Show your chicken tractor\chicken coop

[hrd2fnd]

I'm in the investigation stages of what it will take to build my chicken tractor next year.  Would love to see what others have built and what things you would do differently the next time.

I'm thinking about 10 chickens with sliding trays for retrieval of eggs, already have hundreds of yards of nylon netting yards to cover.

[Boss .300 winmag]

I'm in the investigation stages of what it will take to build my chicken tractor next year.  Would love to see what others have built and what things you would do differently the next time.

I'm thinking about 10 chickens with sliding trays for retrieval of eggs, already have hundreds of yards of nylon netting yards to cover.

What happens when the hen is still in the nest?    slow tray removal and she moves.

I do like your thinking. 

[3nails]

 I'll post pics of mine later. You can do real simple to extravagant. Pretty easy to do a nice looking simple one in a weekend. Why would you wait until next year?

[hrd2fnd]

There are other things ear marked in our budget that doesn't include the cost of lumber. I'll be keeping my eyes open for scrap lumber saving the best pieces to o build it.

[huntandjeep]

Dumb question but what is a chicken tractor ?

[rasbo]

Dumb question but what is a chicken tractor ?

here is one,,,

[montana44mag]

so do you pull the wheels off that one after you move it? If you dont that chicken will be a raccoons lunch and mice will eat the feed? I like it though.
I bet an A-frame or hoophouse made of PVC and covered in hardware cloth would be pretty cheep and efficient.

[runamuk]

the raised back half in that style usually has a wire floor so only the square in front of the ramp is fully exposed to the ground I had a rabbit tractor set up for my bunnies that the entire bottom was wire but the bunnies could still graze and fertilize for me.

[hrd2fnd]

One of the main reason I'm not going with the hoop or a-frame is due to my disability with not being able to bend down to get to the eggs.  So yes you can say they are less expensive which would be true, just not practical for me. 

I'm imaging using the crap load of netting i have left over from a batting cage.  Thinking of making it drape down to to ground when stationary, when time to move hook up the lawn tractor pull up the net drapes and move.

[Jonathan_S]

Maybe there aren't many raccoons where you live but I'd be careful of something like that.  When you have coyotes, raccoons, mink, weasels, dogs... it can get tough to keep chickens alive without a digging guard.  Everyone wants to eat chicken   

It's a neat little idea if it works.  I probably couldn't make one big enough for 33 hens   

[hrd2fnd]

Ok, let me see the your chicken coops and or tractors. Why the design you choose what differently would you do and how do you keep the chicken loving diggers    out.  I can put wheels on just about anything so I'm just looking to see what others have found to work not work.

[3nails]

 Here is one I built and sold last year.

[montana44mag]

One of the main reason I'm not going with the hoop or a-frame is due to my disability with not being able to bend down to get to the eggs.  So yes you can say they are less expensive which would be true, just not practical for me. 

heres a design that is an A frame where the coop is at the top, no bending down to get eggs. 

[hrd2fnd]

May I ask what is the purpose of blocking off the access underneath it?  Was there any thought given to cleaning out access?  Not trying to not pick, just curious is all.  Thanks for sharing

[montana44mag]

May I ask what is the purpose of blocking off the access underneath it?  Was there any thought given to cleaning out access?  Not trying to not pick, just curious is all.  Thanks for sharing

not sure Im quite following you, there are doors for access, I just like the A frame because its less wood and material for the same floor space. Heres another design.

[hrd2fnd]

May I ask what is the purpose of blocking off the access underneath it?  Was there any thought given to cleaning out access?  Not trying to not pick, just curious is all.  Thanks for sharing

not sure Im quite following you, there are doors for access, I just like the A frame because its less wood and material for the same floor space. Heres another design.

my post was not to the a-frames.  Those a-frames are a thought, by chance do you have a pic of the insides? How many chickens call it home? 

[3nails]

May I ask what is the purpose of blocking off the access underneath it?  Was there any thought given to cleaning out access?  Not trying to not pick, just curious is all.  Thanks for sharing

If you are referring to the coop I posted there is a trap door that gives the chickens access. It's been my experience that putting a lot of time and effort into making it mobile is unnecessary. It's nice to have a small run for them that is caged but most people end up letting them free range the majority of the time. Hardly anyone moves them around on a consistant enough basis to keep them from destroying the sod they are on, so instead of ruining the whole yard they just leave them in one spot and let them out.

[Craig]

Just finishing mine up.
3 black stars
2 Plymouth rocks
1 Americana

Compact rock and gravel with lots of chicken wire secured with bricks






Making a outside additional run for when we are around.

[3nails]

 If I wasn't hoping to move soon I'd definitely go that route with the permanent coop, Craig.

[hrd2fnd]

May I ask what is the purpose of blocking off the access underneath it?  Was there any thought given to cleaning out access?  Not trying to not pick, just curious is all.  Thanks for sharing

If you are referring to the coop I posted there is a trap door that gives the chickens access. It's been my experience that putting a lot of time and effort into making it mobile is unnecessary. It's nice to have a small run for them that is caged but most people end up letting them free range the majority of the time. Hardly anyone moves them around on a consistant enough basis to keep them from destroying the sod they are on, so instead of ruining the whole yard they just leave them in one spot and let them out.

. Point well taken.  I can see this being the case and am giving thought around both types for both my turkeys i have currently in a 16x16 converted dog kennel that's a little closer to the house then we like.

[3nails]

 Another one I built and kept with a slightly different style. Pretty small and 10 chickens call it home. They seem to produce better during the winter months when they are crammed together for the night. They have three nesting boxes but mostly only use one. Both of these using scrap lumber probably cost $20 each. As you can see someone at our place has been neglecting cleaning the coop! 

[montana44mag]

  nice coop craig, I like it.


