Mini-van-coop-fire evacuation-mobile, PREDATOR BREAK IN!

[wsmith]

OK I thought about this and I think I have an idea for you! What if you make a 'tunnel' of flexible netting attached on one side to the tractor, and on the other side to the exterior perimeter of the hatch door opening and to the exterior of the hatch door (so it won't get caught in the door when you close it). Sort of like the accordion connector between train cars that allows them to move yet stay connected. When it's open it will make a tunnel, and when it's closed it will make a sort of u-shape where it attaches to the van and door. I made this horrible drawing to demonstrate:

It will probably be much closer together than this but that's just to give an idea.

Janelle...
Looks like a really cool chicken force field!

 

[jrsckn]

What if you duct tape some deer/bird netting to the outside of your van ( so you don't have to drill in it ) and then leave plenty of slack and attach it to your run with zip ties. It's cheap and has some give if you accidently close it in the hatch. It's not predator proof but it will keep the chicks from going out the gap.

 

[mynamesjenelle]

Janelle...
Looks like a really cool chicken force field!

Well you know, chickens hate lasers

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Well you know, chickens hate lasers

If I was really clever I could create a mobile chicken coop that also laser-cooked my chickens for me!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Not much progress on either the mobile chicken coop or the tractor today. I did manage to purchase most of the materials I'll need to finish both projects and install a roost in the tractor, but none of that is really photo-worthy.

However, I did clean the kid's bathroom (a major event) and do a great job of cleaning and organizing the laundry room if you'd like me to post some photos of that!

 

[SleepyOwl]

That is awsome!

 

[ONSTAD1]

now I'm torn... Do I want Jenelle to come over and help with my coop or come over to help me clean the bathroom ; )

mo

 

[Stumpy]

 

[Life is Good!]

Great ideas! The tractor will keep 50% of the poo outdoors...but that means 50% of the poo is in their sleeping quarters. As one with 25 Freedom Rangers just finishing up (they're at week 10) on a PVC tractor on grass - I can tell you you're going to need a SERIOUS poop board under that roosting section and/or a way to get in there and completely scrape it out with a shovel at least 2x/wk if not more frequently.

I've left our tractor on the same spot of grass for a week (just one week) - and the crust is so thick I'm using a flat-edge shovel to scoop the poop. Seriously large amount of turds. Seriously.

My posts of this journey are on the Meat section (Freedom Rangers in Illinois is the name of the posts) and you can see some of the PVC tractor 'house' in the images. If you'd like some specific ones - pm me, as I'm not checking this section very often.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Thanks for the advice about the poop boards. I thought I was going to get the chicks out into the tractor yesterday, but wasn't quite ready. I was going to spend some time on it this morning but my Jersey Giant seems sick and I've been tending to her (please see my thread under diseases, injuries etc if you have experience in diagnosing and treating chicken illnesses).

Anyway, here is what I got accomplished this weekend:


I purchased a piece of the perforated aluminum that folks use for radiator covers and such (probably the most expensive purchase for this project so far). I traced the opening of the broken window and cut the aluminum about 1/2 inch larger on each side and tried to slide it up into the groove that the window glass would fit into and then down into the lower groove. I had to push and shove and take it out several times to trim it, and scraped my hands against the rough edge, but in the end I'm pretty pleased with the results. I reinforced inside and out with strips of aluminum, hoping to make it more difficult to force inward.

I then added a second roost and finished the back wall, sort of like the front barrier, but with a pop-door that swings down in the bottom section to let the chickens in and out. Again, I'm not looking for predator protection here, just to be able to safely swing that rear hatch down without squashing anyone.




Here's a look inside. I built two platforms to elevate the feed and water, but may have to figure out how to add a poop board or poop sling to increase the ease of cleaning. I have a poop "slide" in my other chicken coop and can dump it weekly. It is about 85% poop and only 15% bedding, so I don't have to constantly replace soiled bedding. Hmmm...more challenges.



My husband came out and helped me build the door to the tractor, to which I had added a roost since I last posted a photo. We then hooked it to the tractor to the van and began engineering the connection from the van to the tractor that would keep chickens from escaping through the side and/or providing easy access to predators.

Here's what it looks like right now. While it looks ready for occupancy, I am still working on some details that you can't see under the tarp where there are some gaps that need to be dealt with. We were losing the light, and while I was tempted to transfer the chicks out into the van, I didn't want to do so unless I was 100% sure I would be able to let them out into the tractor in the morning, because even with windows open, it could get too hot in the van during the day. With the way my morning has gone, I'm glad I made that decision last night.


Another angle:

It will probably be tomorrow before I can get the final details finished and then take it's first trip...hoping everything doesn't fall apart when it is moved. Wish me well because those Freedom Rangers really need to be moved from my garage.