To chicken tractor or not to chicken tractor....

[jessica66]

Hello all,
I have a 50% built coop. What I have so far is a base and raised roosting/ sleeping area. Not shown is the side and front are covered with hardware wire and a door frame is in for the chickens. I plan to make back open for me cleaning. My original plan was a chicken tractor with the platform enclosed and the front run part with pvc covered in hardware wire.

Why I was thinking a chicken tractor:
1. We live in Florida so part of our yard is wet during summer. The always dry part is next to the pool so I was hoping to only put chickens up there when yard is very flooded ( I have since found after soaking rains that there is a part in the back of yard that stays dry)
2. Less worry about cleaning ( deep litter or sand)
3. Chicken questionable dogs ( however we have 2 herders and a terrier so I think they will be ok after the first few weeks)

My concerns:
1. I know there are many feral/ community cats around here and the currently enclosed area ,while safe, is fairly small.
2. In this design it would be very hard for me to get in and clean run because of how short it is
3. I would like to get a couple of guinea hens as well ( so 3-4 chickens and 3-4 guineas)

I am now wondering if I should put in wood 2x4s as support and roof in the whole thing as a permanent coop or stick with the original plan.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I am not sure what all predators you have in your area. I initially debated a tractor or a permanent coop and decided for safety it was best to build a permanent structure. It is tough to make something that is portable and can also keep out snakes, minks, foxes, etc. I am in Indiana though so some of those might not be an issue for you.

 

[Kris5902]

What you have looks a lot like what I did for my layer tractors so far. I concentrated on predator proofing the roosting box and didn’t worry about the run portion. I mostly used 2x2’s for the structure, with 2x4’s for the roosting box portion and base. The biggest advantage I see in the tractors is you can get more chickens per sq foot so long as you move it fairly religiously. Also with the gaps at the bottom from moving over Rough ground putting the tot bed and letting them out in the morning is a must, it won’t matter how predator proof your roosting area is if you leave the door open all night!

I’m just seeing my first predator interest the last few nights in the form of a Raccoon, but it’s looking at my meat bird tractors (way less secure!) which I’m currently running along the edge of a heavily wooded area. There are pros and cons both ways.

How big is what you have built so far? It looks a little small for a static coop to me, for 6-8 birds. I don’t know anything about guineas though except “larger than chickens”. I would think if you have it stationary the vegetation would soon be decimated. I’m at a fairly comfortable density with 11 chickens (1 Rooster, 10 hens) in a 6x12’ tractor, but I move them every day... which requires a fairly large amount of space and the effort.

 

[wyoDreamer]

I don't know how much land you have, but if you have close neighbors you need to remember "Guinea's are LOUD!" There is a reason some people call them the Farm Alarms.
My guineas are out and about every day - they can't do their job if they are locked up. We have 25 acres, most of it open pasture land. They wander our land, the horse pasture to the north of our land, the soybean field across the road to the south and the swamp across the road to the west. Luckily my neighbor likes the guineas because they go visit her every day. She likes them enough that she has started putting sunflower seeds on the ground under her bird feeder - so they stop trying to raid the feeder hanging in the tree. I can usually hear them and figure out about where they are because they are always taking to each other. Or if I can't hear them, I call out "guineas" and they will usually answer from deep in the pasture or farm fields.

 

[wyoDreamer]

With a tractor, you don't need to get into the run area to clean it. Just move the tractor to a new location and then you can clean up the old location at your ease.

I have a friend that has a tractor for their meat birds - she moves the tractor sideways until it is on a "clean area" (move it the width of the tractor), lets them eat the grass for a day (our until it is gone) and then she puts a layer of hay down in the run and lets them stay there for another day or 2. When that gets dirty, she moves it sideways to a "clean area", lets them eat the grass down and then puts down a layer of hay. Lather-rinse-repeat. The area she uses for her tractor is along the fence-line to the goat pasture, right on the edge of her backyard. By the time the meat chickens are grown and ready for freezer camp, she has reached the end of her yard and it is time to move the tractor back down the yard to the beginning point. By this time the grass has grown back and it is all ready for chickens to graze once again.

 

[jessica66]

I am not sure what all predators you have in your area. I initially debated a tractor or a permanent coop and decided for safety it was best to build a permanent structure. It is tough to make something that is portable and can also keep out snakes, minks, foxes, etc. I am in Indiana though so some of those might not be an issue for you.

We live in a rural area surrounded by more traditional suburbia. I know we have feral cats, raccoons, opossums, birds of prey. Have not yet seen a fox but possible and some talk of coyotes. Our yard is fences as are the neighbors so I do not suspect something big could get into yard.

 

[jessica66]

I don't know how much land you have, but if you have close neighbors you need to remember "Guinea's are LOUD!" There is a reason some people call them the Farm Alarms.
My guineas are out and about every day - they can't do their job if they are locked up. We have 25 acres, most of it open pasture land. They wander our land, the horse pasture to the north of our land, the soybean field across the road to the south and the swamp across the road to the west. Luckily my neighbor likes the guineas because they go visit her every day. She likes them enough that she has started putting sunflower seeds on the ground under her bird feeder - so they stop trying to raid the feeder hanging in the tree. I can usually hear them and figure out about where they are because they are always taking to each other. Or if I can't hear them, I call out "guineas" and they will usually answer from deep in the pasture or farm fields.

I am well aware, although I do not suspect they are any louder than peacocks alarm calling. We have 10-20 free range/ community peacocks in our area. One hangs in a tree adjacent in our yard and alarm calls at full volume at all times of day if anything moves.

 

[jessica66]

The floor plan of whole coop is 4x8 and the inside/ raised portion is 3X4.

We have an acre of yard to move around so I could move them frequently.

I am are also worried about them pooping by pool so tractor may be better to keep everyone happy.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Guineas are loud and fairly constantly loud, but not quite as loud as the peacocks that roamed by my sisters house. I am down to 2 guineas and have noticed that 2 are quieter than 3 and the flock of 3 were not as loud as the original flock of 8.