My chicken tractor exploded!

[gotchooks?]

It looks great and getting the kids involved is awesome! Have fun with your chickens.

 

[mfranti]

By the way your coop is 40 square feet, which is 8 square feet per bird,

no, my run if 40sf. the actual chicken house is about 9-10 sf. your coop is much bigger than mine.

looks great too. i would like to add a "mezzanine" level to the run for added space but then i wouldn't be able to move the dern thing around the yard.

thanks for your time. you've been very helpful.​

 

[gaited horse]

you should try and replace the chicken wire with some hardwire and make a hardwire floor so nothig will get in. welcome to byc

 

[patandchickens]

You can roof it using just a tarp or (in your climate I'd go with opaque) plastic panels - that will add minimal weight. Make sure to keep the wire there underneath the roof panels for security though. (remembering that chickenwire isn't always the most predatorproof thing in the world)

Why not build nest boxes (2, or a single box-and-a-half sized one) OUTSIDE the coop - either protruding out from the house part, or inside the run part, 'hovering' above the ground, attached to the run roof and wall and the house wall. That way you would preserve all of what little indoor space you have.

With a roof over the whole entire run, in your climate it might not be an unreasonable habitat for 4-5 birds. Six might be pushing it - you may want to start thinking about giving away 1-2 chickens, or making a second tractor. Does the 'house' part have ventilation? (I hope)

It's really not at all a bad job, though, especially for the first time! I think you will get some very useful mileage out of it. Put lawnmower wheels on it, and perhaps fittings so you can stick in a pair of 2x4s as 'handles' for leverage in lifting, and it should be moveable too.

Welcome to chickens

Have fun,

Pat