Chicken coop plans for boat trailer conversion

[gtaus]

I am considering building a chicken coop on a boat trailer, mainly so I can have the coop out in the backyard during the summer and move it close to the house for the winter months in northern Minnesota. My plan is to winter over about 6-8 hens, so I don't need a very big coop. Since I don't have access to much help moving the coop, I was thinking a boat trailer conversion would be easy to hook up and move by myself. I also have a couple 48" riding lawn mowers, but I don't know if they would have the power to move a coop on skids, for example. I have two options on trailers, one has a 4x8 bed on it, the other would fit up to a 6x12 coop. I have been looking at YouTube videos and searching for plans on Google, but can't seem to find much of anything. I am wondering if anyone here has some good links or other thoughts on boat trailer chicken coop plans. I also plan on using a deep litter method. The local people here tell me that they just continue to throw on fresh bedding all winter over the frozen chicken droppings, and wait until spring to clean the coop. Any thoughts appreciated, and no, I am not set on boat trailer conversion if there is a better idea. Thanks.

 

[N F C]

I did some looking around the Coops pages (under the Articles tab) and found these. Maybe there's something that will give you some ideas or inspiration:

medium-portable-chicken-coop.72969
trailer-to-chicken-coop-conversion-aka-cluck-wagon.69393
holts-hybrid-henhouse.72733
tug-boat-tikka-masala.72839

Best of luck with your build!

 

[N F C]

I am considering building a chicken coop on a boat trailer, mainly so I can have the coop out in the backyard during the summer and move it close to the house for the winter months in northern Minnesota. My plan is to winter over about 6-8 hens, so I don't need a very big coop. Since I don't have access to much help moving the coop, I was thinking a boat trailer conversion would be easy to hook up and move by myself. I also have a couple 48" riding lawn mowers, but I don't know if they would have the power to move a coop on skids, for example. I have two options on trailers, one has a 4x8 bed on it, the other would fit up to a 6x12 coop. I have been looking at YouTube videos and searching for plans on Google, but can't seem to find much of anything. I am wondering if anyone here has some good links or other thoughts on boat trailer chicken coop plans. I also plan on using a deep litter method. The local people here tell me that they just continue to throw on fresh bedding all winter over the frozen chicken droppings, and wait until spring to clean the coop. Any thoughts appreciated, and no, I am not set on boat trailer conversion if there is a better idea. Thanks.

And too (I just noticed this is your first post)!

 

[Alaskan]

As to thoughts... I think the boat trailer idea sounds great. I would go with the bigger size and make the entire thing into a coop in case your girls don't want to go outside during howling bitter cold snow storms.

I highly recommend poop shelves.

Be very careful with the build... coops can get heavy fast.

The one coop that I made mobile (I used a garden wagon).

It was a bit tricky to get it to attach to a secure run. Doable, but think that through. I ended up using a small short tunnel to connect the mobile coop to a run. The run I used I could drag with 2 people... but was not on wheels.

I know some people have great success using electric poultry fence, and of course that is easily mobile and should work against ground predators. I have lots of arial predators so that wouldn't work for me.

Also, consider setting things up so that you can connect the coop to your vegetable garden if yours is fenced. Chickens are great at eating grubs and weed seeds and tilling up the garden before you plant. They are also great at cleaning it all up in the fall.

My chickens have access to my greenhouse in the winter. Nice sunny and wind free play space.

 

[gtaus]

And too (I just noticed this is your first post)!

Yes, first post. Thanks for the links which I have just read. Just trying to gather as much info as I can before I build.

 

[gtaus]

... I would go with the bigger size and make the entire thing into a coop in case your girls don't want to go outside during howling bitter cold snow storms.

Yes, I have read that bigger is better and that chickens don't like to go out on the snow. So winters can be confining (for people too).

...I highly recommend poop shelves.

I certainly will consider it, but none of the people that I have talked to around here use poop shelves. In the winter, the droppings freeze, even on a deep litter. So I have been told just to add more bedding as needed. But I will consider anything that works and saves me time.

...I have lots of arial predators so [electric fencing] wouldn't work for me.

I live on a lake, where it is not uncommon to see 6, 8, or even 12 bald eagles soaring overhead in circles during the summertime. Also, lots of hawks. Last summer, I had a full grown bald eagle in my front yard eating a dead fish. A couple years ago, we had a mountain lion go through the yard one night. Raccoons, minks, weasels, skunks, bears, fox, wolves all have been in the neighborhood. Not to mention the neighbors dogs and cats visiting. So my run will have to be covered and the chickens locked up in a safe coop every night. Because of expected heavy predation, I don't plan on free ranging my birds.

