"A" Frame

[confederatemule]

I am building an "A" frame tractor. The total outside dimensions are 12'x6'. The house part will be 6' tall and 32" wide and 6' across at the bottom. The run will be 3' tall and 6' wide at the bottom. The three nest boxes will be outside the rear wall, as high as the "A" will allow. One box above two.

My questions are, about roosts and access to the nest boxes.
How can I arrange the roosts and nest access so that they will work together. I don't want one to be in the way of the other.

Thanks for "any" help.

Mule

 

[Ridgerunner]

How many chickens do you plan to have in there? Are you sure you need three nests? I tried a tractor one summer, 64 square feet for eight chickens, two 4’ x 8’ sections that I moved separately but attached together. I had to move it a lot, about every two or three days, to keep it from stinking. It took them no time at all to wipe out the grass and weeds and scratch the ground into a muddy mess, especially if it was wet. That kind of tractor has limited carrying capacity.

I’m having trouble envisioning an A-frame six feet wide but only three feet high. I’m not sure what is going on. My tractor was a rectangle with the run only two feet high, which was enough.

One of the problems with an A-frame is that you get squeezed for space on top. The advantage is that it is an extremely stable construction and could be lighter to help you move it. A 32” section across that 6’ high and 6’ wide A-frame doesn’t give you much to work with. How much roost length do you really need?

Instead of making the nests as high as you can, consider making them as low as you can to give you more room to work with up top. If you can get by with two nests, you will be a lot better off. Then put the roosts as low as you can with them still higher than the nests. With the nests external you should not have a problem with them pooping in the nests from the roosts.

How do you plan to keep the feed dry and keep them from pooping in the feed from the roosts?

To save weight just cover enough of the top to keep them out of a rain and keep the nests dry. In your summers they really don’t need much protection.

 

[confederatemule]

Ridgerunner, I have one large rooster and three hens. I don't really plan to have more than four hens.

Keeping feed & water clean & dry is a problem I think I have figgered out. They will be the wide, external, rabbit feeders and waterers.

I plan on moving it with a small tractor. I'll lift the house end, the wheels will be on the other end of the run.

The reason for being 32" front to rear is because that is the width of the tin I have.

Mule

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you only have four hens maximum you certainly don’t need three nests. You could easily get by with just one, but if you ever plan to have a broody hatch chicks with the flock I’d go with two.

Building to the size of your available material makes a lot of sense.

If I were moving it by hand I’d put the wheels under the house end, but using tractor it may work better the way you plan it. That will put less weight on the chicken tractor wheels.