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

[3forfree]

I have used old refrigerator racks to cover openings like that, maybe one would work on the van. cooking racks from grills work also. the opening should be covered with hardware cloth first.

 

[shylabell]

this is a really cool Ideal you are an very inventive person to have come up with this. I am also very excited to see your choice of birds I am doing a test this year raising some freedom rangers and some heritage whites as a test to see which breed will work better in my system as meat birds. so far I like the freedom ranger better because they are a heartier bird and are taking the weather ( I was affected by that heat wave last week in the south east) in stride. anyways i really enjoy your ideal and tell me how your freedom rangers work out for you.

 

[Heat]

Oh goodness!!!! I agree with 3forfree, try using stove grates or grills, and attache them well.

Glad to hear it only got 4 though, very lucky for that.

 

[MeringueHasAHat]

This is so cool! Talk about re-using!

 

[marlo1968]

I have used old refrigerator racks to cover openings like that, maybe one would work on the van. cooking racks from grills work also. the opening should be covered with hardware cloth first.

Use large bolts to attach to the outside of the window, like those security bars some ppl put on their windows, then hardware cloth on the interior....maybe it will help

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

It's been awhile since I posted about the predator break-in but I thought I'd post an update. Here's how I reinforced the window that the predator (still don't know if it was a bear or a raccoon) forced inward to help itself to 4 of my Freedom Rangers. I used metal strips that I purchased at the hardware store (the kind you use at the edge of the carpet when laying carpet) to reinforce the top and the bottom and fastened around the other two sides with sheet metal screws and washers. The only downside to this arrangement is that I can no longer open the sliding door on this side as the hardware cloth covers the track.




This photo was taken right before I moved the tractor this morning. As you can see, I've had a heck of a time getting those chickens to fasten their seat-belts. No amount of safety lectures seems to convince them. On the other hand, no more predator losses.

Here's a photo taken through the mesh behind the driver's seat:

 

[canesisters]

Look how big they've gotten.
Good job on the windows! As I work on my own coop, I've been wondering if the predator proofing ever ends......

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

For the record, during the first few days before we had to evacuate from the fire, I had all 35 Freedom Rangers in the mini-van coop at night and having access to both the coop and the tractor during the day. Then came the week where they were in the mini-van coop at night but had access to my sister-in-law's garage and dog run during the day. They then spent about a week with a nice lady at her ranch while we cleaned up and got the homestead ready for them after the evacuation. I moved 13 of them into a new grow-out pen that I built and had the two I was planning on keeping in with my layers. We did some repairs to the tractor and added wheels to make moving it easier and then moved the remaining 20 back into the mobile coop/tractor. Two nights later four were killed by that predator break-in, and since then we've reduced the remaining 16 down to 9 (had one for dinner last night and he was delicious).

I think that if we were going to use this setup for adult birds, rather than juveniles, 9 or10 is probably about the right number. The coop seems very roomy, and the run, since we move it every two days seems adequate as well, but if the van needed to be parked for any significant time (like the winter months) it would seem small for more than 9 or 10.

If I do this again next year, I need to do some work on the way the tractor attaches to the trailer hitch. On the original layout, the trailer hitch came right through the end of the tractor and dragged the tractor when it was time to move it. This worked OK for the initial move to the meadow and about 2 moves afterwards, but started tearing the end of the tractor off when we met with uneven ground. Once the wheels were added, it moved much more easily, but the wheels lifted the front of the tractor up enough that it didn't line up with the hitch anymore.

What I've been doing every time I move it is move the van about 12 inches from the tractor, insert the trailer hitch, lower the wheels, insert a thick piece of plastic tubing behind the wheels and fasten the tractor to the hitch with a little piece of rope. I then move the whole thing the length of the tractor to fresh grass, remove the hitch and either back the van or push the tractor forward until they are in contact again. I'm getting pretty good at it, but it isn't as convenient as a proper hitch arrangement. I'll work on it once all the Freedom Rangers have vacated the premises.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Look how big they've gotten.
Good job on the windows! As I work on my own coop, I've been wondering if the predator proofing ever ends......

I actually think I've been pretty lucky on that subject. This is the Colorado mountains here with bears and mountain lions, coyotes & bobcats, raccoons, hawks, owls and who knows what else. We're over a year now with only one adult lost to a bobcat while they were out free-ranging and the one break-in that could have resulted in 20 deaths but only resulted in 4. I now have the dogs out with me while the hens are free-ranging and we always do a loop around the coops before we go to bed at night.

 

[jrsckn]

You should keep your eyes open for old trailers. We have an OLD boat trailer we're considering turning into a tractor (except then DH would need to buy a newer one lol) but it has a good steel frame and wheels which would be a good base to make a predator proof run out of.