Maine

[buckabucka]

I am already overrun with chickens here, and 30 eggs on the way, but SCG, the blue-laced red naked necks have your name all over them! (I know you are a bit overrun also).

I was quite pleased working in the hoop coop this morning. It is up to 50 degrees in there!

 

[lazy gardener]

I am already overrun with chickens here, and 30 eggs on the way, but SCG, the blue-laced red naked necks have your name all over them! (I know you are a bit overrun also).

I was quite pleased working in the hoop coop this morning. It is up to 50 degrees in there!

I'd love to see pictures inside and out of your hoop coop. Still playing around with plans for tractor which will be not too heavy to move around the yard in the summer, and will be parked in the winter with an addition for more floor space, deep litter. Most recent plan is 4 x 8 foot print, 2 story with shed roof sloping along the long axis with option of adding an other section in the front abutting the taller wall for winter, turning the profile into a "clear-story". Ideas from you all about what has worked for you in the tractor department, what is the biggest size that can be comfortably moved, (even if pulled with a lawn tractor). Tractor will most likely be sheathed inside with 1/4" luan, have 3/4" foam insulation, aluminum siding (we already have most if not all of these materials on hand.) Will have 1/2" hdw cloth around the bottom 2', and plexiglass windows (again, materials already on hand.) I want to incorporate a lot of details inside, but realize that I have to keep it simple to cut down the wt. At least, plan for linoleum floor, may do water collection with water from gutter into filter bucket.

I'd love ideas from you all about what has worked for you in the tractor department, what is the biggest size that can be comfortably moved, (even if pulled with a lawn tractor). What do you like about your set up, what would you do differently. Advice from all for me re: planning for a very small flock will be very much appreciated. Thanks All!!

 

[Keric]

Lazy Gardener, You mentioned that you are going to build a tractor and mentioned foam insulation. For some reason or other chickens always want to peck at insulation and actually eat it. Not sure if you know this already or not but I thought I should throw it out there.

One thing I want to try with a tractor type coop is to use that electric net with step in posts. That way the chickens can always have a large enough area and I don't have to worry about building a tractor with an attached run. I think something like that would just need to be moved once a week plus It would work for a hilly part of the yard. The only draw back would be that I would have to run a chord for the electric charger because I don't have a solar one.

 

[buckabucka]

Lazy gardener, you will be interested in this thread. I linked you to a page where I posted a lot of photos, but you may want to read the whole thing and see other people's ideas.

Our hoop coop is very large (20x24) and quite heavy, but DH has a tractor that we use to move it. The thing I like most about it is that one whole side is clear corrugated. It gets a lot of solar gain and is very bright. In the summer, we turn the clear side west or east, to provide shade so it stays cool. We also insulated under the corrugated steel that is on the opposing side, so it doesn't heat up like a tin can. And the chickens love the access to greens.

We do let them out to roam around, partly because the two roosters get along best when they can get out away from each other, although they've been locked up a lot this winter.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/172799/our-hoop-house-chicken-tractor/280

We have an electric fence that we connected to the run on our other coop, but we never electrify it because we don't have such a manicured lawn, and we run the fence through brambles and such. For the hoop coop, I just put up step in poles with snow fence. Ugly, but it kept them contained.

Next spring, I'm going to let the flock of older girls free-range, since we plan to send them to the freezer in the fall anyway. If we don't start losing them to predators, I'll probably let all the flocks take turns free-ranging, as long as the neighbor's dog isn't around. They've been free-ranging on warmer days this winter, but it is very limited territory, as they won't go in deep snow.

 

[lazy gardener]

Lazy Gardener, You mentioned that you are going to build a tractor and mentioned foam insulation. For some reason or other chickens always want to peck at insulation and actually eat it. Not sure if you know this already or not but I thought I should throw it out there.

One thing I want to try with a tractor type coop is to use that electric net with step in posts. That way the chickens can always have a large enough area and I don't have to worry about building a tractor with an attached run. I think something like that would just need to be moved once a week plus It would work for a hilly part of the yard. The only draw back would be that I would have to run a chord for the electric charger because I don't have a solar one.

my foam will be completely sheathed in by plywood... just like it would in a house wall. thanks. I agree that electric is a good idea, I have a battery powered charger that I may actually work into a perimeter that will actually travel with the tractor. we'll see how energetic I am when the time comes.

 

[lazy gardener]

Lazy gardener, you will be interested in this thread. I linked you to a page where I posted a lot of photos, but you may want to read the whole thing and see other people's ideas.

Our hoop coop is very large (20x24) and quite heavy, but DH has a tractor that we use to move it. The thing I like most about it is that one whole side is clear corrugated. It gets a lot of solar gain and is very bright. In the summer, we turn the clear side west or east, to provide shade so it stays cool. We also insulated under the corrugated steel that is on the opposing side, so it doesn't heat up like a tin can. And the chickens love the access to greens.

We do let them out to roam around, partly because the two roosters get along best when they can get out away from each other, although they've been locked up a lot this winter.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/172799/our-hoop-house-chicken-tractor/280

We have an electric fence that we connected to the run on our other coop, but we never electrify it because we don't have such a manicured lawn, and we run the fence through brambles and such. For the hoop coop, I just put up step in poles with snow fence. Ugly, but it kept them contained.

Next spring, I'm going to let the flock of older girls free-range, since we plan to send them to the freezer in the fall anyway. If we don't start losing them to predators, I'll probably let all the flocks take turns free-ranging, as long as the neighbor's dog isn't around. They've been free-ranging on warmer days this winter, but it is very limited territory, as they won't go in deep snow.

I am so very jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me re think my plans. I also have one left over cattle panel. wouldn't be too hard to take a trip to TSC for a second one, make a hoop coop on wheels, and then I could couple it up to my existing one for the winter. Certainly not as nice as yours, but might be easier in the long run than conventional construction.

 

[buckabucka]

Thanks for the kind comments, lazy gardener. Ours was a big project and not cheap, but I really love going in there. DH did all the work. I put up some of the hardware cloth on the ends, just because he hates working with hardware cloth so much! This year, I'd like to temporarily divide the hoop coop into smaller pens, just for integrating the new chickens we'll add.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I am so very jealous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me re think my plans. I also have one left over cattle panel. wouldn't be too hard to take a trip to TSC for a second one, make a hoop coop on wheels, and then I could couple it up to my existing one for the winter. Certainly not as nice as yours, but might be easier in the long run than conventional construction.

Ours is made out of 2 cattle panels. I'm not going to read the >30 page post... but it's sturdy, and holds a lot of birds. Fairly easy to make.

 

[hoppy]

more babies hatching!! includes so far, one lavender wyandotte.

 

[Mainechick168]

http://maine.craigslist.org/grd/3571859656.html ( free heritage turkeys)


A craigslist ad to share- not sure if anyone is interested, but free is usually good, right??


I am a bit of a craigslist junky- I like to browse the farm and garden section...and sometimes read the missed connections for a good laugh!