catawba coop ramp

[4HillsSumatras]

We leave our pop door open all the time. Our enclosed run is 12'x6' and is plenty of room for them to stretch until we let them out to play. Our coop is inclosed in a 60'x40' fenced in run. The fence is 6' tall but with no top. I have never had any problems with preditors.

I think it is because of the double fence. Hope this helps.

 

[AaronK]

again, i can share the plans, but the basic design is really just the same as first tractor on the city chicken page: http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html

the ramp goes down one side, and the rest is open. during the winter I'll put some sheet stock down to make a solid top floor, then some straw on top of that to make litter removal easier/cleaner. the ramp can then be closed for a pretty draft-free environment.

i'll have to see how it works out in terms of ammonia and moisture build-up, but it should be ok - they'll be open and allowed downstairs during the day. just let me know if you want me to send you the Sketchup plans (very detailed) by PM and give me your email.

 

[genabeana]

Hey everybody, I know this is a downer..... a fox killed all 6 of my chickens IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY! We heard the dog next door barking, didn't think much of it. about 25 minutes later I went down to the coop with some friends and every chicken was dead. 2 chickens were on the neighbors yard. I believe that us coming down there scared the fox who dropped the two chickens from his/her mouth and ran off.

How do you beat a fox who stalks your birds in the daytime?

This is the second time in 6 months that a fox has killed all my chickens. (the first time at night - I beefed up the locks)

I said if it happened again I wouldn't do this anymore but I can't resist - I just love having chickens. I'm going to get two hens tomorrow and leave them locked up in their coop/cage all the time. I figure with just 2 there will be enough room. They have the catawba coop and an extra large dog cage around it.

Yes, I know this should be posted on "predators" but obviously, after this, I will close up the ramp every single night and never take any chances - which is how this post relates.

 

[genabeana]

Aaron K -

I LOVE the catawba tractor on the city chicken page! I think the A frame is just an awesome small-size coop.

I would install wheels on mine, but then there would be a space for the fox to dig under - I mean, make it easier to dig it's way in.

Hmmmmmmmm...............wheels would be awfully cool!

 

[patman75]

I hace a Catawba and I keep my ramp down all the time. but I also have chicken wire along the bottom to keep anything from digging under.

 

[brownlikewoah]

I lock em in every night. we have a lot of raccoons and you just never know...

 

[Anny]

I close all the doors to the coop at night. Any animal can come into the coop at night if the pop door is left open. Even with a secure run, I wouldn't take the risk.

 

[AaronK]

genabeana - sorry to hear about that. when i first built my tractor i innocently enclosed it in what i thought was appropriate: chicken wire! well, *something* broke in one day (not night either) and stole one of the birds. the other was injured but eventually recovered. after that i reinforced it with a much higher gauge wire fence material and wooden lattice.

the tractor is big enough for 4-6, but i find 2 is just right for the size of feeders (mason jar type) and what my wife and i can handle in the suburbs.

we have wheels, but like you i was concerned about something crawling in the space if they were projected too far below the frame... so they're not. They're a bit high - which makes them harder to use and not as convenient as i'd like, but they're better than nothing. And cheap - got the 4" caster wheels for $2/per at Harbor Freight.

 

[kristenm1975]

Hi there! I built 11 of the Catawba Converticoops over the past 6 months and really appreciate the design. I know for myself when I had city chickens in a coop like this, I didn't want the hens making a lot of fuss early in the morning because they wanted to be let out to go scratch, so I just left the ramp down. We had lots of aggressive raccoons and never lost one. I think the secret was that I used the design as a stationary coop rather than a tractor and before putting it in place, dug down 18 inches and installed hardware cloth. At the surface, I bent it outward from where the coop would sit, about one foot, and then put down a frame of 1x6 wood the dimensions of the coop so that it had a place to solidly rest on top of the extending wire. I'm not explaining this well, but I think you get the picture.

I just wanted to be safe rather than sorry, so I took those precautions, but I don't think any of the 11 people I sold the coops to have done this and I have not heard reports of animals being taken off.

As far as wheels for the Catawba, I found this awesome video that gives details on the Forsham Brougham, which is the same thing basically as the Catawba, just the UK version. The video clearly demonstrates how to make wheels work for this design. Score! I was thrilled to find it. Here's the link:

http://www.backyardfarming.com/boughton512.wmv

 

[n2cork]

after several dog attacks, they shook the coop and one removable side came off, i close the ramp every night. i have latches on removable sides and with the ramp up, i dont have to worry. usually let it down in the morning with that first cup of coffee.

if i was going to leave it down, i would put "apron" of chicken wire around it to prevent digging under.