- May 3, 2013
- 7
- 19
- 9
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Hello everyone I'm new to chickens and we got 6 chicks back on easter.
I was wanting to build a chicken tractor for several reasons.
First I rent my house and didn't want a coop that was too hard to take with me if I move.
Second I have a big yard and liked the idea of being able to move the tractor every few days to a fresh patch of grass.
Third I like the idea of not having to clean the run .
So I have been looking at all of the coop pictures here and elsewhere on the net to get some good ideas.
I came up with a 4x10 coop and run.The coop is 4x4 with 3 nesting boxes elevated 18 inches above the run.
My biggest concern was what type of wheels to put on it.I've seen several with smaller lawn mower type wheels.
which to me don't seem like they would roll very good.I wanted a bigger tire that would roll easy and didn't want a cantilever system to raise the wheels.So I bought 2 trailer jacks on sale at nothern tools for $20 each and 2 wheel barrel wheels from amazon for $40 for both of them.I took the bottom wheel off the jack and cut the bracket down some.Then drilled a hole to mount the wheel barrel wheel.I couldn't be happier with the way they work.It takes less that a minute the lift the tractor about 6 inches off the ground and it moves real easy on the grass.I'm guessing my tractor weighs about 350 to 400 lbs.
For a handle to move it I have a large wooden dowel that slides into two angled 2x4's My door on the run is in the front so I need a handle the was removeable.I didn't take to many pics of the construction and still need some pics of the finished inside to post.
This coop was a joy to build and it took me about 4 days to finish.
Hello everyone I'm new to chickens and we got 6 chicks back on easter.
I was wanting to build a chicken tractor for several reasons.
First I rent my house and didn't want a coop that was too hard to take with me if I move.
Second I have a big yard and liked the idea of being able to move the tractor every few days to a fresh patch of grass.
Third I like the idea of not having to clean the run .
So I have been looking at all of the coop pictures here and elsewhere on the net to get some good ideas.
I came up with a 4x10 coop and run.The coop is 4x4 with 3 nesting boxes elevated 18 inches above the run.
My biggest concern was what type of wheels to put on it.I've seen several with smaller lawn mower type wheels.
which to me don't seem like they would roll very good.I wanted a bigger tire that would roll easy and didn't want a cantilever system to raise the wheels.So I bought 2 trailer jacks on sale at nothern tools for $20 each and 2 wheel barrel wheels from amazon for $40 for both of them.I took the bottom wheel off the jack and cut the bracket down some.Then drilled a hole to mount the wheel barrel wheel.I couldn't be happier with the way they work.It takes less that a minute the lift the tractor about 6 inches off the ground and it moves real easy on the grass.I'm guessing my tractor weighs about 350 to 400 lbs.
For a handle to move it I have a large wooden dowel that slides into two angled 2x4's My door on the run is in the front so I need a handle the was removeable.I didn't take to many pics of the construction and still need some pics of the finished inside to post.
This coop was a joy to build and it took me about 4 days to finish.
