I have told a few people I would post the results of my research about "chicken tractors" and what the final product looks like. Many, many thanks go to several people and a great friend who helped me brainstorm and assemble. Without his help and "push", this would have still been on the drawing board.

A special thanks goes to Patrice. She LOVES chickens and was a wealth of knowledge, help and inspiration. Hats off to you Patrice.

Here we go.



This is the finished product. My daughter's chickens are golden buffs (sex link). They are a RIW male and RIR female cross. 4 lb adults with 250 eggs/year.

The frame is 2 inch angle in a 8' X 8"5" box. The door is the same angle framed in and welded with hinges welded on. The door "knobs" are quick links installed through holes drilled in the door and door frame. The coop hoop is 2 panels of livestock panel bought from tractor supply. The entire coop is covered over with chicken wire zip tied in place at all cross points and where else needed. It took about 800. No kidding.

The front and back were welded on with another 2 pieces of livestock panel cut to fit.

It was then covered with a tarp. I had to use a rather large tarp to cover it down to about 1 foot off the ground for cover and to allow for air flow.


This is the reinforcing angle at each corner.



This is a 5/8" bolt welded on as an axle for the wheels that are put on the back when the coop is moved. Ensure your wheels have a 5/8" arbor.



These are the wheels I use. Bought at Harbor Freight.



This is the tongue welded onto the front of the coop for the dolly used to lift the front of the coop to roll the tractor.




This is the wheel mounted to the axle and how it fits.





This is the nest box bought from craigslist from a chicken house operation being upgraded. Got it for $10. Mounted 1/2" treated plywood to the back of it and mounted it to the coop frame with stainless S hooks.





This is the fence. It is a solar charger grounded to the coop. The fence is stood off the coop via 2 ft sections of rebar welded to the frame and installed on plastic, electric fence standoffs. You can touch the coop, no problem. You can touch the fence and get a tickle. Touch both and you get 5500 yellow jackets pounding your hand. It is four strand with the top two strands having a disconnect on opposite sides at the door to minimize a possible ladder for "ricky" or "opie".

We move the coop about every three days. This gives the chickens fresh bugs, grass and weeds and cleans and fertilizes the yard 8 sq feet at a time. It's pretty neat and the chickens are very content. Five chicken and we are getting 4-5 eggs/day. I never knew they were so social. Neat animals.

I know it looks like overkill but I wanted to do something that will keep my daughter from crying when she finds one of her chickens dead. I know it looks heavy, but it's really not that bad.

I am up for any critique to make this a better coop so if you see an improvement that can be made, please sound off.

Here's some pics of the ladies and their food and water dispenser. I drilled a 1/8" hole on the top of the water bowl to hang it from the inside of the coop. I hung the feeder and waterer with fence wire. It's been great for my daughter as she has to get up at 5:45 every morning to take care of HER chickens. I told her when we got them it was up to her whether they live or die. She has really taken ownership of her livestock and I am proud of her. We are feeding them a mix of laying mash, starter (leftover) and a dash of oyster shell.

We have raised them from chicks. We bought them April 5th. I suggested buying five as I figured one would die. Well, with the way she takes care of them, that didn't happen. I'm glad now. I've been eating lots of eggs. I LOVE hen fruit.

Hope you enjoyed and I hope this helps someone else. If you have questions, feel free to pm me.

Looks great, however them zip ties ain't going to last you, they will UV out in a year, you better get some large hog rings and replace them before you have to do the whole thing.

Happy Chicks are great dinners !!

Spot lights for night time?

UV zip ties last a long time ....

We made a bird cage at my work for the boss, he love guineas and chuckers, first year used the Non UV zip's and by the end of the next spring we had to replace them, maybe you got a better brand.

We just ended up using the hog rings, thats why I suggested them, as the zips failed so badly, did not want you having un-wanted visitors in your pen is all !

looks good, solid and sturdy.

I built one this spring. thought about the tractor, but opted for a wood shed instead. they have a fenced in area right now to keep them out of the garden, but I will free range them soon. always lock them up tight at night.

Nice

Very nice we have about 8 layers now and I'd like to make one of these to run over my garden plot.

It would be a good idea to put a cover over your feed.
Eventhough it looks to be under the tarp sometimes it rains sideways and wet feed is messy and time consuming to clean up.
just

Nice thread but too much bickering

I cleaned this one up so the trappers wanting to learn how to do something productive can. Tom

I don't know if the UV zip ties will last or not. After my regular ones failed I started using trapping wire. A $5.00 wire twister used for positioning rebar in concrete makes it quick, cheap, and durable.

Thanks Tom!!!!

Your more then welcome Ray...

I have both a tractor and a pen/coop. I stopped using the tractor because of the extra effort to feed and water them. In my pen/coop, feeding is easy and the automatic drip waterer is very reliable. But for your situation it appears that your tractor is perfect. Being able to weld is a huge plus!

Took care of the other one per your request. Thank you all for this one and all the civil replies. Tom

LOL I have found that out the hard way...Tom

Neat looking chicken coop. You over did the nest boxes. One 12 by 12 box would be enough for up to ten hens. I don't see a roosting pole. You do need one that is higher then the nests. That will keep the hens from roosting in the nest. That will keep the eggs clearner.
Those hens are red sex links. They are made from a red (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) on a white hen. They are production bred brown egg layers. The best egg layers that you will find. Ours will lay about 330 eggs a year. There is no RI's in them. We sell ISA browns at the hatchery that I work at. You will like them.