Welp about to start one one of these deals..Dad has a few extra wifey likes the way they look , I kinda wanted to build one of these again so


Most of these are 8'x10' and I seen folk with meat 30 birds in one pretty easy but we're gonna have 10 at the absolute most more then likely just 4-5 so we're narrowing it down to 5 wide . Pressure treated 2x4's for the base cartel panels for the hoop... shouldn't be too hard

If anything like us you’ll end up with a lot more chickens than expected

Will it have runners to allow easy moving?

I had one but I wasn't too crazy about it. Unless you moved it often it would become a mud pit in rainy times. Then in winter when grass wasn't growing it become a mud pit anyway. Now I put clear plastic on it and use it for a small greenhouse for my tomato starts.

So got the frame done and added some corner support made with scraps


Then realized that narrowing up the design made the hoop a little too tall the way it was so bad to cut it down


Lil zippy do da



And there we go !



Attached it to the inside with some plumbers strap and some 1 3/4 screws, saw some folks on you YouTubes doin it and works amazing!


Aannnd about of a miscalculation on my part was about a foot too long with just two panels but no biggie this will actually help when it comes to the wheels so just took 3 min to un screw and re screw everything together



Managed to get a a good bit more done but phone died so gotta wait till tomorrow to show it but I'll say werew about 60% there .

Also I married a dang alien wife came home told her I borrowed my dad's weed eater and was super excited to get it and use it around the house


These dang yall-ternative women folk I'll tell ya and all ready talking about how we could make one of these into a green house

Thank you for the post Wolfdog. You've given me a couple of ideas to make my wife happy next spring.

Welp that's tractors in general, gotta move them frequently or but that's why you make them so you don't have to do a whole bunch to move them .had a few people try tractoring when they saw my first one but gave up on it after they realized you can't run them like a pen and stuff run as smooth

Wheels on the back side and a pull rope on the front. Gonna have it where why the time you fully standing you have it up enough to start walking back

O no doubt lol

check out how the wheels work on aluminum coops. I think it will get the wheels turning

I like the concept, only wonder about a predator digging under the sides.
A fold down heavy duty cage type wire that covers the perimeter of the tractor would be added protection, for the flock.
Love the idea of a green house .

If you will use 2 inch angle as your base and door instead of 2x4 wood you can add an electric charger on it. Stand the fence off on 3/8 rebar and ground to the coop.

You know a welder!!

Then put a tongue on the front at the door. Burn a hole in the front of the tongue. Then make a handle dolly with a long lag bolt and a washer welded on where you can lever the bolt and washer in the hole in the tongue to pick up the front. Make sure the handle will fit through the open door. Then with the wheels on the back and the wheeled lever dolly on the front, wifey can move the coop wherever she wants without needing help from you.

VIOLA!!

And so she can take the wheels off the back, put a tongue on the corners.

dude if she keeps up all this cleaning , you might not scare the neighbors adequately into leaving you alone , next thing you know they guy down the road who thought you were the crazy gun vet kid , will be at your house for supper.

I once built a green house for a gal, using PVC plumbing pipe for the hoops.

Well there terrified of white won for the most part , especially the ones with different colored hair so

I was strongly considering all metal like yours but cost and weight was the main issue. Don't forget she's one one moving these while I'm gone for 3weeks at a time also been wanting to get into wood working more so there that'll

Lil update

True. You could still do it if you wanted. Just stand the fence off the coop and have a hard wire ran to a sharp grounding rod she could stab into the ground. She could move the grounding rod each time. Just helpful suggestion. Critters see chicken like we do. Delicious!!! And they will dig if nothing deters them.

Maybe a T handle about 3 foot tall she could hold onto from the top and put her weight into it to put into the ground. Weld some handles on top for pulling out of the ground. She could even use a stake puller.

Just trying to save your chickens brother.

You can ;lighten up the load a bit by ripping those 1x's in half, should work fine.

Voila! It's a viola. LOL



Keith

Wire is on now working on the back

Lil saws all work

Door done , mis measured a hair so had to rip a 1/4 off one side but think it came out looking good and got the tarp fitted

And we're still brain storming the nesting buckets and the roosting bar

And now just gotta add the wheel system

Should have put a nest box on the outside part way up the back wall with a lid so you don't need to go inside. cover the nest boxes with a "curtain " to keep the boxes dark..ish...
same for the waterer and feeder, put a "hatch" on either side of the door for ez access... in my opinion...lol

And here we go , gotta change out the wheels with tom better one a I got but

And the last little deals
Went back and got some better wheels when the internal bearings and slipped those on. And here's the wheel system we got . It's a leaver jack up deal . Just pull the 2x4 with the wheel upright and slip the pin in . Wifey says she really likes it. Goes from in the ground to about 5" up easy peasy




Added one of these auto latches to the outside but since we're both kind clumsy added a safey deal. ...just a joke and some 550 cord . Just give it a tug front he inside and it pops it loose



And the nesting buckets are in there final form for now

Now if the two black ones would stop picking on the smaller ones we'd be good but think that's just a time thing

And got a good 60yd long area on the side of the house we'll be moving this thing up and down along with the quail going the opposite way so should work out decent

Pretty slick deal on those wheels, wolfie. Happy wife.

Thanks ! Not my idea though saw it one this lady's channel


We are thinking of doing wheels on the front too but we're going to give this a month just to see

Honestly I've just never had a problem of critters digging... Maybe it's a Southern things or something but we we had pens it's was always them just ripping holes or something never digging though. That being said I seen a few deals where they make integrated dig guards usually it's cattle panels with hardware cloth on them that are like bolted around the side so they can flip up and down . Here's a video that shows it better


And some wooden ones


But honestly , same as my quail , the usual predators eveyone is concerned about , coon possum , coyotes fox .... There honestly not something I really even care about because ...well there just pain not any around me . Like seriously y'all ever wonder why I don't catch anything? There just not around and have no real reason to come over if I'm worried about anything it's snakes and rats