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I call this a Chicken Barrow instead of a Chicken Tractor because it really reminds me more of a wheel barrow than a tractor!
Anyway, after researching chicken tractors in-depth online, I finally decided on the "hoop house" type design and am very pleased with how it came out. I think this is a good project for someone with little to no building skills, and it's easy to get your friends to help because they want to know what it is!
I enlisted the help of some girlfriends and my carpenter husband, who offered lots of advice for my project and helped us end up with a perfectly square frame and very solid final structure. For example, I probably would have used galvanized nails, but he said pre-drilling and using screws is the way to go, which now makes sense, but I would have never thought of that myself. Additionally, I'm pretty sure you could get away with a structure that was not perfectly square, but it certainly made it easier to align the PVC.
I wanted something relatively heavy to deter predators from trying to move/lift it, so 2" x 4"s were used (and because we had some on hand). A smaller dimension of wood could be used if you think predators are not as much of a problem. We have raccoons, coyotes, mountain lions (rare, but chickens might attract them!), and dogs and cats (including my own) that freely roam the neighborhood.
My barrow is based on this guy's design, with some slight modifications: http://www.nhlife.org/2008/06/23/chicken-tractor. His is 4' x 10', but we already had a 3' x 6' sheet of plywood in the garage as well as some 8-foot 2" x 4"s, so we decided to make mine 3'W x 3'H x 8'L to minimize waste.
A few things still need to be added:
- On one end, we will use a jigsaw to cut out a door (and attach it with simple hinges) as well as two wheels.
- The wheel bolts I bought to attach the 6" ball-bearing wheels are not long enough to attach to the 2" x 4"s, so I will need to find longer bolts at the hardware store, which is why we did not attach them yet.
- On the other end of the barrow, we will add a nesting box with a hinged lid (for egg gathering) made out of plywood as well as two handles for maneuvering the barrow. The handles will also act as extra support for the nesting box.
- I will attach two 4-foot 2" x 4"s to the ends of a piece of tarp to provide the chickies with shade in the summer and wind protection in the winter.
- Both the hinged door and the hinged lid of the nesting box will be secured with padlocks to deter the opposable thumbs of determined raccoons.
I plan to get four chicks. I think they will be quite comfortable! I will post more pictures when these last items are added and the tractor is painted and finished...
Materials/tools needed:
- six 8-foot 2" x 4"s (three to be used uncut for long pieces, and three to be cut down into smaller cross braces and diagonal braces)
- one 3' x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood (can fit into a non full-size truck!)
- twelve 1/2" pipe straps
- six 1/2" pieces of PVC cut into 8' lengths by your local hardware store
- about 20 feet of welded wire (you will have some left over - use it for garden cages)
- about 20 feet of chicken wire (ditto)
- lots of galvanized 2 1/2" deck screws
- cordless drill gun
- cordless screw gun
- jigsaw
- circular saw (optional)
- at least an afternoon's worth of time!
Anyway, after researching chicken tractors in-depth online, I finally decided on the "hoop house" type design and am very pleased with how it came out. I think this is a good project for someone with little to no building skills, and it's easy to get your friends to help because they want to know what it is!
I enlisted the help of some girlfriends and my carpenter husband, who offered lots of advice for my project and helped us end up with a perfectly square frame and very solid final structure. For example, I probably would have used galvanized nails, but he said pre-drilling and using screws is the way to go, which now makes sense, but I would have never thought of that myself. Additionally, I'm pretty sure you could get away with a structure that was not perfectly square, but it certainly made it easier to align the PVC.
I wanted something relatively heavy to deter predators from trying to move/lift it, so 2" x 4"s were used (and because we had some on hand). A smaller dimension of wood could be used if you think predators are not as much of a problem. We have raccoons, coyotes, mountain lions (rare, but chickens might attract them!), and dogs and cats (including my own) that freely roam the neighborhood.
My barrow is based on this guy's design, with some slight modifications: http://www.nhlife.org/2008/06/23/chicken-tractor. His is 4' x 10', but we already had a 3' x 6' sheet of plywood in the garage as well as some 8-foot 2" x 4"s, so we decided to make mine 3'W x 3'H x 8'L to minimize waste.
A few things still need to be added:
- On one end, we will use a jigsaw to cut out a door (and attach it with simple hinges) as well as two wheels.
- The wheel bolts I bought to attach the 6" ball-bearing wheels are not long enough to attach to the 2" x 4"s, so I will need to find longer bolts at the hardware store, which is why we did not attach them yet.
- On the other end of the barrow, we will add a nesting box with a hinged lid (for egg gathering) made out of plywood as well as two handles for maneuvering the barrow. The handles will also act as extra support for the nesting box.
