hoop house chicken tractor?

[MsChickenMomma]

I have seen lots of threads on BYC of Hoop Coops/Hoop Houses made out of 2x4's, cattle fencing, and wiring. All of the ones I have seen are actual coops, and they are quite small.

I was wondering if it's possible to make a chicken tractor for 23 chickens with the hoop coop style, but without the coop. I need an easy to move chicken tractor for my 23 chickens because I am having a terrible hawk problem and my chickens need to be able to get outside.

How big would it have to be to hold 23 chickens comfortably? I know it will have to be pretty big, but would it still be moveable at the size that I would need it? My chickens wouldn't be sleeping in it, they would just be out in it during the day.

 

[FinnIslander]

I just built this 6'x10' tractor coop today. Total cost was $27 for the chicken wire as I had everything else laying about.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

If it's not possible, don't be afraid to tell me. I'm just looking for a bit of input on this and if it's even do-able.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Read this, something I found on the internets 1 day and saved it to read later. Sposed to hold 50-75 chickens and be movable.
Hope this helps.

http://www.plamondon.com/hoop-coop.html

 

[aart]

10 x 23 feet would give you the 10 sq ft per bird that is the rule of thumb for runs.

Would be very heavy...but it depends on what kind of wheels you could put on it, what kind of ground it will move over and if you have a tractor or something to move it with.

I think 'very large' and 'easy to move' might not really fit in the same sentence.

Is a permanent run not a possibility?

 

[MsChickenMomma]

A permanent run would be a possibility, but I would like my chickens to continue to be able to have fresh grass and bugs like they have had for the last 2 years. I guess we'll have to look into a more permanent run. I just wanted to see if it was possible to have a chicken tractor big enough for my size flock.

Thanks for the input.

 

[aart]

You could do a large run, then use electronet or make rotating pastures off the run.

Grazing frames are also a good option to keeping some greens in the run.

 

[foreverlearning]

Do you have a riding lawn mower? If so, I use mine all the time to move things as big as a storage building around my property.

 

[write2caroline]

A permanent run would be a possibility, but I would like my chickens to continue to be able to have fresh grass and bugs like they have had for the last 2 years. I guess we'll have to look into a more permanent run. I just wanted to see if it was possible to have a chicken tractor big enough for my size flock.

Thanks for the input.

Just so you know. We used two separate tractors and daily moved them around the yard. Finally because there were a few times I couldn't move them by myself resulting in every blade of grass was eaten and we had rectangular bald spots in the yard. so we built a large run - a really large run. They completely denuded all vegatation within a month or so even to about two inches past the fence since they could poke their heads through to get to the grass. We have not had a flock in the big run for a little over a month now and it is barely re greening but Chickens are voracious foragers even when also offered feed.

Caroline

 

[yogifink]

I just made a hoop house tractor a week or two ago.

Albeit a Saturday night special, largely influenced by the consumption of Bush Light, I think it came out pretty good.

Made from Grey PCV (electrical conduit), welded wire fence (not cattle/combo panels), pallet wood, a bit of hardware cloth, zip ties, paper nails and some other junk I had lying around. Total cost of the tractor was $0!

Very light and easy to move, in fact my DW can easily drag it around the yard for fresh grass, and the two of us can pick it up and walk it around with no trouble (can't pick it up alone because of the size)

I used pcv that was about 7 foot in length. To fit your needs, a couple 20 foot pieces (or two tens coupled) would get the job done. Always use the grey pvc for pipe that is exposed to the sun, the white stuff is not made to be exposed to light and will become brittle after a year or two.

To make it long enough to fit your needs, I would use a single 2x4 on each side (cut to length), and then 3 more 2x4s to complete the base in a rectangle shape. (third one in the center to keep base from warping due to pressure from pipe)