Recent content by squadleader

Thanks Howard! That's very helpful. Good luck with your new house, we'll all be excited to see it!

2x3 wire might be OK up high, as you're aware probably, raccoons for instance will work in pairs, one will scare the chickens into a corner, the other will be waiting in the corner ready to reach through the wire, to pull off the chickens' heads as they crowd into the corner against the wire...

No problem, hardware cloth is great, just use it full width all around and toss a cinder block on each corner if you feel it needs it. The hardware cloth is light and shouldn't make the task of moving the tractor harder. I ran my shorter sides of hardware cloth out to match the width of the...

It always worries me when I see it mentioned that someone's had a predator attack just after dawn and during dusk. For that reason I don't feel bad at all about putting a delay on opening, maybe an hour after dawn, because the risk reward ratio is so good. Mine free range, and it doesn't...

You don't want wire on the floor of a chicken tractor. No worries though, a simple wire skirt around the outside of the tractor solves the problem of a predator digging into the tractor. I don't know how big your tractor is, or whether you're moving it by hand, or pulling it with a vehicle. My...

Woods design really boils down to two issues. Creating an air container sealed on three sides during winter, which creates the still cushion of air at the north end of the coop, where your birds should roost, and harnessing the power of the sun for warmth in winter, through the use of the...

If you use the round tunnel made from half inch hardware cloth, just take tin snips and cut a 45 degree angle in the two ends of the tunnel that will form the 90 degree turn, then just zip tie the two ends together, and you've got your turn.

The easiest way I've seen to make a chunnel is to take a 4 foot wide roll of half inch hardware cloth, and cut off a length of the roll, that's the same length as you want your tunnel to be. Then roll the wire longways, like a giant cigarette, with a 4 inch lap along the length of the hardware...

Yeah, lots of surface area and low weight will turn anything into a sail. I've seen trampolines up in trees for the same reason. I've also read accounts of hoop tractors being flung over too by the wind. Mine's so heavy its not really a possibility, but most aren't. I used four eyes that screw...

That's interesting Andreanar, did the chickens peck apart the tarp, or did it get brittle in the cold temperatures, and self-destruct with the whipsaw effect of the back and forth of the wind? If your structure had used the traditional metal panels like we typically see used on these kinds of...

Maybe the electric fence perimeter will be enough to keep predators from approaching the structure, it would be good if that's the case. There's one other thing, chickens eat anything soft, they love insulation. My 13 birds ate half a 4'x8'x2" sheet of polystyrene insulation before I realized...

While the tarp will offer very little, if any protection from predators, because if a raccoon ever figures out a tarp is all that stands between him and your chickens, he'll chew through the tarp in about a minute, and kill everything in sight. At the very least, you'd need to roll up the tarp...

Congratulations, what a terrific house you've got, beautiful and functional! It's nice they're handling the delivery, it's easy for them, they do it all the time. 8.5 feet is 102 inches, that's not overwidth, there's lots of vehicles that wide, I used to have a motor coach that was 102 inches...

Haha, funny you mention the nesting box, I just ordered another one today for my front yard. My tractor is almost a football field away from my house. When I let them out every morning, they always want to come to the house, then they do big lazy circles around the house all day. It seems the...

Tractors are the easiest, but there must be an easy way to move it. My tractor's in an open field, like you say, if there are too many obstructions, and you can't maneuver the tractor vehicle combination, you're going to have to go with a smaller lighter tractor. Mine probably weighs over three...