Chicken Tractor

[janiedoe]

Wow. That's a great looking tractor! Are you a professional builder? If it were mine, I would add 1/2" hardware cloth. I see a wooded area in the background. I don't know where you're located, but we have tons of raccoons, possums, & skunks in our woods.
Best of luck with your chicken keeping. Enjoy BYC. I've learned so much here.

 

[Jlchittenden]

Consider how the tractor will behave in high winds. I have toyed with several designs and still trying to find a balance between how easy it is to move yet not be too vulnerable to wind.

Oh it's definitely not light enough to be blown in high winds, but it is easy enough for me to lift and move. We had 60 mph winds the other day and it didn't budge.

 

[Jlchittenden]

Wow. That's a great looking tractor! Are you a professional builder? If it were mine, I would add 1/2" hardware cloth. I see a wooded area in the background. I don't know where you're located, but we have tons of raccoons, possums, & skunks in our woods.
Best of luck with your chicken keeping. Enjoy BYC. I've learned so much here.

Thanks! My husband is a finish carpenter and contractor, so I'm lucky!

 

[centrarchid]

Oh it's definitely not light enough to be blown in high winds, but it is easy enough for me to lift and move. We had 60 mph winds the other day and it didn't budge.

Wind direction.

 

[RonSwanson]

Wind direction.

You may want to consider specifying why this matters for those who don't know.

 

[Jlchittenden]

Wind direction.

Well we don't get tornados so I think we are safe

 

[centrarchid]

Tornado not needed to cause trouble. My statement of using a range of designs is worth considering.

Shape of tractor does not exhibit radial symmetry. Radial symmetry has potential for making so wind direction not important. That can be overridden by impact of landscape at ground level where chicken tractor is located. The tractor shown has a high center of gravity and a roof that can preferentially catch a lot of wind, especially from a particular direction. Roll over can release birds. More violent wind action can damage chicken tractor or even harm birds confined within. I have experienced all. The heavier and more squat designs are more resistant to high winds.

I would be looking into anchoring on windward side.

 

[Jlchittenden]

Tornado not needed to cause trouble. My statement of using a range of designs is worth considering.

Shape of tractor does not exhibit radial symmetry. Radial symmetry has potential for making so wind direction not important. That can be overridden by impact of landscape at ground level where chicken tractor is located. The tractor shown has a high center of gravity and a roof that can preferentially catch a lot of wind, especially from a particular direction. Roll over can release birds. More violent wind action can damage chicken tractor or even harm birds confined within. I have experienced all. The heavier and more squat designs are more resistant to high winds.

I would be looking into anchoring on windward side.

We've never had a roof blow off or a chicken tractor roll over (this is our 2nd chicken tractor and we've built 2 chicken coops). Hope you have better luck, but we will stick with our design because it works well! We have never experienced any of the things you are talking about so if you need any advise feel free to ask.

 

[centrarchid]

The carpentry part looks good. Aerodynamics

 

[RonSwanson]

Tornado not needed to cause trouble. My statement of using a range of designs is worth considering.

Shape of tractor does not exhibit radial symmetry. Radial symmetry has potential for making so wind direction not important. That can be overridden by impact of landscape at ground level where chicken tractor is located. The tractor shown has a high center of gravity and a roof that can preferentially catch a lot of wind, especially from a particular direction. Roll over can release birds. More violent wind action can damage chicken tractor or even harm birds confined within. I have experienced all. The heavier and more squat designs are more resistant to high winds.

I would be looking into anchoring on windward side.

Tornado not needed to cause trouble. My statement of using a range of designs is worth considering.

Shape of tractor does not exhibit radial symmetry. Radial symmetry has potential for making so wind direction not important. That can be overridden by impact of landscape at ground level where chicken tractor is located. The tractor shown has a high center of gravity and a roof that can preferentially catch a lot of wind, especially from a particular direction. Roll over can release birds. More violent wind action can damage chicken tractor or even harm birds confined within. I have experienced all. The heavier and more squat designs are more resistant to high winds.

I would be looking into anchoring on windward side.

I think you're overthinking this lol. I've been researching the best coop designs for 5 years. This is the simplest and easiest to move / maintain I've ever seen. It looks pretty stout. Probably 1 3/4 x 3 yellow pine for the main frame. Wind would rip that transparent roof before it would blow over. And what would radial symmetry have to do with a well built coop?