New plans for old stuff & a chicken tractor

[taz982]

Hi all,

I'm very new here (https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/684792/hello-from-southern-illinois), and would like some advice. For this section of the forum I need some advice about my coop/tractor plans. These plans are very loose and would love any and all feedback. The plans below stem from my overall plan to start with a few layer chickens (#1) and then expand into meat chickens (#2).

1. The chicken tractor

Since you only need a few chickens to lay eggs for a family (usually) I thought the easiest way to start would be a chicken tractor. I would like to get 3 or 4 Araucanas or Ameraucanas and put them in the tractor ( I want blue eggs!). My plans to make a tractor:

6'(l)x6'(w)x2'(h) base framed with 2x2's, and use 1/2" hardware cloth to cover all but coop area
6'(w)x2'(l)x3'(h) coop section encased in plywood

• 3/4" floor and ceiling
• Whatever cheap thin for the sides (maybe from scraps from the barn)
• Placed on top of one side of the base
• Closeable ramp
• Ceiling piece on hinge for easy access to eggs

All wood painted with a decent exterior latex paint (primer+paint combo)

So i have a few questions about this

• Are there better options?
• Is the size good enough (particularly concerned about the coop)?
• Is it okay to leave the chickens in the tractor year round (assuming i move it)?
• How often does it need to be moved?

• Is it okay to use new pressure treated wood?
• Is it ok that there is no slope to the coop roof?
• What should I do for ventilation in the coop area?

My primary concerns with the tractor (outside of chicken welfare) is affordability and security.

1. The barn

We also want to raise meat chickens (preferably semi-super broilers in the language of the book i'm reading) if we handle the layers well. Because meat takes longer to produce than eggs, we assume we will need more chickens (and more space) for them. We have a barn on the property we would like to retrofit for the chickens. To get an idea of what I am talking about please look at the following galleries Barn - Outside and Barn - Inside.

We would like to retrofit that area we believe is for goats. Obviously we will need to clean it out very well. It has a lot of space, and I figure that we can stuff straw in that feeding area for a nice place for the chickens to nest.
Our plans are to put up chicken wire, or wood or something above where the half wall ends to block any aerial or climbing predators. There is a space under the wall as well we could cover with wood or hardware cloth.
We would then block off the space directly south (from pic 1) of the barn, I could include more space, but again, cost is an issue for me. We would like to do this because (as shown in the pictures) there is a door heading directly outside from that stall.

My big concerns are these

• Is this appropriate for chickens?
• Is the outdoor space sufficient? (it was used by a now sold horse so that is why the foliage is so sparse, and dirt so compact).
• We would have to shore up some areas of the boundary fencing as it is only meant for a horse. Any frugal ideas?
• Would the foliage in the SW corner stop the chickens?
• Would I need to be worried about the winter since it is such an open space in the barn?
• Would it be better to keep the barn doors open or closed?
• I feel like i'm missing something...lol

Thank you for reading my exceedingly long post. Any information would be very much helpful. Note again, that these are simply our current ideas. If you have better ones, (such as storing chickens in other areas) please let me know! We do actually have a chicken coop on site, but it is run down to say the least. Its off center suggesting it has serious structural issues, amongst many others.

 

[Jaxon4141]

I make chicken runs similar to a tractor only smaller, more like a tunnel. They are sectional and can be put together to make large runs. They have proven to be secure from mid-sized predators over the years and can be modified to keep out small predators. Each section weighs about 40 lbs. but when put together are very sturdy. A run section is built like pictured below.

I use these in my garden and the chickens live in them year round. Here's a picture of my setup for the garden. I move them once a week in the winter and less often as pastures get more vegetation in the summer.

They have withstood winds up to 70 mph. The larger tunnels are the coops with nest boxes on the back. Your biggest expense would be the fencing, which cost me at the time I built mine about $140 that gave me 250 sq. ft. of space for the chickens. This may or may not be of use for your situation.

 

[jpcode]

I think the coop area 2x6x3 is a little small if the nests are inside. Americanas are small, but I think you will find them pooping and sleeping in the nest boxes with no place to roost. I would suggest you put the nests on the outside to conserve space, and there needs to be someplace to roost.

 

[taz982]

Hmm i was planning on having 2 14" square boxes on one half, and 2 roosting sticks across the other for 3-4 birds. So i should make the whole 6x2 area roosting area and add 2 boxes to the side?

 

[Alabama ee]

This is a great idea Jaxon!

I make chicken runs similar to a tractor only smaller, more like a tunnel. They are sectional and can be put together to make large runs. They have proven to be secure from mid-sized predators over the years and can be modified to keep out small predators. Each section weighs about 40 lbs. but when put together are very sturdy. A run section is built like pictured below.

I use these in my garden and the chickens live in them year round. Here's a picture of my setup for the garden. I move them once a week in the winter and less often as pastures get more vegetation in the summer.

They have withstood winds up to 70 mph. The larger tunnels are the coops with nest boxes on the back. Your biggest expense would be the fencing, which cost me at the time I built mine about $140 that gave me 250 sq. ft. of space for the chickens. This may or may not be of use for your situation.