Chicken Tractor - Need Wheel Help

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inolan22

inolan22

Hatching
5 Years
Oct 12, 2014
2
0
7
Hello all,

I was inspired a few months ago to build a chicken tractor. I stumbled across this site and designed a chicken tractor after picking out many things I like about the chicken tractors people posted.

You could say I got a bit too crazy, and the whole thing ended up weighing quite a bit. I made the coop out of wood with 2x4s T1-11 siding...etc. The current wheel design works well enough for me to move the coop around 10-15 feet at a time, but I am afraid if I have to move it much further in one swoop the wheels may prove problematic.

I currently have the wheels attached with a wood lever arm. They are attached to the chicken tractor with a 6-7" bolt going through a 4x4. I do like this type of design to get the wheels out of the way while to allow the tractor to lay flat against the ground. The coop is heavy enough that the wheel configuration tends to "bow" a bit under the weight. I currently have to tip the chicken tractor and kick the wheels into position.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve on the current wheel system under the heavy weight of this chicken tractor??

Here are some pics:








 
Metal lever arm instead of wood. Try searching at your local HD or Lowe's in the commercial wiring section for metal strips already drilled, around the heavy conduit stuff.
 
I have pretty much the same design tractor coop. My wheels look the same, but are in 2x8's. Raising the wheels is a pain, but it doesn't bow currently. But if there is a dip or hump in the ground the coop gets stuck. It is real hard to move even on flat grass, just because the wheels are so narrow and it weighs so much. To move it I put plywood under the front wheel, roll it a few feet, move plywood, and repeat. No fun.

I saw some nice wide rubber wheels, like on a large wagon, at the local feed store (TSC), but they were up to $50 each. Still looking for a better solution to mount them. Also looking for a bigger front wheel. At these prices it might just become immobile.
 
Last edited:
I got tires for my tractor from Harbor Freight. If you don't have one close buy they do sell over the net. The wheels aren't the greatest quality (made in China) put for moving a little ever couple days they work fine. I bought 10" wheels with 5/8" axle holes for only $4 each at a parking lot tent sale, they look real familiar to the ones in inolan22's pictures. Normal price for these is $9.99 I believe but they are always available at Harbor Freight marked down to $6.99.
 
I did get my wheels at Harbor Freight. I believe they were the 13" no flat wheel for around 20 bucks. I'll have to check out a metal lever arm to see if that helps out the situation at all.
 

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