Chicken Tractor, first build, suggestions

[Kris5902]

You’re all going to flip out on me for this... I’m doing absolutely nothing for digging predators. Literally all that we have here are hawks, coons and mink.

If the chickens are on the roosts and locked in at night they should be safe, I think. The box is about a foot off the ground and the roosts are 10 inches above the hardware cloth.

They had a great grey owl in the farm coop once, door was open at dusk and it flew right in, then couldn’t figure out getting out because the door was midway up on the outside with a ramp down, but right at the floor level inside the coop. Scared the chickens and my Aunt in Law when she went to close them up, but no fatalities! The owl might have been just as scared too.

 

[Grits&Eggs]

I don't have a chicken tractor, but we did buy a flat trailer and thought once or twice about it, so I will be following you on this!

 

[Kris5902]

Everyone is moving into it today... regardless! I just found out I lost a chicken in the brooder pen last night, almost certainly due to crowding. It was my WheatBar (blue layer) that was super cuddly and friendly. They have been stuck in the 4x4 brooder and are now 8-10 weeks old, I’ve been so busy I forget exactly how old they are off hand. October 13 hatch. Hence my push on this build.

Mostly I’m angry at myself, but a bit at the delays caused by childcare I didn’t volunteer for slowing me down the last week. Can’t be productive with a 7YO needing constant help in playing with my scraps, but I don’t want to discourage her interest. Very upset with myself for not being more assertive in getting adult sized help sooner, and for not shooing the kidlet onto another adult that wasn’t busy.

 

[Kris5902]

Ok, I’m on day 3of having my chickens in the tractor. It has held up well to our recent torrential rains without extra rafters. Todays parking job required me to put random stuff along the bottom boards because the gaps were huge today.

One big thing I didn’t account for is the incredibly high winds where they are right now... it’s too heavy to blow away, but I don’t have enough wind breaks at chicken level for daytime comfort. Also, most of them aren’t using the roosts at night, but are standing on my HW cloth floor?

Happily, last night when I got home at dusk only one chicken hadn’t found her way into the box and was standing under the HWC floor trying to figure out how to get up with her flockmates. I had

put them right into the box on night one, on night two I had to pick everyone out of the corner under the box and put them in.

 

[Melky]

I would weather proof the wood with water seal of some kind varnish etc. to prevent rotting but looks good. Maybe even painted frame to match coop with water seal or varnish on top. Cute!

 

[townchicks]

That looks pretty good to me. I am going to nag about a skirt, though, you never know what predators you have until you put out a chicken buffet.

 

[EggWalrus]

Any comments or feedback? Anyone?

Yeah, I have a comment. Those are the hairiest chickens I've ever seen! Biggest too!





Sheep joke!

 

[Kris5902]

I would weather proof the wood with water seal of some kind varnish etc. to prevent rotting but looks good. Maybe even painted frame to match coop with water seal or varnish on top. Cute!

Going to apply a sealant, and maybe paint it when it dries out this summer! We are getting really heavy frequent rains every night right now. The siding has been sitting in the rain for a year already, it was so waterlogged I put it into our garage/workshop to dry it out for a few days. Not really worried about the cedar, but the SPF might need some help

 

[Kris5902]

That looks pretty good to me. I am going to nag about a skirt, though, you never know what predators you have until you put out a chicken buffet.

No daytime predators here except hawks/eagles/ravens and if they would learn to go up on the roosts they should be safe at night. I just screwed two courses of siding around the bottom for a wind break. We will see if I can still move it tomorrow this siding is fully waterlogged!

 

[Kris5902]

Ok, another very large design flaw... chicken coop flew about 20 feet while I was feeding the cows! I went in, in a panic to check my chickens... ok accidentally got out of my Jeep while it was still moving, chased it jumped back in and actually put it in park, then went in, in a panic to check my chickens...

While trying to figure out what I’m going to do next we had another big gust that took it airborne again, knocked me over and pinned my leg under the bottom rail. I eventually got free, bad sprain, boot still stuck under under the coop... it’s amazing how well this sucker flies for something so heavy!

Chickens are all ok, one baby roo has a little cut on his leg and all his leg/foot feathers torn out. They are now in the nearby barn and I’m praying the coons don’t decide to climb it and get in tonight.