...My chickens have access to my greenhouse in the winter. Nice sunny and wind free play space.

That's a great idea. Unfortunately for me, I intend to move the coop by the house for the winter months, which is nowhere near my garden. We got a lot of snow this past winter, and where I would have the coop in the summer was covered with 3-4 foot deep snow drifts this past winter. We also went through a couple weeks of -30F to -40F weather (actual temp - not wind chill), so I am planning on using an electric metal heating base with a metal waterer in the coop to keep the drinking water from freezing as long as possible. I need the coop close to the house to run electricity.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[gtaus]

As to building a coop on a boat trailer, I measured the clearance from the ground to the bottom of the frame. It was only 12 inches. Most of the elevated coop designs I have seen are 2-3 feet off the ground. I am thinking that I would have to block off access under the trailer, because although a chicken might not have any trouble under there, there is no way I could access that space under the trailer to retrieve a bird, or a misplaced egg, etc... Or is that not really a concern and I should utilize that extra space under the trailer to increase the chicken run footage? I only plan on moving the coop once for the winter by the house, and back again to the backyard in the spring. Thanks.

 

[Alaskan]

I am thinking that I would have to block off access under the trailer, because although a chicken might not have any trouble under there, there is no way I could access that space under the trailer to retrieve a bird, or a misplaced egg, etc

I think it would be easier to move the coop up against a run. So the run would not include access to under the coop.

A couple years ago, we had a mountain lion go through the yard one night. Raccoons, minks, weasels, skunks, bears, fox, wolves all have been in the neighborhood.

Arg. Then you need a very secure and strong run. Do remember that the little weasels can squeeze through SMALL holes, and climb well. I think a max hole size of 1/4", but research your smallest weasel and go from there.

I certainly will consider it, but none of the people that I have talked to around here use poop shelves. I

Yeah... but then you get a poop stalagmite under the perch.

I have found that poop shelves lined with feed bags work. You pick up the feed bag, flex the bag so the frozen poop pops off, then replace the bag.

I liked using PDZ (which is a stink absorbing ground up rock) in the summer... but in winter if I didn't clean it every day the poo turned it into an immobile concrete like poo slab. If you have only a few chickens, and clean it every day, it might work just fine. (Clean it like a litter box)

With the poop shelves the area under the shelves stays a nice clean usable play space for the chickens.

And I really like using wood shavings from the local lumber yard (so free if I bag, low cost pre-bagged) because they fluff more easily. And yes, just add a bit more all winter as needed.

 

[gtaus]

I think it would be easier to move the coop up against a run. So the run would not include access to under the coop.

Perfect. I was thinking about making the chicken run out of panels, much like a dog kennel (only covered), so I could add additional sections as desired and/or move just a small section to the winter location. I have lots of 6 foot tall 2X4 wire that should be good enough to keep the chickens in and the daytime predators out. Whether or not I end up doing a boat trailer conversion chicken coop, this idea would also work with any coop that I move.

Yeah... but then you get a poop stalagmite under the perch. I have found that poop shelves lined with feed bags work. You pick up the feed bag, flex the bag so the frozen poop pops off, then replace the bag... With the poop shelves the area under the shelves stays a nice clean usable play space for the chickens.

That sounds like a real time saver for me and a better option for keeping the coop cleaner. Thanks.

And I really like using wood shavings from the local lumber yard (so free if I bag, low cost pre-bagged) because they fluff more easily. And yes, just add a bit more all winter as needed.

I have 3 acres of wooded lot, so I have 2 chipper/shredders for yard cleanup. Last summer I chipped up about 60 cubic feet of wood which we used as mulch, and I layered the garden in almost 2 feet of leaves in the fall. I also have baggers on the riding mowers and use the grass clippings as mulch and/or compost bins. I am hoping to use the wood chips and leaves as bedding material for inside the coop, then using that old bedding/deep litter compost in the garden or first send to the compost bins to age. I will feed the grass clippings to the chickens in the chicken run, and if too much, will probably try to dry out some clippings for bedding material.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[Alaskan]

Sounds good

And yes, chickens love grass clippings. I have read a few reports on BYC about chickens overdoing it on grass clippings... but I haven't had a pr6.

And yes, they also dry nicely into a great bedding. If you toss the clippings onto a tarp and stir it a bit then it dries fast (obviously on a day with little wind)