When someone starts thinking about "portability" and moving the coop or tractor around the weight of building materials should enter the picture.
When I built a coop my idea was to be able to move this structure if I moved from this home. I guess that was '96 or '97, and I'm still here. The coop was made to fit in the back of a pickup. I've enjoyed having birds in there and will continue to make use of the coop.
Recently, I got to thinking (again) about a chicken tractor and keeping my small number of hens moving about the backyard. I think I'll mostly go with free-ranging but might have been better off if I'd gone this tractor route rather than building what is essentially a coop in a permanent location.
Wheels can handle more weight than a back (especially, my back
) but, really, we must think carefully about the placement and quality of wheels. Cheap, tack-on wheels aren't likely to be able to handle much more than what 2 people could pick up and carry.
And face it, the size of the structure simply can't be very large if 2 people will lift and carry it. Therefore, it cannot shelter many chickens. Just thinking here but this might be an example of where someone could go wrong:
1. A chicken needs 4 square feet of interior floor space.
2. Let's say, I want 8 chickens.
3. They will need (8 x 4 sq ft) a 32 sq ft shelter.
4. A sheet of plywood is 32 sq ft.
5. A shelter that is 4 by 8 by 4 feet high should house 8 chickens.
6. Five one-half inch sheets of plywood would be needed for this shelter.
7. Those 5 sheets of plywood weigh 227 pounds!
8. Add 12, 2 by 4's for a frame. They will weigh 123 pounds. The shelter now weighs 350 pounds!!
9. The 8 chickens themselves probably weigh 50 pounds, so 400 pounds!!!
10. (This doesn't even include the weight of the frame and wire necessary for an attached pen.)
Ain't no way DW and I are going to lift a structure large enuf to house 8 hens.
(I wrote out this little scenario so that I could share this handy little pdf file on the weight of building materials from Penn State University.
I hope it is of some help.)
Steve
When I built a coop my idea was to be able to move this structure if I moved from this home. I guess that was '96 or '97, and I'm still here. The coop was made to fit in the back of a pickup. I've enjoyed having birds in there and will continue to make use of the coop.
Recently, I got to thinking (again) about a chicken tractor and keeping my small number of hens moving about the backyard. I think I'll mostly go with free-ranging but might have been better off if I'd gone this tractor route rather than building what is essentially a coop in a permanent location.
Wheels can handle more weight than a back (especially, my back
And face it, the size of the structure simply can't be very large if 2 people will lift and carry it. Therefore, it cannot shelter many chickens. Just thinking here but this might be an example of where someone could go wrong:
1. A chicken needs 4 square feet of interior floor space.
2. Let's say, I want 8 chickens.
3. They will need (8 x 4 sq ft) a 32 sq ft shelter.
4. A sheet of plywood is 32 sq ft.
5. A shelter that is 4 by 8 by 4 feet high should house 8 chickens.
6. Five one-half inch sheets of plywood would be needed for this shelter.
7. Those 5 sheets of plywood weigh 227 pounds!
8. Add 12, 2 by 4's for a frame. They will weigh 123 pounds. The shelter now weighs 350 pounds!!
9. The 8 chickens themselves probably weigh 50 pounds, so 400 pounds!!!
10. (This doesn't even include the weight of the frame and wire necessary for an attached pen.)
Ain't no way DW and I are going to lift a structure large enuf to house 8 hens.
(I wrote out this little scenario so that I could share this handy little pdf file on the weight of building materials from Penn State University.
Steve
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