Is there such a thing as a stealth chicken tractor?

[i-love-my-honey]

I live in a rural neighborhood that is not chicken friendly. I have 1.3 acres, about a third of which is my house, another third is not visible from the front of the house. I have no fence, and my dh does not want one. I want a chicken tractor so I can have the girls eat grass as much as possible, and I will move it at least once, maybe twice daily. I will have 6-8 chickens (two of those will be bantams.) Now to the questions:

Does anyone have any insight on a stealth chicken tractor?

Should I build a stationary coop and a separate run or keep them together?

Is it possible to build a low profile (around a 2' high) run? Would the girls be happy?

If I move the coop at least once a day, so I still need the 8 sq feet per bird or can I make do with less?

 

[colburg]

I live in a rural neighborhood that is not chicken friendly. I have 1.3 acres, about a third of which is my house, another third is not visible from the front of the house. I have no fence, and my dh does not want one. I want a chicken tractor so I can have the girls eat grass as much as possible, and I will move it at least once, maybe twice daily. I will have 6-8 chickens (two of those will be bantams.) Now to the questions:

Does anyone have any insight on a stealth chicken tractor? Depends on what you need it to blend in with. Trees? Shrubs? Grass?

Should I build a stationary coop and a separate run or keep them together? I would keep them together. With a stationary coop you're hauling chickens to and from the run every day. And you'll be shoveling poop.

Is it possible to build a low profile (around a 2' high) run? Would the girls be happy? My chickens like to get into a space that's only 18" tall and they seem to do well in there, so I think 2' would be ok.

If I move the coop at least once a day, so I still need the 8 sq feet per bird or can I make do with less? For only 6-8 chickens,
8sqft should be ok. Mine have 7.5sqft and they're fine when we keep them locked up for several days.

Off the top of my head here's what I'm thinking. Make the whole thing 8'x8'. Half of it is 2' tall, the other 4'tall. The 2'tall section is welded wire, the 4' tall section is wood, but make the bottom 1' hinge up so that they get good breezes in the spring, summer, and fall. The bottom foot is covered with welded wire that the hinges pieces can fold down over it for winter protection.

The top of the 4' section is actually 2 pieces. One is 6' long, the other is 2'. Put 2 nests below the 2' section, 2'off the ground. This gives you a smaller section of the roof to lift for easy egg removal. And the whole roof can be lifted for easy chicken removal when they're roosting.

The roost is 2'6" off the floor(18" from the roof) and 3' from the back.

Once construction is complete, cover the sides with the hexagon green poultry netting to blend in if your area is green. Here's a pic.

I'll try to get a sketch together in a bit.

 

[colburg]

Here ya go. It's pretty crude, but hopefully you get the drift.

 

[JackE]

If you get any loudmouthed birds like I have, and have close neighbors, you can scrap that "Stealth" idea. I have a few hens that seem to want the WORLD to know they just layed an egg. They can go on and on for like a half hour. They also have friends that sometimes like to yell back and forth with them.
It always cracks me up, when somebody talks about a "StealthCoop". Unless you muzzle all of them, it just ain't possible.

 

[i-love-my-honey]

Off the top of my head here's what I'm thinking. Make the whole thing 8'x8'. Half of it is 2' tall, the other 4'tall. The 2'tall section is welded wire, the 4' tall section is wood, but make the bottom 1' hinge up so that they get good breezes in the spring, summer, and fall. The bottom foot is covered with welded wire that the hinges pieces can fold down over it for winter protection.

The top of the 4' section is actually 2 pieces. One is 6' long, the other is 2'. Put 2 nests below the 2' section, 2'off the ground. This gives you a smaller section of the roof to lift for easy egg removal. And the whole roof can be lifted for easy chicken removal when they're roosting.

The roost is 2'6" off the floor(18" from the roof) and 3' from the back.

Once construction is complete, cover the sides with the hexagon green poultry netting to blend in if your area is green. Here's a pic.

I'll try to get a sketch together in a bit.

Thank you! I really like the blending technique! I will have to read it again in the morning, as three hours catching up on Downton Abbey has left me a little spacey... :0)

 

[i-love-my-honey]

Thanks for the schematic - that helps me visualize... :0)

 

[i-love-my-honey]

If you get any loudmouthed birds like I have, and have close neighbors, you can scrap that "Stealth" idea. I have a few hens that seem to want the WORLD to know they just layed an egg. They can go on and on for like a half hour. They also have friends that sometimes like to yell back and forth with them.
It always cracks me up, when somebody talks about a "StealthCoop". Unless you muzzle all of them, it just ain't possible.

Oh, THAT is funny! A muzzle - food for thought... :0)

 

[aart]

If you get any loudmouthed birds like I have, and have close neighbors, you can scrap that "Stealth" idea. I have a few hens that seem to want the WORLD to know they just layed an egg. They can go on and on for like a half hour. They also have friends that sometimes like to yell back and forth with them.
It always cracks me up, when somebody talks about a "StealthCoop". Unless you muzzle all of them, it just ain't possible.

Ditto! Doubt a muzzle would work tho.

 

[colburg]

If you get any loudmouthed birds like I have, and have close neighbors, you can scrap that "Stealth" idea.  I have a few hens that seem to want the WORLD to know they just layed an egg.  They can go on and on for like a half hour. They also have friends that sometimes like to yell back and forth with them.  
It always cracks me up, when somebody talks about a "StealthCoop".  Unless you muzzle all of them, it just ain't possible. 

I forgot about the noise. Maybe I'm too used to it. The stealth look will be easier to tackle than the stealth of the noise. Let us know when you figure that one out.

 

[NYcue]

I started first with a chicken tractor for 4 chickens. I purchased the tractor and it was designed for no more than 4 chickens. I used it for about 3 months before I gave up on it and built a stationary coop. I had two problems with the tractor. One, it was heavy. Moving it was a workout in itself, and the second reason was due to foxes. The foxes would jump on top of the tractor itself which would cause pandemonium and loud screams from the chickens.