Designing a Tractor - Dimensions and Details

[Poppy Putentake]

Hi all,

I am considering getting a small (about 6) flock of chickens for both meat and eggs. I've never kept chickens before, but have been reading a lot on this forum and elsewhere. New Hampshire Reds (a relatively large, dual purpose, breed) or Black Sex Link Crosses have been recommended to me.

I plan to keep the chickens in a “tractor” type enclosure because part for the reason for having them would be for soil improvement in my vegetable garden. The kind with the roosting area and nesting boxes above the enclosed run seems to make sense. I am thinking of an A-frame type tractor with a “footprint” of 5'x10', perhaps with an extension of 5'x5' to make a total of 5'x15' of space. I've been designing the enclosure in my head. I am thinking of making the structural frame of 1/2” steel conduit. (I made a greenhouse of 3/4” steel conduit (with some wood) that has worked out well.)

A few questions. Maybe no one person can answer all this, but different people can respond to what they have experience with.

1.) How high should the floored enclosure be above the run? In other words, how much headroom should the chickens have?

2.) What kind of flooring should that enclosure have? Plywood would require bedding spread over it and cleaned out periodically, but I have read that wire hardware cloth is bad for chicken's feet. What about rigid plastic grating? I've seen it available online, and I could also improvise using either bread trays (7/8” square opening) or bulb trays (¼' slots). I am thinking that if less ventilation is needed, I could spread paper over the grating and then collect the paper, bedding and droppings periodically.

Alternatively, what about a roosting are with no flooring, just a roof with roosting poles at various heights they could climb and/or fly up to? Would that be okay in warm weather, but not when it is cold? (Where I live, temperatures can go well bellow zero. )

3.) How much headroom should chickens have above their roosts, and what is the best height for the roosts?

4.) What are the best dimensions for nesting boxes? I've read that 12” cubes are too large and they should be 10”x10”, but, alternatively, for larger breeds (i.e., New Hampshire Reds) they need to be 12” wide but 14” deep. I've also seen recommendations that the boxes be a couple inches less in height than in width, but alternatively, that they should be taller than they are wide.

What are good nesting box designs? Just plain wooden boxes? Wooden boxes with a plastic dishpan inside for easy cleaning? I've also heard of using 5-gallon buckets on their side, but would they be too small for larger hens, as they are only about 11'-12” in diameter on the top, and putting a lip along the bottom to keep bedding in would reduce the height of the opening to 9”-10"or less.

5.) Keeping predators away – in my neighborhood we not only have cats, dogs, raccoons and skunks, I've sighted both red and gray foxes and even coyotes on occasion. How to keep the chickens safe from these bad guys if they are in a bottomless enclosure?

 

[Emma Miriam]

Hi! That sounds like a great idea. Having the roosting area enclosed above the run footprint is a great idea, as it provides added protection from predators.

1) I've read a lot about this, and I recommend 2 feet. Chickens can squeeze into 18 inches, but you also want to have access yourself, and 2 feet seems to be the standard. If you'd like it shorter, though, 20 inches should be fine for the breeds you're thinking of.

2) I've never heard of anyone using plastic grating, but that could work. Honestly, though, I'd just go with plywood. If you use anything else, nighttime predators could rip through it, and I'm not even sure poop would fall through those openings, which means you'd still have to clean. Maybe others can help more. With temps below zero, you really should have a solid floor, and again, a solid floor provides more predator protection.

3) Roosts can be any height as long as they're higher than the nesting boxes, but too high and you'd risk bumblefoot if you choose larger meat breeds. Personally, I'd have them 1.5 feet minimum and 3 feet maximum, though many here on BYC have them higher than that. Also make sure that ventilation is well above a roosting chicken's head. As for headroom, 18 inches is fine, but make sure vents are above that.

4) I've never read that 12 inch square nesting boxes are too large...but then again, I don't have much experience in that area, as my girls aren't yet laying. I'll be using a small plastic storage container (https://thesmartchickencoop.com/look-inside-chicken-coop-made-easy-to-clean/), so it's removable and easy to clean. If you want the nests to be darker, you could maybe put that in a wooden nook. Others can probably answer your questions better on this one.

5) Great question. Since you'll be moving your tractor, I'd recommend a hardware cloth apron extending 24 inches in all directions. The apron lies flat on the ground and prevents predators from digging (they aren't generally smart enough to start digging farther back). At night, though, raccoons might figure out how to pick up the end of the apron and crawl underneath it, which is why I recommend a solid plywood floor for the roosting space. The apron can make the tractor annoying to move, but I've read that people sometimes can make them "retractable" so that they fold up for moving. Not sure how, but you seem creative. Your other choice would be to screen the bottom of the run with something like rabbit wire/welded wire fencing. It will protect against daytime digging predators like dogs or coyotes, but it has larger openings than hardware cloth which allows chickens more access to the ground. With this, though, you'd definitely need a solid floor above, since small predators could get in. More info here: http://www.thegardencoop.com/blog/2009/09/29/whats-the-best-kind-of-chicken-wire-and-fencing/

Hope that helps! If you have any other questions, please ask!