Chickens, and things related

[tony123]

Bmac, looks great! Thanks for the photos.

I didn't get any response when I posted the link to my chicken tractor photos, so I thought I'd put a photo of it here. Somone might find it helpful when researching.



The chickens have now been in the tractor for about a week, and seem to be very happy. The grass starts showing some stress after day two. This hasn't been a big deal, as shifting it a few feet is easy enough.

The large waterer has been awesome! That little chick waterer was getting dirty about TEN times a day! Now, I can go days without touching it. Same with the feeder. I put the feeder inside the coop to keep the food dry, and the waterer outside, again...to keep the food dry.

I'm really happy with the "chicken" door. It slides in tracks via a string from the top. I pull the string, the door opens. Let go and it shuts. The door you see in the photo is a temp. It was the only scrap laying around.

We plan to paint it all eventually. For now, we're a bit burned out on the project.

I still need to build the roosts inside, as well as the nesting boxes (which will be a bump out on the rear of the coop). I also want to make some inserts to close off the gable ends in the winter. Our winters are mild, but still...

Hope this helps anyone that may be planning a tractor.

 

[dooleysm]

I've been thinking of what to do with the chicken door that attches my coop to the attached 5x16 enclosure. Right now it's just a 12"x12" opening that is always open. I think that'll be fine for spring, summer, and fall. The winter has me more concerned. For my similarly sized dog doors I tacked a piece of old carpet over the opening to keep the wind down inside their pens. I'm not sure if the chickens will go through carpet or if it'll be enough to keep the drafts out.

My other idea was to make a 'foyer' outside out of strategically placed bales of straw.

Or maybe the chickens will be okay in the coop with that door open. It doesn't usually stay really cold here for very long. A week of sub-zero nights would be very rare. Usually just a day or two gets that cold in the winter. I should have 12-15 hens in a 6x9 coop over the winter, so I'm hoping that's enough to keep each other warm.

 

[Tororider]

From what I have read you can train the chickens to go through something like that. I am not sure if carpet would be too heavy but heavy duty vinyl or something like that. If you start with two pieces on the side and then once they get used to that add two more pieces until the whole door is covered.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Chickens are amazing what they can learn if there is a reason too. Just think all they have to do is lay eggs and you have to go to 'work' to survive. And you even have to do the clean up!! Guess i would try a full piece of carpet at first and see what happens for a full week.

You all seem to have beautiful constructed coops and tractors, Just stuck with things that have been cobbled together over time and when $ was very dear. Oh well, still derive great enjoyment seeing the girls each day and taking care of them, i do not tell them the difference between upscale housing and being on the wrong side of the tracks, so they do not mind, so many other things to talk about.

Speaking of which the girls are getting greens (weeds) now and are loving it. Egg poduction has dropped off some but will pick up again soon. Eggs here are going for $2 out the door and cannot get enough to sell. $4 + for organics at the store.

 

[dooleysm]

My accountant indicates I spent about $500 on mine, not including some fencing and other items I had leftover from other projects. I just so happened to have a BUNCH of spare time to devote to planning, since I was pretty well immobile for about 3 months with my achilles tendon rupture. I only ended up with a handful of 6" or shorter 2x4 scraps as waste.

I have wanted to raise chickens since I was probably 10 or 12. I am finally in a position in my life (I'm 30) where I can do it. I could sit for hours and watch them peck around. I'm having great fun so far. I'm glad I broke down and bought some that were already laying, I don't think I could have stood the wait for my chicks to start laying.

I think I'll spring the carpet over the door on them next weekend and see how they handle it. I think you're right, they'll figure it out when they get hungry or thirsty enough.

 

[bmac]

Eddie,

Thanks for the vote of approval. Even though I don't know what I'm doing, I am trying to make it look like it was built by someone who did.

Tony,

Don't know why you didn't get any response from you tractor photo. I think it looks great. If my daughter had done something more reasonable with the number of chicks she started with, I would have much rather built something like that instead of the size that I am building. But, 20 birds need some space.

4720,

I don't know how "upscale" my coop is (or even if you were refering to mine), but it actually is overkill for a coop. My concern is that my daughter will tire of the chickens after a year or (hopefully) 2 (or more). So, I wanted a builing that I could possibly convert to an outbuilding for storage. Of course, I'm assuming that I will eventually be able to get rid of the smell. But, for yard tools, fertilizer, etc., I can hold my breath long enough to get that kind of stuff out.

As an aside, one of my friends who came over to help yesterday said I could turn the coop into a "Man Room". My response was that it would be a great Man Room because it would be filled with "Chicks". Bad joke, I know.

 

[Tororider]

Sorry Tony, I thought I had commented on how nice I thought the coop looked, must have thought it and not posted it.

Dooleysm, I am at the same point in life, 29, but I haven't always wanted chickens. I am however becoming more and more a country boy and trying to eat organic.

I think I am back to making a 4'x4' elevated coop inside my run. I figure one less thing to have in the back and in case the neighbors give me any problems I can move the whole thing out to my farm or my sister in law and brother in laws.

Bonus! I found some free 1"x10" boards that someone was throwing out. Probably 20-30 of them in various lengths from 3'-6'. Should only have to buy a couple things now, woohoo.

 

[tony123]

toro, you're killing me with all these free finds you keep running into. And thanks for the comments guys. I wasn't fishing for a pat on the back. I thought that maybe linking was inappropriate or too much hassle or something.

 

[4720 OWNER]

Chickens smell? Only if not cleaned out often enough or not enough bedding. Or let the tractor sit in one place. But then again it has been said that my sense of smell is non existent. Dog was entertaining a skunk for a while until it tired and then announced its prescence. My eyes would water and see the little stink lines off her but could not really smell it. Was told it was awful.

Kind of off topic. Now if i could just get the chics to leave the welding calenders up on the wall and not peck the remote the coop would be quite the treat. Do not even have to clean up if drop chips or crackers on the floor.

 

[dooleysm]

They don't smell as bad as my dogs, at least not yet. There is alot of poop in my chicken coop, but it doesn't smell very offensive to me. Of course it's not real hot out yet. The good thing is, I can be in, collect the eggs, and back out in one breath, so even if it gets bad, I don't think it'll affect me much.