50 CHICKEN chicken tractor!! Pics and Progress!

[colburg]

The ingredients are right. Farnham products are good. Blue Koat (I spelled it wrong before) has come to be a generic term like Kleenex.... It comes in spray and dauber versions. I recommend the Dauber version for chickens. That Farnham product has a dauber in it.

Your chick pen looks fine.... I was the one that was over crowding....

A note about using this stuff. I highly recommend a cup holder if you dont have help to apply this stuff. Knock it over and the whole bottle spills. I hung mine with a piece of Baling twine to the wall of the coop just tied under the cap. That way when I have to administer it it doesnt get away from me.

edited to remove stuff that was really OT.

deb

It's funny you mentioned a cup holder. When I got home, my wife's left hand was blue. I think it was just from applying it rather than spilling it. She applied it on the one that had been pecked to the point of bleeding and put her back in genpop. She said a couple of chicks tested it out then left her alone. As far as we can tell, no one has messed with it over the last 18hrs. She also picked up a bottle of the Rooster Booster Pick-No-More and put it on the 2nd little fella that was getting pecked. This one was actually getting pecked and just starting to bleed on her shoulder, not her butt.

The orange cap comes off and it tapers to a skinny opening about 1/4 inch wide. No one has bothered this chick either so both products currently have our approval.

We haven't tried the pine tar but bought a small tin of it just in case.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
You have a great start on a first aid kit. Your thread is about building a coop. But Putting together a small first aid kit is a very good idea. Some of the ingredients are things you can get from the 99cent store or even out of the human pantry. Plus some home remedies. Like sugar. Plain old white sugar is an excellent blood stopper or styptic.

The following thread covers Waay more than I would but its a good read.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/210271/first-aid-kit-contents

deb

 

[colburg]

Back on Topic...

It rained yesterday

so I didn't get anything done except for spending too much time surfing BYC. I found that lots of people are having problems with only using chicken wire and the predators get free midnight snacks. Since my cage is cattle panels overlaid with chicken wire, the larger redators won't be a problem, but fox, skunks and coons can get through the panels and chicken wire.

One question is, are the predators actually tearing the wires in two, or do they simply work the wraps apart so they can spread them apart? I've tried to break them by hand and it's not easy, but unraveling them was. Could anyone with experience in this please let me know? Pics would also be great.

My first solution is cage clips. They're really cheap and light. If I clip every third or fourth wrap of the chicken wire so that it can't unravel, would that suffice?


If not, I have some spare 3/4 expanded metal pieces that I can put up, but would rather not due to weight.

I hope to get more done on the tractor before the rains come in this evening, but I won't complain if I get rained out.

 

[ailurophile23]

To save some money, leave the poultry wire as is and just cover the bottom two feet with hardware cloth - if you get 4' high hardware cloth, you can bend the bottom 2' out to make a "skirt" around the coop and prevent digging. That should stop most predators. Thanks for sharing this build - I really like the cattle panel hoop-style coop/run and plan to incorporate this into my next chicken space. Also, if daytime predators are a real issue, you can also provide "free ranging space" with electric poultry fencing - movable and will stop most ground predators.

 

[perchie.girl]

Back on Topic...

It rained yesterday

so I didn't get anything done except for spending too much time surfing BYC. I found that lots of people are having problems with only using chicken wire and the predators get free midnight snacks. Since my cage is cattle panels overlaid with chicken wire, the larger redators won't be a problem, but fox, skunks and coons can get through the panels and chicken wire.

One question is, are the predators actually tearing the wires in two, or do they simply work the wraps apart so they can spread them apart? I've tried to break them by hand and it's not easy, but unraveling them was. Could anyone with experience in this please let me know? Pics would also be great.

My first solution is cage clips. They're really cheap and light. If I clip every third or fourth wrap of the chicken wire so that it can't unravel, would that suffice?


If not, I have some spare 3/4 expanded metal pieces that I can put up, but would rather not due to weight.

I hope to get more done on the tractor before the rains come in this evening, but I won't complain if I get rained out.

Those clips are wonderful.... I used Hog Clips on my Aviarys. Put on in the same manner. The zip ties are great for using to get pieces to stay in place prior to going through and put the clips on. As good as zip ties are they do rot with exposure to the sun. And a determined animal can chew or rip through them.

Those hog panels are pretty indestructible, Hogs are pretty hard on enclosures. The places where you might have concern about predators reaching through the chicken wire are where the roosts attach to the walls. Thats where I would put the hardware cloth. I had a Guinea that lost a leg clear up to her hip joint from a Raccoon. She had been roosting next to the Chainlink. If I had put tthe hardware cloth up (with clips) she would have not been named Miss Peggy.... ahem.

deb "Whos new Barn is being fabricated as we speak.... YAY it gets delivered and installed in 21 days"

 

[colburg]

Those clips are wonderful.... I used Hog Clips on my Aviarys. Put on in the same manner. The zip ties are great for using to get pieces to stay in place prior to going through and put the clips on. As good as zip ties are they do rot with exposure to the sun. And a determined animal can chew or rip through them.

Those hog panels are pretty indestructible, Hogs are pretty hard on enclosures. The places where you might have concern about predators reaching through the chicken wire are where the roosts attach to the walls. Thats where I would put the hardware cloth. I had a Guinea that lost a leg clear up to her hip joint from a Raccoon. She had been roosting next to the Chainlink. If I had put tthe hardware cloth up (with clips) she would have not been named Miss Peggy.... ahem.

deb "Whos new Barn is being fabricated as we speak.... YAY it gets delivered and installed in 21 days"

What I'm worried about is the coons can fit through the hog panels, so if they can get the chicken wire apart then fit through. But, I'm going to put parn siding around the coop where they'll be enclosed at night. I might be over-worrying this.

