Thanks for all of your helpful posts, I was able to build my wifes chicken tractor.

[Fuax]

Well it was my first time building a chicken tractor. My oldest son and I built this while she and my daughter were at an archery tournament one weekend. She came home that Sunday night and when she saw it she could not wait to go to the store and get some chickens.

It was an anniversary gift for my wife (she loves chickens) and I have been listening to her say she wants them for close to 23 years but we live in the suburbs of South Florida and it is frowned upon.

She now has a Plymouth Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red and an Americana (Easter Egg-er).

FYI --- I am not a chicken person, my wife is, I just build stuff. She handles the care of her feathered girls. She just moved them into their new home on sunday since they are now big enough.

I know it is small (roughly 6x4), I know it's not fully predator proof, and I have been informed of chicken math!!! lol

It is on wheels so i will never have to worry about bugs in my back yard again! LMAO

I had to limit the size, predators are not really a problem other than cats (we have an SGD for the predators) and the occasional raccoon, and I had to drawn the line at 3 hens. That is until we move to our property in North Florida (40 acres) and I can built her a coup to hold all the chickens she wants. Won't be moving there till the kids are done with school, only 3 years left! LOLOL

Well tell me what you think.

There is a ramp not in pics.

 

[TooCheep]

Excellent job. You do quality work. I took a prefab coop, upgraded the base, added wheels and a drag rope to create mine which is 4'x7' for three birds. Yours should be lighter and easier to move. Some items to consider:

• Love that you went with the PVC feeder/water system. I use those as well and love them for reducing waste and keeping things cleaner. My only suggestion is possibly upgrading the feeder to be more like the waterer in terms of size. That way you can load it to hold multiple days of food.
• I was wondering about light in the upper section. Are you counting on the hardware cloth section and end-gaps for that? It does look like you'll have enough ventilation in that setup which is important.
• You are going to get a lot of shavings kicked onto the hardware cloth which is going to be annoying to clean out. I'd recommend upgrading the end pieces around it to 4" tall which will greatly reduce shavings being kicked onto the HC from either end.
• My experience is that I need to move my tractor every two days like clockwork. 4'x6' is fairly cramped- tractors compromise on overall size. But the continuous fresh grass is an advantage over the static coop dirt runs that most people end up using. They will scratch and poop up the area in those two days, but you'll find that it grows back at least as well as before after some time. After three days, I found semi-permanent grass damage that needed to be fixed.
  
• As your girls get closer to laying, you'll want to put either golf balls or ceramic eggs in the end where you want them to lay. Chickens love to lay where someone else has already done so. (It must be safe there). They will likely lay once or twice in the wrong spot until they understand what is going on, but then they'll head to your spot to lay.
• Unfortunately, your setup (like mine) is vulnerable to a digging attack. That is a problem for tractors. I haven't had such an attack in my three years, but it only takes one time to deeply regret it. I put an automatic door on the coop if someone gets into the run area as a second layer defense. You might at least think about a rope-pulled ramp on hinges to protect them at night.
• Not sure exactly where you would put it, but I'd strongly suggest some type of roost in the lower area that all three can set on. Chickens love to roost.
• I didn't see any type of door in the lower area? Do you have one? You might want to consider it to allow them to do a little free ranging and make it easier to let them in and out. I consider this a valuable feature as it does help compensate for the smallish run size.

Good work.

 

[Fuax]

Thanks for the comments and the tips.

Excellent job. You do quality work. I took a prefab coop, upgraded the base, added wheels and a drag rope to create mine which is 4'x7' for three birds. Yours should be lighter and easier to move. Some items to consider:

• Love that you went with the PVC feeder/water system. I use those as well and love them for reducing waste and keeping things cleaner. My only suggestion is possibly upgrading the feeder to be more like the waterer in terms of size. That way you can load it to hold multiple days of food.

I will consider that, I will see how the feeder works out and if the wife wants a larger/longer supply i will upgrade it. I already have to upgrade it from a 90 degree to a 45 for better flow of food.

• I was wondering about light in the upper section. Are you counting on the hardware cloth section and end-gaps for that? It does look like you'll have enough ventilation in that setup which is important.

I left the gaps for vent/light and the doors all have hinges on them and locks.

