nice in my mum's garden (unfortunately, I never got to put it in there, because it was so cramped inside when it was closed).
After a while, I noticed that they would go to the door of my parent's coop when I let them out to free-range, so I moved the chooks out of it into the pen with my parent's flock (there was no pecking either, so they must have all been apart of the same pecking order).
It's been sitting up at the shed since then for a few weeks, and I've recently gone out and bought three silkie chickens- two hens and a rooster.
My dad had been talking for a while about building a chicken tractor, putting this hutch on the end of it, and I woke up yesterday morning to him deciding to bought the plan into action. We spent all day working on it, stopping only for brekky, lunch and to go to the hardware shop for more material, and this was the result.
As you can see above, the entire back section of it is a gate, so we can easily get in there if something goes wrong, or if we need to chuck in some scraps, or let them out, or whatever.
We welded some handles on there as well, so it can be lifted easily. Still not sure if it is that easy or not without two people, but we'll see.
The happy chickens.
The frame is made of steel, the two sides with chicken wire, and the door, floor and half the top with some wire mesh, and the tin is some scrap corrugated iron. They seem to be happy chickens though!
We've also made it so that we can lift the hutch out of place if we ever need to (I dunno, I suppose for cleaning or something).
But yeah! I'm thinking of maybe attaching some wheels on one end so it is easier to move around. My brother suggested a small gutter that runs to the water dish for when it rains, but I dunno whether I'll do that. Also, need something better for their water dish than an ice cream container.
So there ya have it! Hope you like it
After a while, I noticed that they would go to the door of my parent's coop when I let them out to free-range, so I moved the chooks out of it into the pen with my parent's flock (there was no pecking either, so they must have all been apart of the same pecking order).
It's been sitting up at the shed since then for a few weeks, and I've recently gone out and bought three silkie chickens- two hens and a rooster.
My dad had been talking for a while about building a chicken tractor, putting this hutch on the end of it, and I woke up yesterday morning to him deciding to bought the plan into action. We spent all day working on it, stopping only for brekky, lunch and to go to the hardware shop for more material, and this was the result.
As you can see above, the entire back section of it is a gate, so we can easily get in there if something goes wrong, or if we need to chuck in some scraps, or let them out, or whatever.
We welded some handles on there as well, so it can be lifted easily. Still not sure if it is that easy or not without two people, but we'll see.
The happy chickens.
The frame is made of steel, the two sides with chicken wire, and the door, floor and half the top with some wire mesh, and the tin is some scrap corrugated iron. They seem to be happy chickens though!
We've also made it so that we can lift the hutch out of place if we ever need to (I dunno, I suppose for cleaning or something).
But yeah! I'm thinking of maybe attaching some wheels on one end so it is easier to move around. My brother suggested a small gutter that runs to the water dish for when it rains, but I dunno whether I'll do that. Also, need something better for their water dish than an ice cream container.
So there ya have it! Hope you like it
