post your chicken coop pictures here!

[perchie.girl]

We are a local family business building chicken tractors in Knoxville, TN. We're called Smoky Mountain Chicken Tractors. Just thought I'd share a few photos of our work!
I use 3 of the tractors myself for my own flock! It started out as a personal thing, built a tractor for our own use, but got so many folks who liked them and wanted one, our business was born!

Nice I love it Not practical in my situation.... Do you have some that are set up to be pulled by a lawn tractor?

deb

 

[ChickadeeNMe]

Nice I love it Not practical in my situation.... Do you have some that are set up to be pulled by a lawn tractor?

deb

Thank you! We have heard that some of our customers have configured them to be pulled by tractors and/or lawn mowers, but I don't know exactly how. I could ask my husband. He builds them. I have a photo somewhere of a tractor pulling one, so I know it can be done.

 

[ChickadeeNMe]

Finally got ours finished. Coop with run attached, gate and top that A-frames or accordion folds out of the way depending on our needs and cleaning. They are allowed to free range in the back yard when we are home, but we have about 10 sq ft per bird for when they are confined all day too.

Pretty happy with how it turned out.





I love your coop and run!! Very cool! And they're safe from hawks with the top cover. Nice!

 

[bigmrg74]

We are a local family business building chicken tractors in Knoxville, TN. We're called Smoky Mountain Chicken Tractors. Just thought I'd share a few photos of our work!
I use 3 of the tractors myself for my own flock! It started out as a personal thing, built a tractor for our own use, but got so many folks who liked them and wanted one, our business was born!

Nice!! Those look at lot more solid looking coop than most commercially available options out there. Are you guys using 2x4's or 2x3's??

 

[ChickadeeNMe]

The run is actually constructed with 1 5/8" by 1 5/8", but they are very very solid. I almost believe you could park a car on top of one of our runs! I tried to take a better photo of part of the run.

 

[ChickadeeNMe]

I wouldn't call us commercial though. Hehe, we're more like a small, family business. We haven't figured out how to ship them, so we're local (Knoxville, TN). We do have folks that drive a good ways, even 450 miles one way, to pick them up. We deliver also. I don't like the idea of the "kits". Once you start getting into shipping them, it seems like you're going to compromise the quality.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
easy enough tow chain on bottom long enough to drop over a pin on the mower short enough to lift the front end an inch or so off the ground.... then have some one lift it and someone drop the chain over the pin.... Or simply remove the wheels and replace with skids tapered on each end....

deb

 

[Sylvester017]

Ok, maybe nipple waterers are more efficient than hanging drinkers but they arent perfect. I got a puddle under the drinker when all 22 were trying to drink. There was enough dripping from the missed drops to generate a puddle on the concrete floor. Probably not more than a cup of water but never saw it before. I think it was because so many were trying to drink in a short time the water didnt ecaporate and so formed a puddle. There are no leakers and the water level is down about a gallon in one day so far which is about right. Its amazing how big a puddle a little water can make when it spreads out to a thin layer. Had me worried but felt better after checking the level

Would you believe i can hear the racket of their pecking the nipples from the middle of the barn?

Don't know about other poultry but our chickens drink a lot of water. My Brite Tap Rubbermaid nipple waterers are set up outdoors and on cinderblocks or with paver stones below so the puddle the chickens might make dissipates quickly. I am so happy my hens transitioned to the nipple valves from open bowls that I don't mind hearing the pecking racket

. If you have a dirt floor under your nipple valve waterer 2 to 4 paver stones laid in a square under the waterer might keep a muddy puddle from forming under the waterer. My hens love to dig in wet dirt so I found having pavers under the waterers prevents their digging.

 

[perchie.girl]

I dont get long freezes for winter I have other concerns about water..... Namely the heat. at 105 on a very hot day the chickens go through a lot of water.... Part of their cooling process is dipping those wattles in the water when they drink.... I dont have the strength anymore to fill and tip over a waterer and bring it into the coop. some years back I put all my livestock on the same type of water system....

Its been unfailingly reliable for about fifteen years now. From filling a 110 gallon stock tank for my horse Eighty gallons for my goats and three gallons for each chicken pen and water for the dog.




the tubs are indestructable my 2000 pound horse can stand on the edge and crush it when she lifts her foot up it springs back. when they do freeze over you just dump em.... the ice pops out.... then the valve begins to fill again....

easy to clean too dump and scrub with a toilet brush if needed.

The valves are designed for a hose.... but I use Washing Machine hoses because they are built to be put in place reliablly for a very long time. for the HOrse i buy the wire reinforced once.... cuz she messes with stuff....

Up till now i have been using garden hoses with splitters to handle all the livestock.... but when i build the new coop I am running a trench and PVC to all.

deb

 

[BarneyNCyndi]

This our secondary, bring the little ones out. Isolate the one or two hens coop.

This is really only big enough for two full grown chickens, but works well when bringing out new younger girls. Its portable, both run and coop, but wouldnt want to use as a full time coop.