Local Custom Coops. (Smokey Mountain Chicken Tractors)

[RomanWriter]

Hey guys-

I am not the handiest of handy people. I was looking into pre-fab kits and was generally disappointed with what was out there regarding quality.

I did some digging to try to find some locally in Knoxville, TN and ran across these folks: http://www.smokymountainchickentractors.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/smokymountainchickentractors/

Guy does construction/home renovations and his family is big into backyard chickens. He decided to turn his handiness into chicken coop building side business. Takes about 5 weeks to build/deliver from order. Prices include delivery.

Just curious- what do you guys think of these?

My wife and I were looking to get 4-6 chickens at the most. Our questions were:

A) The bottom has the same wiring the run has around it. Does that pose problems for their feet? Sorry if that seems silly.

B) Cleaning it looks like there is a hole in the back of them to slide the tray in and out? Any thoughts?

Just looking for general opinions. They use much better material, do a better job than I ever could, and the prices are actually pretty decent and include delivery.

 

[RomanWriter]

After reading more threads here, it looks like the general advice is to not have the wire on the floor of the run. I am also a bit nervous about the back of them that have a small gap to remove what I assume is cover over the floor so you can clean it easier.

It looks like this:




I emailed the builder about possibly leaving off the wire on the floor of the run, and I could add my own skirt/apron around it to prevent digging. I would also make some kind of latching door with hardware mesh to latch over the gap in the back of the coop. It just makes me nervous lol.

 

[flyin-lowe]

If the build quality appears OK in person I honestly thought the prices were not too bad. I was expecting them to be little more based on what I usually see from people who build coops. I was expecting a lot higher, especially if that includes delivery set up etc.

 

[RomanWriter]

That is what I was thinking. We are going to their place this weekend and they are letting us check everything out in person just to see how they build them, see their chickens, etc. He only takes down payments on anything over $1000, so we just pay on delivery in about 5 weeks. We thought it was a pretty good deal too.

 

[ChickadeeNMe]

Hey folks! I stumbled across this thread on accident. Just wanted to say that the wire that's on the bottom of these coops is not the same as the wire that's on the top. The bottom wire is 1" galvanized poultry mesh and it doesn't bother the chickens feet at all. Tested it and my chickens are just fine. The top wire is 1/2" hardware cloth. These things are absolutely necessary to keep predators out of the coops. Even the bottom. Predators can dig a tunnel and get into the coops without any wire on the bottom. Also, The slot on the back is too small for anything to get in. We've been building them for years and using them for years and so far, nothing has ever gotten into one. I can see where they try, but they are unsuccessful. This is Keith's wife. My husband builds the tractors. We have a facebook page with a lot of very positive reviews. I just wanted to clarify that the wire wasn't the same that was on the bottom.