Almost finished with our Chicken Tractor

[Leahs Mom]

PS: Tell your husband I LOVE his building!

 

[Hamiam]

PS: Tell your husband I LOVE his building!

He said "Thanks". He gets a lot of work done in there. Anything I ask him to build, he will exceed my expectations!
After seeing your poultry netting, I may still get some. The tarp is a great idea.

 

[wynn4578]

I don't have pictures on here but I can get some if you want them. What I do for movable runs is thin wall pvc pipe and plastic netting ( I don't know the name but I can find out) that I get from Atwoods. I make 5' x 10' panels and put a pvc gate in one. They are super light weight, weather proof, and very durable ( thought not predator proof). My chicken houses are much like your build and I think you'll find it pretty handy. Mine have the nest boxes to the side more like traditional and off the front is the ramp to the pop door which folds up and becomes the tongue for pulling it like a trailer. Keep us updated it's a nice build you have going.

 

[Hamiam]

I don't have pictures on here but I can get some if you want them. What I do for movable runs is thin wall pvc pipe and plastic netting ( I don't know the name but I can find out) that I get from Atwoods. I make 5' x 10' panels and put a pvc gate in one. They are super light weight, weather proof, and very durable ( thought not predator proof). My chicken houses are much like your build and I think you'll find it pretty handy. Mine have the nest boxes to the side more like traditional and off the front is the ramp to the pop door which folds up and becomes the tongue for pulling it like a trailer. Keep us updated it's a nice build you have going.

Thank you. I'd love to see pics if you can get them. The light weight runs sound cool. However, we live on 30 acres & there are lots of predators out here. I even check under the chicken tractor in the morning to make sure nothing has made its way into the kennel & waiting for me to open the door & serve breakfast. When I first saw the goat trailer for sale, I thought it would be perfect. However, I decided that the wire sides were too large & a Coon could reach in easily & grab a hen! It was a battle with my husband to add the wire netting. He now calls it the maximum security prison for jail birds. Funny guy. I'm also interested in what you use for a floor on your chicken tractors. When these hens get larger, I would like to not have a floor & let the poop fall to the ground but the only way I will do that is if I get the electric poultry netting. Again the metal bars on the floor are pretty large. Again, my husband disagrees!

 

[wynn4578]

the netting is just called multi-purpose netting. Who knew they were so technical with the name.

The rest are some pics of one I just built. It still needs siding trim and shutters. For my floor it's just wood in my portable coops. The entire back opens up and the roost are at the back so all we have to clean is about the back 1 to 2 feet. It takes about 5 minutes once a week. Once about every 2 or 3 months we empty the entire thing and go back with new bedding but I don't know that it really needs it as long as you clean the roost area regularly.



This doesn't really show how the ramp converts but tomorrow is moving day so I'll get a pic of one of them hooked to my farm truck for a better idea.

 

[wynn4578]

Just remembered my profile pic was the design image from when I was designing it.

 

[Hamiam]

Just remembered my profile pic was the design image from when I was designing it.

Very cool. Thank you for sharing. Hope you don't mind me asking a few questions.
Do you keep their wings clipped so they don't fly over the netting? Do you close them up at night? What are the predators in your area? Your coop is very similar to what my husband wanted to build & lift using the fork lift of our tractor to move. Then I got this crazy idea to buy a used goat trailer. I'm embarrassed to say how much we spent in the end. I think next time I'll go with his plan. Talk to u soon

 

[Hamiam]

So my 34 yoa Son was laughing at me yesterday for putting a solar motion security light on the chicken tractor. Well! Last night the light came on & I looked outside & didn't see anything but heard what I thought was raccoon noise/clicking. (We have the light set to stay on only 1 minute but I may change that) then 30 minutes later the light went off again & when I looked outside, there was a huge raccoon circling the fenced area around the coop. I yelled at the critter & he ran off into the woods. He came back again 1 hour later! So far it looks like my maximum security Detection center is keeping the locked up girls safe. However, I'll be putting out a trap for Ricky Racoon today. My husband wants to pardon him & do a relocation. I say, coon skin hat!

 

[wynn4578]

The English chickens have never once attempted to escape by flying over. I do have an ameracauna rooster that I had to clip his wings to keep him in.

We do close them up at night and I actually open the runs so my Pyrenees can get in to the run area in case something does come along.

Our biggest threats here are raccoons and skunks. We do have bobcats and mountain lions but in the forty years I've been here I've never seen one try to get in a coop.

I ended up getting tied up working on building an incubator for a friend so I didn't get a chance to get pics of the tractors hooked up to the truck today but I'll try to get some tomorrow.

 

[Hamiam]

@wynn4578, no worries. I don't plan on going anywhere. I love this site. I appreciate your help & giving me ideas for my next project.
in all the years I've had chickens (there has been a 12 year break when we moved to a lake house with very little property but gave it up for this little ranch) I have only lost chickens to dogs & owls. However, I knew we'd have more predators here. A lot of our acreage is native post oak with 4 stock tanks & a very large creek bed that the wildlife treat as a super highway. The couple we bought from said they Had a great mouser cat but they thought the coyotes got him. We have a Australian Shepard mix that's more of a lake dog than a ranch dog so no chance of her guarding anything. I even had to use a shock collar to train her not to chase the chickens. Of course I never let her chase the chicks, but she would lunge & run toward the kennel trying to get at them. I tried the leash & working with her for over 1 week but I've trained enough dogs to know I would never be able to trust her with the chickens. 2 shocks later, she is good as gold. I still put the collar on her & have the remote with me. Today, I let her out of my sight a few times when the chicks were running around the yard. I'm think it's going to be ok now. Talk to u soon