Chicken tractor designs for a very small and simple tractor

Carter Martin

Songster
Jan 28, 2021
163
237
101
Co. Waterford, Ireland
Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone has any input into building a very small and simple chicken tractor. I am thinking of one that is big enough for only 2 or maybe 3 chickens. It needs to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. I am thinking of possibly building a good number of them so that I can separate all my roosters, that are being kept for breeding, from each other and from the hens. And then also I could use these pens to breed just one or two hens with a certain rooster. I am thinking of one about 2 & 1/2 feet by 4 or 5 feet.
Thanks
Carter
 
Hi all,
I am wondering if anyone has any input into building a very small and simple chicken tractor. I am thinking of one that is big enough for only 2 or maybe 3 chickens. It needs to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. I am thinking of possibly building a good number of them so that I can separate all my roosters, that are being kept for breeding, from each other and from the hens. And then also I could use these pens to breed just one or two hens with a certain rooster. I am thinking of one about 2 & 1/2 feet by 4 or 5 feet.
Thanks
Carter

By tractor you mean something that would meet all the space needs for the birds? The breeding sets would be confined completely to their tractors and not have individual runs?

If I'm reading that right, 8-12 square feet seems way too small for me. :(

Each large-fowl bird theoretically needs 4 square feet in the coop and 10 square feet in the run in a normal setup. Open-air type combos where the birds are never closed in the coop alone *can* be OK with less space than 14 square feet per bird, though I'm not sure exactly where the line can be drawn.

I might try 3x6, 18 square feet, and build just one to see how the birds tolerate it.

The way I'd do it would be to build a simple frame from 2x2's at least 4 feet tall (see here why I don't like short coops), cover all the walls with wire, add a roof with some overhang, and tarp 3 of the walls, leaving ventilation under the roof overhang -- like a scaled-down version of my brooder.

Somewhere on the site I've seen mini-hoop-coops made from wire fencing that were used to contain a single rooster, but I don't remember how they kept the weather out.
 
We have a 4‘ x 6‘ tractor (3 feet high) that was made out of one by twos to keep the weight down and covered in hardware cloth and also includes a hardware cloth apron that folds up when the tractor is moved. I put my rooster in here when he needs a time out and to give the girls a break. Also use for integrating new birds and for quarantine as well as for chicks. Has multiple purposes.
Currently I have a young cockerel in there that I’ve sold but is just waiting to be picked up by his new owners. He can still see the other birds but has his own space as he has not been integrated into my flock.
I use a large dog kennel for the birds to sleep in and and it’s partially covered by a tarp.😊
614968A5-7F7C-461A-AB4F-FE6FA0400B04.jpeg
 
So here is where I got the idea.
Have a look at that link and see what you think. But the coop idea I am thinking about is toward the bottom. There will be a picture.
In my situation I would have to add protection against foxes digging underneath.
When I said tractor I was more referring to the moveability. The picture you will see on the link above is very close to what I want to build.
Thanks
 
@Folly's place So, Mary, I take it that you approve of the coop design shown in the link I gave. With the exception of the hardware cloth being attached adequately.
Yeah! There are no raccoons in Ireland. But foxes can be a pretty big problem. On the kind of land I live on, there could be up to 20 foxes per square kilometer.
 
@Folly's place So, Mary, I take it that you approve of the coop design shown in the link I gave. With the exception of the hardware cloth being attached adequately.
Yeah! There are no raccoons in Ireland. But foxes can be a pretty big problem. On the kind of land I live on, there could be up to 20 foxes per square kilometer.

Which one?

This:
SelectiveBreeding5-300x175.jpg


Or this?
SelectiveBreeding4-300x215.jpg


To me they both look extremely undersized -- if the two birds stood face-to-face their tails would touch the wire -- and they are completely exposed to any form of harsh weather that comes along. No shade in blistering sun, no dry spot in blowing rain.

I haven't read the article, but I have to believe that the author must live in an extremely mild climate that the round pens at least must be used only on a very temporary basis. They don't even have a perch to sleep in up out of their poop. :(
 
My only problem with this nice movable run is that the hardware cloth is not secured adequately, given the predators we have here. No raccoons in Hawaii or Ireland? Must be nice! Dogs could be an issue too though.
Otherwise, terrific!
Mary
No raccoons, but we have mongoose! They don’t have little hands like the raccoons do.
They can dig under, hence the hardware cloth apron that is tacked down with landscaping staples. Yes I realize it’s not 100% dog proof but we don’t have any dogs going into this part of our yard.😊
 
Which one?

This:
SelectiveBreeding5-300x175.jpg


Or this?
SelectiveBreeding4-300x215.jpg


To me they both look extremely undersized -- if the two birds stood face-to-face their tails would touch the wire -- and they are completely exposed to any form of harsh weather that comes along. No shade in blistering sun, no dry spot in blowing rain.

I haven't read the article, but I have to believe that the author must live in an extremely mild climate that the round pens at least must be used only on a very temporary basis. They don't even have a perch to sleep in up out of their poop. :(
I was thinking of the first one you showed here. I do realize that the weather conditions could make it uncomfortable for chickens in these coops, especially with rain. But as for nowhere to roost out of their poop, the pen would be moveable so you could keep the poop within the pen at a minimum by moving the pen often enough.
 

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