Chicken Tractor

[schmism]

dispite the title, it really has nothing to do with the desiel kind so it has to go down hear in the rural living

i was asked to put together a tread of my build. I had entended on starting last week on it, but it went all the way till sat morning before i got started.

for the readers digest version check out the pics page
Chicken Tractor Pics (dial up friendly)

my goal was something with a fairly small foot print that would be easy to move. Ive seen a number of other tractor designs and have encorperated a number of the design features into my own design. I belive i have been sucessfull in something that is functional as well as still easy to move. (ive seen more than one chicken tractor design that wound up being a not so movable coupe because the size and estimated weight got away from the builders.

Mine was built from 100% recycled materail i had laying around because 1) im cheep, and 2) i was hopeing that if i pulled it off well, it would give it that rustic "barn" look (i think ive achived it)

I guesitmate ive got about $50 in hardware cost. bought tires at harbor freight for $4.99 instead of TSC for 19.99

so far ive got about 8 hrs in it, but over half that time was the time it took to scroung up 2x4's clean them of nails, and rip them into 2x2 etc. The 1x you see is infact old cypris fence boards i scrounged some time ago and have been sitting in a tarped pile for the past 5? years.... I spent time planing the back sides to 1) create bedding for the new girls, 2) cut the full 1" rought cut boards down to 3/4" to shave some weight 3) give a clean, flat mounting surface on the back face

Ive been known to do trim carpentery in the past as side work, so my collection of "profesional grade" tools and skills may be more than the avg person. Tools i used,

table saw
miter saw
planner
air nailer (16 ga 1.75 trim nails)
titebound 3 waterpoof glue (harbor freight)
cordless drill

Design cryteria, 1) make it fit under 1 pannel of recyled tin roofing that i have laying around, the size of the pannels i have are ~32"x7.5'

with that in mind, my basic size was kept to 28" wide, 6' long, 2' low end, 4' high end. The other consideration that was important to me was, i had bought 3' tall chicken wire, and didnt want to have to "splice" the wire vertically. (youll see how that comes into play later)

so without further ado.... the pics

the frame and 2 end verts



i notched the inside edge so i could get maximum surface contact for glue and screws


The wheel end needs to be raised because i used 10" pnumatic tires, which means the center of the hub is 5" off the ground... if i wanted to maintain ~.75" clearance i would need to center my hub at 4.25" (above the height of a standard 2x4) some small 2x2 scabs provide the needed space. I also clipped the bottom corner of the frame so that the corners wouldnt rub when you pick up the short end to move it.



as Norm Abrams often doesn, when he finds an issue in his protype, **** often make a tweek in his "final version"

One of my design changes for the future would be to hold the rear frame brace shown in the above pic, 3/4" or so above the bottom. As i rolled the frame around the yard it often catches on grass clumps, rocks etc.

hear are the tall end verts up, rear folding door (egg door) and a mock up of the roof line



The only plywood used on the project was for the floor. its ~24" sq

I opted for a bottom hindgeing door with a barrel lock in the downward postion so that its natural "gravity" postion is closed/locked.



the top is hindged at the rear, and the small 1x2 runners are simply nailer for fence and the upper rear side panneles. (small to keep weight down)


this is a good shot to see the clearance under the rear tires. just enough to be able to move it, but not enough for critters to get in.


at the end of sat



NOTE: the wheels are attached with 1/2" lag bolts. they have 5/8" centers but with a washer and the lag bolt they seem to roll just fine.

Sunday i started putting the "siding" on the upper "box"



I finished up the siding, and was working on some of the other small details such as a ramp up to the box, roost in the box (it will eventually have a nest box but not untill they start laying) when some friends showed up so i wasnt able to get the girls moved in last night.....

Ill finish up the wire tonight and post the last few pics of the girls moved into there new coupe for the summer/fall.

 

[randy41]

looks real good. how many chickens? i have a portable chicken house that i move with my tractor. but i was thinking in terms of 50 hens when i built it.

i wish i had made one that is lighter and doesn't require my tractor to move like yours.

 

[schmism]

just 2

its small size means its only built for a few chickens

 

[TBDonnelly]

just 2

its small size means its only built for a few chickens

Could you call it a Chicken condo?

Is it wide enough, that if a predator(coyote/wolf etc.) were to jump at the side, it won't rock/tip.

Don

 

[schmism]

they would likely claw-chew through the thin chicken wire before they knock it over sideways.

although i can always add a wider front 2x4 scab to increase its stablity if it seems like its a concern.

but we generally dont get predators that large around these parts without the local dogs (most not chained/penned) going nuts.

 

[schmism]

the finished product



The girls were squaking up a storm last night around dusk wanting us to put them up in there regular cage, but I was maddly trying to get the wire put on and the last details finished up.

Finnally with most of the stuff done, we cased them down and put them in there new home. within about 3 min of being put into there new home they found the upstairs and the roost and had settled down and were happy

 

[Highbeam]

That's great. Many of the designs I have seen incorporate some sort of nest box for them to drop eggs. Do you expect to find eggs on the wooden platform under the roost? Have they poo'd up a storm on that same platform?

I would worry about the unchained wandering neighbor dogs becoming predators more than the natural predators.

 

[randy41]

good job Steve. have you been getting any eggs?

 

[schmism]

good job Steve. have you been getting any eggs?

oh no, they are still way to young.... our best guess is 10 weeks....

it will likely be another month+ before we get our first egg.

At that time (when they start laying) i will include a nest box in the upper level. You generally dont put them in a new coupe for a new flock becaue the birds will take to sleeping in them, when they should only be used to lay eggs.

as for the "neighborhood" dogs, my neighbor has about 8 free range chickens (they have no coupe, only the barn) ..... so which would you go for... the ones with no home, or the ones in a cage?

 

[RickS]

Great design! We have 11 hens and one rooster. I leave the door to the coop open during the day to allow them to free range and eat whatever they find. The hens just started laying July 1, and have finally started ramping up production to about 3 or 4 eggs/day. I'm hoping that will increase as they grow older. They are about 5 months old right now. They will go into the coop and lay in the nesting boxes even when not penned up. I have not found a single egg outside of the coop.

They do NOT like the little John Deere when it starts up. Chickens are not smart.