First chicken tractor (and first chckens too)

[3hensinmyyard]

Hi. I'm new here and very new to chickens. In fact, they haven't even hatched yet. But I just completed my tractor and have a couple of questions regarding how many hens I can keep in it. I'm not sure if I have enough perch room for 4 but I would like to keep four instead of the 3 that I originally designed it for. Inside the coup is one 12 inch perch and a longer 26 inch perch plus one nesting box. I could make more nesting boxes under the coup but I don't see a way to put more perch room inside. I'm also concerned that the perch area will be too "shallow" or low for full grown hens. Any suggestions?
(I took these pictures with the back door lowered. It would normally be closed up. )

 

[AtRendeAcres]

That does look small! What kind of chickens? their size is also a factor

This is 3x8 ((you need 4 square feet per bird inside & square feet outside for them live healthy!

I let mine free range as long as I am out there!

Joanne

 

[3hensinmyyard]

The pen is 4x8. I ordered red star sex-linked. I thought three would be happy in that but I had to order a minimum of 8, so I thought it would be nice to keep 4, if possible, and give the rest away. Probably too small though. I do plan to let them roam the yard at least once a day in the warmer months.

 

[Davaroo]

Teensy for 4, yes.
But if you moved it daily it could work. Put some wheels on one end so it rolls when you lift it and move in a line. After a week, or 7 moves, go back to the beginning of the line and start over.
After the second week, add some mulch, grass clippings, etc. to the bottom each time you move it
After 2-3 months of this you will have created seven growing beds and you can move over to the adjacent line..

 

[AtRendeAcres]

sounds like a PLAN!