help? setting a heavy tractor on uneven sloped ground

[dftkarin]

I have 3 components of a non-permanent coop:
3x5 2' tall fenced 'base'
3'x5' 4-5' tall enclosed secure coop that sits on the base
and a 3x5' 4' tall enclosure that backs right up to the coop side - so 4 chickens have the area under the coop and the area of the enclosure as a proected run. (I know its not enough space, but they free range in the yard for a minimum of several hours a day).

My problem is that the best spot to put this set up is a sloped area under a crabapple tree and I am finding it hard to set the base in such a way that its relatively level and solid enough to move the (very heavy, I'll need 3 people to move it at least) enclosed coop part on top of it. I bought a few bricks and concrete blocks and collected rocks of various sizes, tried shoveling dirt to level off the 3x5' "foorprint', put the base and kept sticking bricks and blocks to level and sturdy it, but since the ground is uneven and bumpy from the roots of the tree - if its sturdy on one corner, the bricks are loose and easily movable in another spot. The dirt seems to just fall away when I try to tamp it down and push it against things. Is this a job for a professional? Are there secrets or tips to propping a heavy shed/coop type building up without having to set permanent footings? I'm not counting on the run to be predator proof (I'll lock them in the enclosed coop at night) but I do want the enclosure to be able to keep the chickens contained and cats out at least.

 

[4hLuvers]

Try using cinder blocks on the downhill side. We are struggling with a slope as well and plan to use them.

 

[patandchickens]

Hm, sounds like you've got yourself a difficult situation

You might look at it this way, there are really two more or less independant things:

1) you want a good enough 'seal' with the ground that nothing can sneak under to eat chickens. This is pretty easy to achieve with a wire mesh skirt weighted down in strategic spots with big rocks, cement blocks, concrete rubble, what-have-you.

and also

2) you want the structure to be stable enough that it does not fall over, the coop does not fall off the base, and it can't rock so much that your weighted-down bits of skirt come up off the ground. Best bet for this is to set semi-permanent footings -- I'd use cinderblocks, like 4hluvers suggests -- that you work firmly into the soil so that they are all level to support the structure. Easiest (by far) to do this with a piece of straight lumber as your test edge, rather than trying to shim up under the pen already in place.

It does not sound like the best place to be putting a tractor, though... you may have to either set it up to be semi permanent, or put the tractor elsewhere?

Good luck,

Pat