Moveable coops are nice, but yes you do need to move them often and the bigger the better so they dont tear it up so quick, ideally youd have atleast 8 square foot of floor per chicken, but you can go as low as 5 or 6 feet, but youd want to move it everyday, and of course dont do this on your pretty manicured lawn if you want it to stay looking that way, chickens are miniature dinosaurs and they can tear stuff up looking for bugs. A semi-wild yard is better anyway for them with a diverse selection of "weeds" and bugs, they like the dandelions more than the grass!


three nails: technically thats a coop and not a tractor, but it looks like it gets the job done, youre cleanup might be easier if the floor inside was made of wire mesh, and the nest boxes were plastic buckets, then you could just hit the inside with a pressure washer?

[montana44mag]

heres what i meant by nesting buckets, just remove the half-lid and spray it down with the hose! You can get these sterile, where wood is never the same after its soaked with feces.  Youll want one of these for every 2-4 chickens.

[hrd2fnd]

nice coop craig, I like it.


Moveable coops are nice, but yes you do need to move them often and the bigger the better so they dont tear it up so quick, ideally youd have atleast 8 square foot of floor per chicken, but you can go as low as 5 or 6 feet, but youd want to move it everyday, and of course dont do this on your pretty manicured lawn if you want it to stay looking that way, chickens are miniature dinosaurs and they can tear stuff up looking for bugs. A semi-wild yard is better anyway for them with a diverse selection of "weeds" and bugs, they like the dandelions more than the grass!

couldn't agree more.  Having the acreage that I do, and not being able to maintain it the way I had hoped before I physically got worst.  I figured what better way to maintain it then to use our natural resources.  Not only do they help keep nature from taking back my land, I can also become more self-efficient with the fruits of nature. 
So far the goats are keeping 1 acre cleared, while I expand that out to 2 this spring eventually a total of 4 fenced for a cow or 2.

[montana44mag]

If you got a bad back maybe 2 tractors, each 4 foot by 8 foot would be a good plan? Unless youre hooking up a tractor or quad to it I dont think youll want to move anything bigger by hand.

[hrd2fnd]

If you got a bad back maybe 2 tractors, each 4 foot by 8 foot would be a good plan? Unless youre hooking up a tractor or quad to it I dont think youll want to move anything bigger by hand.

by hand is out of the question, I would move either with the lawn tractor.

[montana44mag]

good call!  well that opens up alot more options! lots of free pallets out there if youre looking for free wood!

[hrd2fnd]

good call!  well that opens up alot more options! lots of free pallets out there if youre looking for free wood!

get out of my head there's barely enough room for me 

[3nails]

 Just made this one to sell.

[HUNTINCOUPLE]

Looks real good! Perfect size for a small flock.

[hrd2fnd]

  with the amount of netting I have I have it drawn out for a total length of 40'x12' no longer chicken tractor but chicken house.  This will allow not just eggs, but meat next year.

Turkeys same, but separated by 10' of walkway between.

[Buckmark]

Thought i would resurrect this old thread with some pics of a chicken tractor i am putting together, i have had one before that was alot smaller and it worked great so decided to do another and make it bigger.
The snow finally melted away enough i could get this project going, i still have to get the wire on, some more trim and add the runners which will have a length of trex on the bottom to help it slide and keep the runner from direct ground contact, then repaint it as we decided after the fact that red is not our thing, going to paint it to match my house.

Post up your tractor or coop

[Angry Perch]

Nothing fancy, but it keeps my 3 girls happy. Got them in September and they just started laying a week ago today.

[jennabug]

Here's my partially converted shed coop, when it was all new and clean.  Lol. There's an access door out to a chicken run, and the twinkle lights are replaced by rope lighting so I can access feed before daylight.

[Buckmark]

Well got it 99% done, wife decided she likes the red so i have some trim to finish painting and i will be done, got it all livable and the girls seem to be happy. Now if they can just start laying 

[jackelope]

Well got it 99% done, wife decided she likes the red so i have some trim to finish painting and i will be done, got it all livable and the girls seem to be happy. Now if they can just start laying 

@Woodchuck  You should subcontract Buckmark for your chicken coop construction.

[Woodchuck]

Well got it 99% done, wife decided she likes the red so i have some trim to finish painting and i will be done, got it all livable and the girls seem to be happy. Now if they can just start laying 

@Woodchuck  You should subcontract Buckmark for your chicken coop construction.

That is a fancy lookin sum gun.

[PolarBear]

I just have mine in 2 12'X12' horse stalls with roosts and nesting boxes and outside runs.  I think we are up to around 40.  Just had another batch of olive something or another hatch this weekend.  The plan is to build an old west style saloon looking coop with different rooms for dividing by breed and make a much bigger run .  Hopefully by the end of summer I'll have it built.  My daughter has gone fancy chicken crazy but has promised to hatch me some Bob White quail next. 

[Buckmark]

Finally got the trim all painted, its actually more Gray than the pics show but the wife likes it.
Bonus was i got paid to paint it, sorta, went to Lowes to look for some cheap returned paint, found this gallon of exterior for 9 bucks, went to pay for it and got a rebate form for $15 bucks....Free paint and made 5 bucks 

[jennabug]

Nice work!

[Birdguy]

That looks awesome!! If we did not have 70 chickens I would want one!! Lol

[Machias]

Some really nice looking coops!!

[RockCreek]

Here's mine.  Lock down the wheels.. Lift the house with my tractor and drive it to a new location.  It's heavy but no critters have ever gotten into it.

[Machias]

Been working on a chicken coop.  All done but the roof and to paint it.

[Machias]

Nice!!

[Machias]

Finally finished the chicken coop and the run.  Moving seven 4 week old hens into the coop for a week and then out into the run.