3R Home and Barn Project

[wwalkersd]

So we took a break from the gardening and plumbing to make a chicken coop last week.

Nice work as always, Rob. I'd love to know more about you engineered the retractable landing gear!

 

[TBDonnelly]

Very Cool!

The one item I see missing is the weathervane on the peak of the roof.
You know, the one with the rooster?

Don

 

[3RRL]

Very Cool!

The one item I see missing is the weathervane on the peak of the roof.
You know, the one with the rooster?

Don

Yes you are right Don.
I was thinking of adding something like that and your suggestion is well taken. Maybe I can get one and add it next week.

 

[3RRL]

Nice work as always, Rob. I'd love to know more about you engineered the retractable landing gear!

OK Bill, I have some photos of the retractable landing gear mechanism.
I'll share them after I show how much work Loretta did inside the coop. Loretta really put a lot of work into sanding and staining and painting it. After I got the chicken wire all secured with wood railings, she was all over that thing.
Rob-

 

[3RRL]

I had the easy part to do.
All I had to do was saw and screw together all the pieces.
To make it truly portable, I wanted her to be able to get it onto her ATV with little effort. I got a bunch of scrap pins and bushings, bored them to fit 3/4" pipe and cut up the bushings to make slip joints. Then I figured out some geometry and welded a bunch of stuff together for the lifting mechanism.
Rob-

 

[3RRL]

I made a handle which when pulled down lifts to coop off the ground.
The linkage is attached to the wheels and the wheels are positioned against the coop, off the ground when the handle is straight up in the air. The handle is welded to a bar which activates both sides (both wheels) and the is a swiveling bushing near the wheels. That is there so when the linkage moves around the bar it won't seize up as it's position changes.
This set of photos shows all the components when the handle is up in the air and the position of the linkage at that point.
Rob-

 

[3RRL]

Now, when the handle is pulled down, the chicken coop rises into the air.
The tires hit the ground and raise the coop up and it's ready to be hooked onto the ATV trailer ball. I made the linkage so when the handle was all the way flat on the back roof, the linkage would be straight in line taking all the load right to the heavy steel braces. All the braces have steel on the inside of the coop to take the load. I also made a clasp for the handle so it wouldn't raise up if she hit a bump. You can see it holding the handle down. I made a pretty standard light weight tongue with a ball receiver which I bought. The front end of the coop is fairly light so it can be lifter with the handle which is also a pipe.
Rob-

 

[3RRL]

So now Loretta can move that coop by herself whenever she needs to.
She wants to move it from place to place so the chicks have fresh grass to find bugs on.
She and I are really enjoying the chicks.



Loretta took this video to show how easy it is to raise the coop and drive off with it.
If you look closely, you can see how simply the linkage works and lifts the coop.
It came out pretty good and we like it a lot.
Rob-

 

[silverdollar6]

Great looking chicken coop,now you can take your chickens to town with you and not worry about them messing in the truck,

 

[weldingisfun]

You built an RV for your chickens? I hope it has a satellite hookup.


Just joking with you. Looks great!