New at building the Chicken Tractor

[ftroop]

I'm new at this and building a chicken tractor for a few hens to live in my back yard. I'll keep updating this as it progresses over the next few weeks.






Here's the initial frame-up, Its run has a footprint is 6'x6' and is 2' deep.

The upstairs coop is 36" wide and 34"high. The nesting boxes are set at a height so that a child can gather eggs.

I haven't heard of this before, but I'm trying an inside apron of 14" with a scratching area in the middle. I'd love to hear any feedback on that.

 

[smoothsewing]

I really like this looking good.

 

[aart]

Very nice construction (are those 2x2's?), glad to see hardware cloth.......seems awfully small tho, maybe 2-3 birds?, and the inside apron doesn't make sense to me....aprons on outside will keep predators from even starting to dig in, could hinge them for mobility of tractor.

 

[ftroop]

Yeah, I built it from 2x2s for weight. It seems quite solid and stable as I continue adding pieces to the frame. I imagine that roof decking will make it even more solid.

Well, I was looking for feedback about the inside apron. I was thinking it would deter digging predators. After looking at other threads. it seems like most people think will not be effective for that. Oh, well, after come chit-chat this evening with friends, I'll probably be rebuilding it to make it just a bit bigger and will get rid of the inside apron. I guess I'll go with the electric fence for predators.

 

[ftroop]

Well, we talked about it and decided that we may want as many as 8 chickens at a point, so we created a new tractor that is 6x8, based on the recommendation in "Raising Chickens for Dummies." That gives us 48 sqft of run on the bottom and 24sqft of coop up top We also attached the hardware cloth with screws and washers to deter predators.

 

[aart]

I really like your construction, clean and solid.

Would probably be pretty easy to run a solar charged hot wire around that tractor.

Please update as you build!

 

[ftroop]

Well, I have 15 chicks arriving on Friday and I'm going to need my brooder for them, so I'm moving the chickens in there out to the coop before then. Here are the adorable little eating machines in their current cage. I'll put a heat lamp out there for a few weeks even though they're a month old and we're having highs in the 80s and lows in the upper 60s.




That means that I'm going to have to finish it soon. Here is the latest progress.

I installed a hardware cloth floor. Y'all have put the fear of God into me about predators so, like the rest of the hardware cloth, it is attached with screws and fender washers.



I created this tray for the coop that slides out for easy cleaning. I'm planning on putting sand in there for easy scooping of poop.



I also created a ridge vent for ventilation. I'll put asphalt shingles on that.

The floors of the 2 nests are 15"x15" with 12" walls. That opening from the coop to the run down below is 12" wide. I assume that a simple 2x2 will suffice for them to climb up to the coop.

I plan on running the roost so that it is level with the top of the nests. That would be about 8" above the floor. I can't decide if it is better to run one down middle of the length of the coop or to run a couple across the width. I assume that the heat lamp should hang down near the nests with a light for winters and working in the dark. I'll install an outlet above the nests with an extension cord to plug it up so I can have light and heat.



The coop is almost 6 feet tall. I've made the opening on this end big enough so that a person could get into the coop when the tray is removed. I've read that access to clean and catch chickens is one of the problems with chicken tractors and have tried to plan around that.

The roof extends down below the walls of the coop but leaves about 15" of open space on each side for sunlight. I've considered extending it down further for more rain protection. The run is only 2 feet high so They should have plenty of rain protection, except for bad storms and they can go up top. Lend me you opinions about that too, if you have experience with that.

When I get the rest of the roof installed as well as the end panels, I'll post more pictures. That should happen by Thursday evening.

Thanks in advance for any feedback you might have.

 

[ftroop]

Here's that latest pics. Five chickens who are about 5 weeks old are living in the coop and seem to be doing well.




The coop has a ridge vent for those warm Georgia summers. I just wanted to lay shingle for the look, although all the wood on the coop is pressure treated. Those handles on the front are for pulling the floor out of the coop to clean or to allow enough room to get in there to clean or catch a bird. I needed to get in there the first night because the chicks were not able to figure out how to get up the ramp. I built a wider ramp and coaxed them up the ramp today so that they will move around freely in their little townhome.



The back of the coop has 2 nests that you can see framed out in the previous pics. That's the door for access. I hung a light out there in the coop for night work. I'll put it on a timer for the winter to keep egg production up. I'll stick a heat lamp with a thermostat that turns on at 40 degrees as well. I'lk post pics when I put those mechanicals into that little attic over the nests.

I believe that it is pretty predator proof at his point. My only concern is that a snake could get in through those vent holes in the attic which are standard holes for a door knob. They might also get in through the ridge vent. There's about one inch of space up there. A friend posted some pretty nasty pics of her doves which were eaten by a black snake this week.



Here's a pic with the door open. I've put shavings in there for now until these chicks get some belly fat and start to sleep on the roost. Those roosting poles slide out of the way for when someone is standing in there. I need to build better feed system but have these chick feeders in there until I do.

I put those plywood baffles on the side, next to the roost to deflect wind up the rafters and out the ridge on cool days as I've heard so much about how drafts are bad for them. I may put a plexiglass cover on this widow in the door during winter to retain heat.



I took this picture about dark, just after I trained them to climb that plank by baiting them with food. I was skeptical about the cross pieces and width on the plank as several friends told me that any stick would do. Turns out that these young bird needed a wider plank and step boards. They stayed in the coop all day and would not go down to the run today. Yesterday they stayed in the run and I had to catch them and put them in the coop last night. Once I installed the bigger plank, they moved around pretty freely.

As usual, I'm thankful for any suggestions and feedback.

 

[mpgo4th]

I love it. I'd like to copy it.

 

[LoneOak]

In the Atlanta area you don't really have to worry about adding heat or extra light in the winter. Just make sure you can stop the wind from blowing through when it drops below freezing and you will be ok. I have never had heat in any of my coops and the birds just huddle together at night then go about their business the next morning. You are also geting a little too paranoid about predators in your coop. In a yard like yours you will probably never have a snake in your coop and you can't really stop them anyway if they decide to get in, they are like mice and can go through even the tiniest of holes. The black snakes around here won't eat full grow chickens but they will get in the nest boxes and eat an egg every now and then. I have a couple snake stories I'll tell you about someday, just feed em wooden nest eggs not real eggs.