Will an aproned chicken tractor keep out weasels?

[Sunshine_Amy]

Is the nesting area floored?

Oh, and to answer this question, she uses removable trays as nesting boxes, which can be easily cleaned. She uses Diatomaceous Earth in the bedding.

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

i certainly would not pay for those plans. there are definitely better options here on BYC

Do you have any favorites? I'm planning to get 6 birds and would love to move them around the yard all summer, and park them on my garden in the winter.

 

[3KillerBs]

Do you have any favorites? I'm planning to get 6 birds and would love to move them around the yard all summer, and park them on my garden in the winter.

Hoop coop tractors are often praised for this kind of setup.

Hoop Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/

IIRC from when I gathered the list, only one of those builds is specifically a tractor, but any could be put on wheels.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Do you have any favorites? I'm planning to get 6 birds and would love to move them around the yard all summer, and park them on my garden in the winter.

I don't. I have a much different climate than you, and a much larger flock.
My inclination is a hoop coop-based tractor for weight and space efficiency. But its entirely theoretical, as I have no practical experience with them. My birds free range 1.75 acres of "pasture" plus roughly 3 of woods. Their "run" measures roughly 40' x 65', we never (ok, almost never) see snow, ond only sustained below freezing temps a couple tens of hours each year. My experiences, and your own, share few commonalities.

I just look at the lack of ventilation, the weight of the framing, and the attachment of the wheels as quick visual clues that there are better ways.

 

[3KillerBs]

BTW, in re: tractors in general,

They only really work if you have truly FLAT ground. They're not good on any but the most moderate slopes or smallest humps.

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

@3KillerBs thank you for the links. I spent hours this weekend looking at tractor patterns here, and only got halfway through, so I appreciate the help. I like the spaciousness and lightness of the hoop coops, the flat ground factor rules them out unless there are ones that are narrower. Our land is maybe half flat, and half random dips and curves.

@U_Stormcrow, thank you for your honest feedback. I found the lack of venting above concerning too, but thought that the completely open bottom must provide sufficient air movement to cool it off by nighttime. The wheel placement seems stupid at first until you realize that the whole thing is designed to be light enough to get away with that placement, and it's said to be agile. Definitely it's very economical and well thought out in many respects. But I take your points. I want to go bigger in any case, and my hopes of using some of our barn/office as a winter coop have been dashed, so I'm looking at very different designs as a result.

My ideal is at the moment is something like this one, in terms of footprint, wheel set up, and stylish enough to please my husband (who's still getting on board with all this):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-first-attempt-at-a-chicken-tractor.66729/

It won't fit on every curve of our property, but it can adapt to most, and it's spacious and apparently easily moved. Footprint seems to be 11x4 feet. The only thing it's missing to me is the ability to get in there and hang out with the birds (which is feeling like a more doable solution than getting the birds out safely in an electronet on a regular basis, though I'd still like to do that sometimes). I'm liking the idea of a full-height covered roof and larger coop (4x5 feet, vs. the 4x4 in this design). I don't want to turn it into something too heavy to move with one person though, like the Menagerie tractor. Any idea what the footprint of that one is? I looked and couldn't find dimensions.

FWIW, coop size recommendations for my (planned) 4 large and 2 medium birds, adds up to 22 square feet.

 

[3KillerBs]

I found the lack of venting above concerning too, but thought that the completely open bottom must provide sufficient air movement to cool it off by nighttime.

It's necessary to have airFLOW. Just the wire bottom without top ventilation doesn't move air. Heat and ammonia both rise so top-venting is critical.

My ideal is at the moment is something like this one, in terms of footprint, wheel set up, and stylish enough to please my husband (who's still getting on board with all this):

I'm afraid that coop is very poorly designed. It's tiny to begin with and the center floor ramp robs out what little floor space it started with. Not to mention the inability to get in there if a chicken needs attention.

(which is feeling like a more doable solution than getting the birds out safely in an electronet on a regular basis, though I'd still like to do that sometimes).

I found my Premier 1 electric netting easy to manage. However I've never found a way to get chickens to go back into a coop before dark when they have vegetation to eat and dirt to dig up. No treat I can give them compares.

Some people do successfully train them to come out and go back in on command though.

This thread contains one of the most impressive, practical tractor builds I've ever seen in the form of the OP's original tractor. Thread link here because you'll probably want to read the advice she's getting: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...or-plans-from-green-willow-homestead.1520794/ Her original tractor here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-green-willow-homestead.1520794/post-25620522

Tractors can be difficult because of the need to balance sufficient space for the birds:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

With light weight, sufficiently stiff structure to hold up over time, and ability to conform to the ground.

