@CapricornFarm. Finally got outside to take some pictures of my chicken tractor conversion. Thought you would appreciate seeing a fellow builder's creation.
It's been super windy here today and while yesterday was a good back day, today hasn't been so great and I've spent much of the day on the sofa with the heating pad. I managed to drag my hind end up and out for some fresh air even if I didn't get any work done on the pen.
The pen started out as a chicken tractor. It got to be such a hassle trundling chickens in and out of it and once in it they just stood in the center and gazed longingly at their regular run until we finally gave up the idea and let our cats out in it. That too fizzled when the cats, once in wanted to stay in and we got tired of getting bit trying to drag them out.
DH built the original structure for me using aluminum angle iron and rivets to hold it together. The structure was then covered with chicken wire and an enclosure was made using Koroplast. My plan is to cover the chicken wire with vapor wrap, then skin it out with recycled steal siding. The recycled siding has nail holes that I will seal with acrylic caulk when I have the siding secured.
Here is the frame with the vapor wrap on it. This is left over from residing our north wall on the house last summer. The big goal with my chickens/coops and runs is to use recycled material and left overs as much as possible.
Internal view. You can see the original chicken wire cover and the Koroplast shelter. I had even constructed a nesting box area. I am going to cover the opening at the top of the triangle with hardware cloth for ventilation and create another opening at the opposite end along with a similar trap door to close for rain protection.
There is ample room to put a couple of roost bars across the width of the structure.
Here is the first piece of siding cut and laid into place. I'm probably going to drill and use rivets to hold it into position. There is enough room on the aluminum frame to drill and rivet.
Once finished my extra standard roosters are going be housed in it at night. I'm planning to put a floor in it in the form of a third sheet of siding and then raise it off the ground. DH suggested using T posts. Still working that out mentally. I'd like to use T posts, then use some cross posts and set the coop on the framework so it is off the ground. They can be loose in the same run with the big chickens during the day but will retire to their own bachelor pad at night.
Had a big flock of hen robins in the pasture this morning.
Got fed up with them wasting so much. Got some pieces of 2" x 4" no climb horse fence from a friend over on BYH, a pallet, some scrap wood and a little new wood, some hardware and away I went.