- I will attach two 4-foot 2" x 4"s to the ends of a piece of tarp to provide the chickies with shade in the summer and wind protection in the winter.
- Both the hinged door and the hinged lid of the nesting box will be secured with padlocks to deter the opposable thumbs of determined raccoons.
I plan to get four chicks. I think they will be quite comfortable! I will post more pictures when these last items are added and the tractor is painted and finished...
Materials/tools needed:
- six 8-foot 2" x 4"s (three to be used uncut for long pieces, and three to be cut down into smaller cross braces and diagonal braces)
- one 3' x 6' piece of 3/4" plywood (can fit into a non full-size truck!)
- twelve 1/2" pipe straps
- six 1/2" pieces of PVC cut into 8' lengths by your local hardware store
- about 20 feet of welded wire (you will have some left over - use it for garden cages)
- about 20 feet of chicken wire (ditto)
- lots of galvanized 2 1/2" deck screws
- cordless drill gun
- cordless screw gun
- jigsaw
- circular saw (optional)
- at least an afternoon's worth of time!
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Signing UpStep 1Cut The Plywood Ends
We first cut the piece of plywood in half and screwed both pieces together so they could be cut with the jigsaw at the same time.
Then, using screws as a guide, we carefully bent the PVC, following the edges of the plywood, and then fastened the ends with two pipe straps for safety. We used a pencil to trace the the shape of the PVC.
We removed the guide screws (but not the screws holding the two pieces together) and cut through both pieces of plywood with the jigsaw.
We then unfastened the remaining screws and set the two pieces aside.
Note: we ended with a flat portion at the top of the curve of the plywood, which ended up being useful later.
Then, using screws as a guide, we carefully bent the PVC, following the edges of the plywood, and then fastened the ends with two pipe straps for safety. We used a pencil to trace the the shape of the PVC.
We removed the guide screws (but not the screws holding the two pieces together) and cut through both pieces of plywood with the jigsaw.
We then unfastened the remaining screws and set the two pieces aside.
Note: we ended with a flat portion at the top of the curve of the plywood, which ended up being useful later.
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The 2x4's are better as roosts, especially for large fowl. When they are resting on the 2" side of the board, or have their toes wrapped around a dowel, they can't get the ends of their toes covered in the cold, and they can get frostbite. I have 2x4 roosts that I routed to make a softer edge, but they are mounted with the wide side for them to sit on.
I also would not recommend wire across the bottom, as they can actually tear out their toenails, or do similar damage to their feet. They won't realize that they can't scratch, just peck. Wire flanged out from the sides and staked "should" take care of the predator problem. To test, take a 3-yr-old boy and see if he can get it. Many raccoons are as strong and as smart as a toddler.
Great idea, and good instructions!
snakes as predators....what about them? i net one could get in, snag an egg and not be able to get back out very easily!
maybe drill holes along your 'ridge beam' to stabilise the pvc tubing some, and to also allow the cage part to lay down a bit. would also reduce some of the hardware if holes were drilled.
i'm guessing you didn't use treated wood for hen health reasons...are these 'barrows' meant to last very long? i'm on the gulf coast, going through drought like conditions but that is always subject to change!
thanks for taking the time out to detail this for us!
Roosters are noisy and different breeds of hen have different characteristics.
Ours are a sussex star and a rhode red black hybrid. Both dead friendly, quiet and good layers. Seems the fancier you go the more trouble they are.
£10 each at 24 weeks fully vaccinated, already had enough eggs to earn that back (only had them a month or so).
Read up on suitable breeds. I bet you could get some.
Ours are so easy, wish I'd done it sooner
I think the price reflects that some one else has done a bunch of work for you.
Incidentally if you wanted a silkie or hen that layed blue eggs they're like £30 each!
now as far as vaccination what all do you give them.
Around here we dont even know what that means
I just had a quick search around the web and plenty of people don't seem to bother doing it, and apparently vaccinations are expensive, like minimum order is 1000. So no use for small flocks.
Guess if your hens are happy then they'll be alright. Just don't let them mix with other peoples birds or you might get contaminated or something.
Thanks for sharing!!
www.theruralindependent.com/
the great benifit to me is when im exausted and the cat or dog breaks in i will have chickens litteraly screaming in my ear if they can see me through the window that overlooks the chicken yard, a shelf ouside the window helps.
WARNING keep a good window screen closed or you will wake up with company[go ahead laugh i would]
so now i make a peeping noise and full grown chickens run to me and jump in my hand and i put them where i want them.it amazes my neighbors and is very useful just be sure to give them nice rewardsoccasionaly when they let you put them down to keep them friendly.as they get older 5 or 6 weeks start using a glove as a full grown bird can really put the clamp on you.