Coop tractor ?

[Rdh1223]

Hi, I'm new here and was hoping that someone could look at the tractor I want to build and tell me if it will work for my area?

I live about 70 miles north of NYC. Im basically going to copy a facebook ad and will attach a few pics from said add. My concerns are

A) will the metal siding be to cold or condense to much moisture in the winter?

B) the coop floor, the one picture just has wire, no solid floor. I'm assuming that's a no go in the northeast ?

 

[21hens-incharge]

This is the best place to get good solid advice from experienced chicken keepers!


I see several issues with that design.

No ventilation.
A-frames are not efficient for head space and no real place for roosts.
That metal would be an oven even in moderate temps in the 60's. Like getting in the car with the windows up on a sunny day.

A more effective tractor would be a "hoop coop". There are many coop designs here on BYC in the articles section.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

This article has several hoop coops you can click to view.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/top-10-hoop-coop-ideas.76490/

 

[NatJ]

B) the coop floor, the one picture just has wire, no solid floor. I'm assuming that's a no go in the northeast ?

Chickens like to roost up high, so having open space below the roosts would not bother them (wire mesh or completely open.)

In the winter you don't want a cold wind blowing up on the chickens as they roost, but that may not require a solid floor directly underneath. If you have trees or fences nearby, they might block enough wind to make it a non-issue. Otherwise, extending the siding down toward the ground on each side of that area, or putting tarps over those sides during the winter, would work just fine as a way to block cold wind.

Having wire mesh to keep the chickens in and predators out, while letting droppings fall through, can sometimes be a sensible way to arrange the roosting space. If the entire tractor is predator-proof, you could skip the wire mesh and it would also work just fine.


I see @21hens-incharge has some other criticisms of the that design and some suggestions, and I think I agree with all of those points.

 

[Penpal]

I think the metal roof might work if you had boards under it. Like marine board, which comes in 4 foot widths. It would support the metal, which has a tendency to bend, and offer a little insulation which would help with the summer heat problem.

 

[killmak]

I have a tractor that is almost identical to that. We used it as a moving coop for two years without issue. However our summers are not crazy hot and our winters are long and cold. We had to bring it into our large garage the first winter and the second winter we put the chickens into a normal coop. Now its just the summer coop for our chickens while we use the other coop for babies.

The chickens had no issues with the roosts being directly above the metal wire and it was really nice having them fertilize the lawn in sections as I moved them around with the tractor.

 

[Rdh1223]

Thanks for all the insightful replies, I have a few weeks before I'll need the coop to be done. I am considering using plywood sheathing under the metal, and a 12 x 18 window for light/ventilation. I'm limited to 6 chickens by town ordinance, so as long as this design is big enough ? The coop I'm building is going to be 6ft x 3ft with about 6 ft of height. The sq ft of the tractor is going to be 96. Pt for the 2x on the ground, regular for everything else. I think I'm going to keep the open/wire floor but try to figure a way to put a plywood floor in during the winter months. Something that slides in from the back similar to a clean out tray on a pre made coop. Auto door with a ramp on the front, (unlike the picture above)ramp to be moved via rope/pulled when moving the tractor. And them I thought it might be nice to have a spot for the tractor say from December to March that's semi permanent. Have to think about it some more but I was thinking landscaping timbers framed to 8 x 12 with wire mesh buried under at the outside edge. Then roll the tractor onto the landscape timber and use a couple brackets to secure the two.

 

[Rdh1223]

Build update, considering some different options so I stopped framing.

 

[Krugerrand]

New York strikes me as a tough place to do a tractor in the winter. If you're looking to just do a round of meat birds in the summer it would probably work out fine.

 

[Rdh1223]

New York strikes me as a tough place to do a tractor in the winter. If you're looking to just do a round of meat birds in the summer it would probably work out fine.

Because of the cold? I've been thinking about doing the wire floor on the coop for 8/9 months of the year and then solid floor for the winter.

 

[Krugerrand]

Because of the cold? I've been thinking about doing the wire floor on the coop for 8/9 months of the year and then solid floor for the winter.

Because of the snow. And, because I'm too lazy to keep moving it around in the winter.