• You are going to get a lot of shavings kicked onto the hardware cloth which is going to be annoying to clean out. I'd recommend upgrading the end pieces around it to 4" tall which will greatly reduce shavings being kicked onto the HC from either end.

I noticed that as well and mentioned it to my wife, I believe i will add another 2x2 to the height of the blocks.

• My experience is that I need to move my tractor every two days like clockwork. 4'x6' is fairly cramped- tractors compromise on overall size. But the continuous fresh grass is an advantage over the static coop dirt runs that most people end up using. They will scratch and poop up the area in those two days, but you'll find that it grows back at least as well as before after some time. After three days, I found semi-permanent grass damage that needed to be fixed.

I figured on moving at least twice a week

• As your girls get closer to laying, you'll want to put either golf balls or ceramic eggs in the end where you want them to lay. Chickens love to lay where someone else has already done so. (It must be safe there). They will likely lay once or twice in the wrong spot until they understand what is going on, but then they'll head to your spot to lay.

That's the wife's dept.

• Unfortunately, your setup (like mine) is vulnerable to a digging attack. That is a problem for tractors. I haven't had such an attack in my three years, but it only takes one time to deeply regret it. I put an automatic door on the coop if someone gets into the run area as a second layer defense. You might at least think about a rope-pulled ramp on hinges to protect them at night.

I have a ramp for it already and I asked the wife if she wanted me to hinge it and put a cable pull on it. She said no at this time, but i see it happening in the future. We do have a cover for the opening so they are protected at night. And we do have a SGD (Small Guard Dog) Pembroke Welsh Corgi who likes to herd them and think they are his children. He keeps the rift-raft out lol !

• Not sure exactly where you would put it, but I'd strongly suggest some type of roost in the lower area that all three can set on. Chickens love to roost.

That's easy I can make one cross at a corner.

• I didn't see any type of door in the lower area? Do you have one? You might want to consider it to allow them to do a little free ranging and make it easier to let them in and out. I consider this a valuable feature as it does help compensate for the smallish run size.

Unfortunately they will not be able to be free run so no door on the bottom for fear of escaping into the neighborhood.
Good work.

 

[TooCheep]

One other thought. With the summer sun and heat, your girls will need some type of shade. You might want to consider some type of lightweight plate/cloth/whatever that can be easily mounted on either long side (or at least half of it). Possibly some shade cloth in a frame mounted on the bottom half as needed.

This item can certainly wait until it becomes an issue.

 

[featherhead007]

Very nice.

 

[Fuax]

One other thought. With the summer sun and heat, your girls will need some type of shade. You might want to consider some type of lightweight plate/cloth/whatever that can be easily mounted on either long side (or at least half of it). Possibly some shade cloth in a frame mounted on the bottom half as needed.

This item can certainly wait until it becomes an issue.

I have thought of shade, we have shade from the back of the house and on the side of the woodshop. I also thought of using a 10x10 canopy over the coup, if it came to it.

 

[Fuax]

Ok based on some very good suggestions I did a couple of modifications to the chicken tractor. Things that I talked with the wife about that she said we could do later and I said why not now! Well now they are done lol!

1) I put a larger feed unit on,

to hold 4 times the amount of food.

2) put a hinge on the ramp and a pull string (it's what I had, may have to go to a plastic coated cable if it breaks) so it can be easily closed at night.

3) also added some height to the nesting walls in the upper apartment area so they don't make such a mess.

 

[TooCheep]

Hey @Fuax.

• Just saw your updates. Very nice.
• I still strongly recommend a perch in the lower area.
• My next tractor will be very similar to this.
• Do you ship to Indiana?

 

[aart]

@Fuax has this been thru a good rain yet?
Worried your feed is going to get wet....not good as it can mold, which can be toxic.

 

[Fuax]

Hey @Fuax.

• Just saw your updates. Very nice.
• I still strongly recommend a perch in the lower area.
• My next tractor will be very similar to this.
• Do you ship to Indiana?

I did put a perch on the opposite side of the food, and they love it!

Thank for asking if I can ship it out it means I built something well. I wish I could ship one to you but I think it would be very cost prohibitive, the size and weight of the coup would make the shipping cost ridiculous! But if you are ever in South Florida and have a pick up truck, I am sure we could work something out.