Some people conquer the uneven ground problem by building a coop onto a small trailer and using a portable fence (usually electric net).

I also like to hang out with birds. I keep overturned plastic lawn chairs as part of my run "clutter", flipping one upright to get a poop-free seat when I need it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Honestly, I'd lose the focus on square/rectangular walls and try to replace the whole "run" section of the build with halved cattle/livestock panels to further reduce weight. An almost 8' length makes an arch 5' wide, 2 1/2' tall. Two sections provide almost exactly 8' in length, with a bit of overlap - and combine to 40 sq ft.
Now you can use a little heavier board, with corner reinforcement as the base at similar weight, for a sturdier build which will be less prone to pulling apart with repeat movements. Its the last 4' section, with the coop portion, I haven't "solved" yet in my head. A press brake to bend a third cattle panel would be pretty awesome, honestly, for creating that structure, then count on the front and back, a suspended floor to add rigidity.

Or so my thoughts currently lean. (Crudely)

 

[aart]

As far as pinning it up, yes, I was picturing the one I saw someone here mention and link to, I'm forgetting the creator's name, but it featured a smartly designed and inexpensive hinged apron, held up against the side wiring with dangling lawn staples, the same that can be put to use in pinning the apron down. Great system.

Might it have been this one?:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

Wow, you two, this is incredible feedback and input.

@U_Stormcrow , did you just draw that? Nice "rough" sketch! I have noticed that cattle panels seem to provide the lightest framing, and can appreciate your approach in that regard. I have a visceral reaction to things that are aesthetically cage-like, so the arch portion works for me, better than a box configuration, though I'm now hoping for something tall enough to stand in for the run part. Not sure how the box section relates to a coop, but it sounds like there's a concept you've got brewing.

Regarding those wheels, I scrutinized that, too. She uses pocket screws throughout, so I'd imagined it stronger than it appears, but I agree that it is a concerning place for such a join, and a potential point of failure.

@3KillerBs, I absolutely appreciate the importance of the birds not overheating, and had and still have the same concerns there, especially if they need to get up into the nesting box during the daytime heat. Ammonia is a good general point, too, though I imagine it would be the lesser danger in this set up where the tractor requires daily moving.

I agree that the coop of the second tractor I posted is too small, which is why I'd like to go to 4x5. Now that I'm reading the thread you shared, I see that nesting boxes don't count. I was planning to bump out a double nesting box, but make it extra wide to include a 1x2' dust bath, so maybe that can count. Recommendations I read said 4 sq. feet/bird for large birds, and 3 sq. feet/bird for med. birds, equaling 22 square feet with my flock, which is what I'm at exactly if I count the dust bath. I read 8-10 feet of run per bird, and the grass below would be 55 square feet, or 9.16 per bird. I'm going for a good set up that functions as their bare minimum, and this seems to me it, if I can build it in a way that DH likes (he likes the look of that one) and that is still easily moveable like that one is.

I look forward to having them out in a Premier 1 fence at times, but as a new chicken owner I'd like to have a set up that wouldn't require additional space and forage; just veering on the side of caution, since this is all new to me and I don't want to be pressured by circumstance to let them free range and have an unhappy result. Just in case, I've taken the precaution of getting only medium-dark colored breeds that are predator aware, but it seems possible that three of my birds could fly a Premier 1 fence (Ameraucana, Faverolles, and Favaucana) so that's the kind of thing that has me wanting a good baseline with a tractor. I do plan to set up the Premier 1 with a net zip tied to the top for additional run in the winter, over my garden...

I found my Premier 1 electric netting easy to manage. However I've never found a way to get chickens to go back into a coop before dark when they have vegetation to eat and dirt to dig up. No treat I can give them compares.

...It's the image of moving my Premier 1 fence with a net attached, to accommodate summer tractor movement, that I find daunting.

These birds are pets first, and my cover consists of trees that are mostly on slopes with not the best brush, so I'm thinking that they'd need a net or a guard person/creature. I dream of getting a guard dog, just because I want a dog anyway, but I've promised DH only one "pet project" at a time.

That's funny, and somewhat daunting, to learn how hard it can be to get them back in a coop from pasture! I was planning to train them with meal worms. Sounds like I'll really need to work at it! ...Maybe their familiarity with daily forage in the tractor will make the meal worms relatively exciting? Here's hoping!

LOVE your inverted lawn chair idea. I was planning a hinged seat attached to the side of the run, for a clean seat, but the lawn chair would be more fun for the birds. Sounds like a definite addition to my winter netted fence area at least!

Oh, and that coop you linked to is amazing!!! Not hand-moveable, but they really thought of everything, and it's also the most stylish of the hoop coops I've seen. Gotta hand it to them! It must have been hard to part with!