Locally built chicken tractor -- would you modify this?

[PDXDeweyDell]

My coop came last night!!

Looks pretty sweet so far. Nesting boxes and feeder inside, retractable (secure) ramp. With the way that panel falls into place I think there should be plenty of wiggle room for swelling, but I'm going to stain it this weekend and make sure it'll last awhile / not swell so much when it gets drenched in this PNW rain. They even brought me some grit and oyster shell to apologize for the time it took to deliver (less than a week! but I guess still a couple days more than what was on the website.) So that's my update... so far so good.

 

[mxmarg]

Cool!

 

[tulipsonfires]

Did you end up getting this coop? Did you like it? If so, what modifications did you end up making? We are first timers and like the tractor idea. Like free delivery too!

 

[PDXDeweyDell]

Hey, congrats and welcome to the chicken world!

I've had this tractor for almost a year now and no regrets -- it was a great buy. I had big ambitions to stain it and put down linoleum in the attic to make it easier to clean, but the guy that delivered it mentioned that some people choose not to stain because it blends into surroundings a bit more (makes sense in the city -- our neighbors are cool, but we still try to keep a low profile!) I haven't had any problems with the cedar swelling -- was nervous that it would swell to the point where I wouldn't be able to remove the panel to get into the attic, but it rained all winter long here (yep, Portland!) it hasn't been an issue. Then I never did get around to the linoleum, but my chickens have been free-ranging all day and tree-sleeping at night, so in our case the tractor is mostly for feeding and laying, and only needs light cleaning. I'm sure this isn't the norm... but they hate being penned up and it certainly makes things easier on me!

 

[appps]

Thanks Egghead.... I was considering the version with the closed bottom, but you're right.... a door would be ideal.  Not sure that's a deal breaker yet, I'm in an urban area with a fenced yard so predators aren't a huge concern.... but I might try to get some local feedback on the predator situation.  Thanks!

Probably different country to you but still, never think suburbia means safety from predators. We live less than 5 mins drive to our city centre and still lost our last hens to a fox.

 

[PDXDeweyDell]

I'm sorry to hear that.

I know it's a risk to let them sleep outdoors and it would be fair to fault me for allowing it to go on this long, but they seem to really prefer it -- they get so anxious when they're locked up. In the 8 months or so they've been sleeping outside, I really haven't had much trouble either. A few months back, they woke me up in the middle of the night fretting about something -- they sleep right outside my bedroom window so I hear about it if there's anything wrong. I went to check out the situation and found one of our neighborhood cats in the yard -- grr! The next time it happened, I let my dogs out (let me say it was awesome to watch them chase that cat away, hehe.) We haven't had any problems since.

On the other hand, I have heard rumors of coyotes here in the city... If anyone spots one in my neighborhood, my happy free-ranging tree-sleepers would be locked up pretty quick!