BTW, I was going to show my wife your funny goat comments but they were gone. I don't mind the OT stuff. That was hilarious. And thanks for the rest of your help with the chick meds.

Got a little work done today. I'll post pics in a bit.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
LOL... I moved the goat comments to my signature line......

I don't have help at my place except the goats.... Well um they are just company you cant turn your back on.... more like hyper active neighbor kids coming to see what your doing..... Well they aren't much help at all.... Oh well.

deb

 

[colburg]

To save some money, leave the poultry wire as is and just cover the bottom two feet with hardware cloth - if you get 4' high hardware cloth, you can bend the bottom 2' out to make a "skirt" around the coop and prevent digging. That should stop most predators. Thanks for sharing this build - I really like the cattle panel hoop-style coop/run and plan to incorporate this into my next chicken space. Also, if daytime predators are a real issue, you can also provide "free ranging space" with electric poultry fencing - movable and will stop most ground predators.

I'm glad someone may pick up some ideas they can use here. If you do use something I would love to see it. And if any improvements are made I would like details and pics please.

 

[colburg]

Tips on welding while it's wet.

I got the second set of panels put up, wiggled into place and clamped with about 6 vice grips. It wasn't raining, just a slight mist, but wet enough to cause a few problems.

Step 1 for welding when it's wet. Attach ground and turn on welder.
2) Put on welding helmet but no gloves because they don't make a bear claw size that's easy to take off and on.
3) Make sure everything is in place with your free hand, strike an arc with the stinger.
4) Drop stinger when you get shocked. Anyone who tells you 220 volts doesn't hurt is lying. Curse loudly until the dog turns red with embarassment.
5) Go get a glove, any glove that's dry, whether it fits or not.
6) Proceed to make good progress until said glove gets soak and you get shocked even worse the second time.
7) Throw down stinger, kick something softer than your boot. Pick up cursing where you left off before.
8) Get a beer or 3 out of the fridge and walk it off.

Better yet, skip steps 1-7 and go straight for #8 the next time you want to weld in the mist.

Other than that, I've found an error. I bought two 16' 2x8's and butted them together, and the cattle panels are 16' and butted together. Yet they're not the same length. When I put the panels in the frame of the 2x8's. I measured the individual lengths of each piece and they're all 16'. So what gives?


When I framed the 2x8's, I put the 13'ers inside the 32'ers, essentially subtracting 3 inches of board and making the panels too long.

The weight of the panels was causing everying to lean, so more frame work needs to be done quick.


I also noticed that the 32 length was starting to bow out. I started to put in another 2x to pull the two sides together and found the spread was no longer 13' but 13'4".

It helped straighten things up. I had a couple more pics to upload, but nothings showing up. Oh well, they weren't overly important. In that last pic, I added a peice over then door to add a little more stability. I can stand under it, so the bottom of that board is about 6'3. JUST Right.

Things are looking sunny this weekend so maybe I'll get a lot done. Once the weeds in the orchard are shredded and the alfalfa and clover are planted that is.

 

[perchie.girl]

Tips on welding while it's wet.

I got the second set of panels put up, wiggled into place and clamped with about 6 vice grips. It wasn't raining, just a slight mist, but wet enough to cause a few problems.

Step 1 for welding when it's wet. Attach ground and turn on welder.
2) Put on welding helmet but no gloves because they don't make a bear claw size that's easy to take off and on.
3) Make sure everything is in place with your free hand, strike an arc with the stinger.
4) Drop stinger when you get shocked. Anyone who tells you 220 volts doesn't hurt is lying. Curse loudly until the dog turns red with embarassment.
5) Go get a glove, any glove that's dry, whether it fits or not.
6) Proceed to make good progress until said glove gets soak and you get shocked even worse the second time.
7) Throw down stinger, kick something softer than your boot. Pick up cursing where you left off before.
8) Get a beer or 3 out of the fridge and walk it off.

Better yet, skip steps 1-7 and go straight for #8 the next time you want to weld in the mist.

Other than that, I've found an error. I bought two 16' 2x8's and butted them together, and the cattle panels are 16' and butted together. Yet they're not the same length. When I put the panels in the frame of the 2x8's. I measured the individual lengths of each piece and they're all 16'. So what gives?


When I framed the 2x8's, I put the 13'ers inside the 32'ers, essentially subtracting 3 inches of board and making the panels too long.

The weight of the panels was causing everying to lean, so more frame work needs to be done quick.


I also noticed that the 32 length was starting to bow out. I started to put in another 2x to pull the two sides together and found the spread was no longer 13' but 13'4".

It helped straighten things up. I had a couple more pics to upload, but nothings showing up. Oh well, they weren't overly important. In that last pic, I added a peice over then door to add a little more stability. I can stand under it, so the bottom of that board is about 6'3. JUST Right.

Things are looking sunny this weekend so maybe I'll get a lot done. Once the weeds in the orchard are shredded and the alfalfa and clover are planted that is.

Been there done that with collapsing wire..... First chicken coop I tried to build collapsed on me while I was in it the wire remembered it had been in a roll..... I wound up building a frame AFTER i had put all the welded wire mesh together.... hee hee.

I can weld but it aint pretty....LOL. I always used to get branded on the top of my head.

You got something to stand up inside to keep it collapsing more till you get permanent supports in? If it really collapses it might rip attachment points on the sides.

deb