I built a chicken tractor/small coop last week/this weekend using scrap lumber and stuff we had lying around the farm.
I did purchase the hardware (5 hinges, 5 clasps and 5 clips) and the hardware cloth (20'), but everything else was pulled out of old buildings and/or leftover from past projects, including the screws, pressure treated plywood and the tin.
Most of the lumber was a little warped/twisted/funky so "square" was relative on this project. It came out pretty good, I think. I would just have to add a roost before I put chickens in it.
The building size is 24x30 (exterior dimensions before PT ply was added) and the run is roughly 30" x 8' long. Interior of the nestbox is 12x12. I think it will be good for a broody, a pair of regular-sized chickens or maybe a trio of bantams. Or, if you ask my oldest kid, as many cats as you can catch and cram in there.
It's a little heavy to pull around the yard on my own, but luckily, we have equipment that does that for me.
I made a sliding bar that goes across the top of the pop door from one side of the run to the other, so the building can be locked down and made quite predator-proof. I suspect a determined bear couldn't be stopped, but really, what building would stop a determined bear?
I did purchase the hardware (5 hinges, 5 clasps and 5 clips) and the hardware cloth (20'), but everything else was pulled out of old buildings and/or leftover from past projects, including the screws, pressure treated plywood and the tin.
Most of the lumber was a little warped/twisted/funky so "square" was relative on this project. It came out pretty good, I think. I would just have to add a roost before I put chickens in it.
The building size is 24x30 (exterior dimensions before PT ply was added) and the run is roughly 30" x 8' long. Interior of the nestbox is 12x12. I think it will be good for a broody, a pair of regular-sized chickens or maybe a trio of bantams. Or, if you ask my oldest kid, as many cats as you can catch and cram in there.
It's a little heavy to pull around the yard on my own, but luckily, we have equipment that does that for me.
I made a sliding bar that goes across the top of the pop door from one side of the run to the other, so the building can be locked down and made quite predator-proof. I suspect a determined bear couldn't be stopped, but really, what building would stop a determined bear?
