My new chicken tractor! PIX!!!

[Rillion]

Cool! That's one of the nicer chicken tractors I've seen-- some of them strike me as being too cramped, and the ones with an "upstairs" that goes across the top completely sometimes make it too dark down below. This one has neither problem.

If you feel like sharing the plans, I would appreciate it...this looks like something I'd want to build, myself!

 

[babyspice35]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!

So, looking at the Home Depot receipt, it's kind of hard to identify the items... but the price list is as follows;

$11.83 4x8 plywood 1/2 inch
$35.64 Treated 2x2x8 (12 @ $2.97ea.) We used 10 1/2.
$10.88 40" PVC poultry mesh
$6.78 Hinges (2 double-packs [4]@ $3.39ea)
$6.64 Barrel-bolt Latches (2@ $3.32 ea)
$3.98 Door pull/handle
$3.00 3/8in hardware- 2 carriage bolts, 4 hexnuts, 4 flat washers
$13.18 6" wheels (2@$6.59)
------------
$91.93 TOTAL

We also had staples and screws.

It took us about 4 hours non-stop to finish.



Here are my plans. Sorry if they're illegible, they were just for me.
They're not at all exact, just an idea, we pretty much eyeballed most of it... I kinda failed geometry, so my angles were all off.
My dad is like an expert carpenter, so it was fairly easy to make everything work.

 

[tiffanyh]

Looks great.

Im curious, do you shut them in at night?? With the space around the bottom how do you protect from predators?

 

[cas22]

Very cool! I'm working on an A-frame, too. Is there a covering/roofing material that goes over the plywood on the sides, or are you going to paint that . . . or something else? (I saw the other lumber you used was treated, and I wasn't sure about the plywood.)

BTW, your plans are in much better shape than mine were. Luckily, my boyfriend is a master carpenter, and--like your dad--he made it all fit together!

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

That is really great. Lots of room and fresh grass, worms, bugs everyday.

I would run 1/4" hardware cloth along the bottom 2 ft or so then apron it out at the bottom to prevent anything from digging under or the birds from squeezing under.

I have it on my dog house turned banty tractor and it doesn't stop the tractor from moving along the ground.

I would think that any preditor with teeth will be able to go right through PVC and coons will be able to stick a paw through the 1" and pull a chicken through.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
You built a coop that nice for $91.93?!?!

That's less than half the cost of the (smaller) coop that we would have built otherwise!!! It looks like you left out the cost of the wood that supports the chicken wire. Can you put up a list of the cuts that are needed?

Questions aside, that is hands-down one of the best chicken tractors I have ever seen.

EDIT:

Never mind about the "missing costs." You did list them. Seriously, you could probably sell these plans.

 

[babyspice35]

Hmm, I'm going to paint all the wood. Oh- a question... does it have to be non-toxic paint? Will the paint bucket say that it is non-toxic? We have a lot of paint laying around that I can use. Maybe I can stain it instead.

Good idea with the netting skirt at the bottom! I have some of the PVC stuff left over, so I can use that.

We really don't have predators here where I live, just maybe our dogs... but they know the chickens are pets now so they won't bother. Thats why there are sooo many wild chickens!!!

If we lived somewhere with predators like raccoons, foxs', etc, I would have probably used metal chicken mesh and leave a 1 foot skirt to put rocks on so they couldn't dig under.

I don't shut them in at night, they just go to the nest boxes and the 3 young ones snuggle in one, and the larger one takes the other. I might have to re-think the situation as they get older... I'm definitely going to add a roost and maybe another nest box.


Thanks for your ideas!

 

[Rillion]

About the door to the nest box-- I can see the top latch, but does it swing open downward or come off completely? It's kind of hard to tell what happens with it from the photo.

This looks like a nice coop to have in Hawaii, although you might want to add a cover to provide more shade when it's sunny out so that they can be outside but not in direct sunlight. Maybe you already have a cover, I don't know, but it's something to think about.

Also, the view from your backyard is beautiful.

 

[babyspice35]

Quote:
I'm not sure the of the cuts, I can go out with a measuring tape, though

But like I said, we eye-balled most of it so I'm sure they're almost all uneven, not level, and pretty bizarre cuts. I know that front door barely fits and its a funny shape!

LOL if I made plans they'd go like this;
"Step 4: Throw a 2x2 up about as high as you want the nest boxes to go. Now just eyeball it to see if its level, then tell a bystander to eyeball it. If its good, draw a line on the wood where you want it to go."

Thanks for the compliment though

Oh, yes the nestbox door is attached @ the bottom with hinges.

 

[Zahboo]

It looks good. I have a question though. Is that the plastic fencing? It looks nice but I would be terrified of something getting in. My rabbit ate through the plastic fencing, so I'm sure predators could