just finished my new chicken tractor! tell me what you think?

[cutlass1972]

I still need to add wheels, and I am still pondering the best approach to this.

It is framed in pressure treated lumber but it has a couple of really heavy coats of exterior latex paint on all surfaces (including the bottom).

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

i think it looks wonderful, and that I would love to have a exact replica of that for my chicks to use a grower coop!

 

[cutlass1972]

the hardware cloth is a little coarse for little bitty birds, but I have a 8'x3'x3' galvanized stock tank I bought and built a screen top for to raise them from when they outgrow the rubber maid containers until they are big enough to go in the tractor. I built this tractor to get them outside and in sight of my existing flock for a few weeks before I integrate the young ones into my flock. It will also double as an isolation coop if need be when the need arises.

 

[lavacaw]

How do you expect us to copy it without dimensions? Great job! I want one just like it except with a bigger back door for cleanout. (When you get to be my age, it's hard to get down on your knees and into small spaces!

)

 

[cutlass1972]

hehe. I didn't put a floor in the coop so there is no cleaning necessary When it is time I will just move it to a new spot.

It is basically 4'x4'x8' the last couple of feet I boxed in and made the coop so essentially, it is a 6'x4'x4' run with a 2'x4'x4' coop with 3 tiered roosts inside.

 

[cristina33]

Looks great but could you get in the run if you needed to. I didnt notice a people size door lol?

 

[elmo]

Looks good! The spaces in that wire are wide enough so that a predator like a raccoon could reach through and grab your chickens, so be careful about locking them in the coop part at night.

 

[cutlass1972]

I haven't put a door on the inside coop yet. I was pressed for time to get it finished. They all go in the coop just like my hens at night so I don't think it will be an issue. I wanted to use hardware cloth with finer holes but they didnt really have any. The next smallest hole would have been chicken wire, and it was much more flimsy than this stuff. When I invest the time and money into doing something like this I like to build in such a way that it is going to last for years, if not a lifetime (with maintenance).

 

[cutlass1972]

Quote:
I can reach pretty much to the middle of the run through either of the 2 doors. I have a grabby tong device if I needed to get all the way to the other side, but no there are no people doors.