I'm new to chickens and the forum, but I thought I'd post the pictures of the chicken tractor I just built. I used plans from http://www.catawbacoops.com with some modifications. I used cedar so it was kind of expensive, about $350 for the wood and another $50 in hardware/screws/stain/etc. Here are a few pics:
Started building:
Under construction:
Mostly done:
Inside view:
I'm just using some nylon rope to pull the ramp/door up, but I'll probably have to replace that with something a little sturdier, maybe some galvanized cable.
Outside:
Happy chickens!
The full set of pictures is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon30350/sets/72157626451429655/ if you want to see the whole construction process.
I just put the chickens in there last night (they're about 6 weeks old). They didn't figure out how to use the ramp and they were all huddled together on the ground when it got dark, so I moved them up to the top manually. I also put some wood shavings in there because they were cold. They slept huddling in one of the nest boxes, but hopefully they don't make a habit of sleeping there.
So far it seems like they enjoy hanging out upstairs than they do playing in the grass. I extracted them from the top (ok, I reached in and pushed them down the hole...), but after a few minutes they all went back up. Oh well, they'll figure it out eventually.
My next plan is to make a skirt to put around the tractor to keep predators out so I can leave their ramp down when I go out of town.
Started building:
Under construction:
Mostly done:
Inside view:
I'm just using some nylon rope to pull the ramp/door up, but I'll probably have to replace that with something a little sturdier, maybe some galvanized cable.
Outside:
Happy chickens!
The full set of pictures is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon30350/sets/72157626451429655/ if you want to see the whole construction process.
I just put the chickens in there last night (they're about 6 weeks old). They didn't figure out how to use the ramp and they were all huddled together on the ground when it got dark, so I moved them up to the top manually. I also put some wood shavings in there because they were cold. They slept huddling in one of the nest boxes, but hopefully they don't make a habit of sleeping there.
So far it seems like they enjoy hanging out upstairs than they do playing in the grass. I extracted them from the top (ok, I reached in and pushed them down the hole...), but after a few minutes they all went back up. Oh well, they'll figure it out eventually.
My next plan is to make a skirt to put around the tractor to keep predators out so I can leave their ramp down when I go out of town.
