Will an aproned chicken tractor keep out weasels?

[Sunshine_Amy]

Might it have been this one?:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

Yes, Aart! Nice to meet you!

 

[Krugerrand]

Here is a thread with some seriously strong wheels:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/check-out-my-chicken-tractor.1456418/page-2#post-24496139

 

[Krugerrand]

View attachment 3071141
Honestly, I'd lose the focus on square/rectangular walls and try to replace the whole "run" section of the build with halved cattle/livestock panels to further reduce weight. An almost 8' length makes an arch 5' wide, 2 1/2' tall. Two sections provide almost exactly 8' in length, with a bit of overlap - and combine to 40 sq ft.
Now you can use a little heavier board, with corner reinforcement as the base at similar weight, for a sturdier build which will be less prone to pulling apart with repeat movements. Its the last 4' section, with the coop portion, I haven't "solved" yet in my head. A press brake to bend a third cattle panel would be pretty awesome, honestly, for creating that structure, then count on the front and back, a suspended floor to add rigidity.

Or so my thoughts currently lean. (Crudely)
View attachment 3071186

I like this idea. You could use a 16' cattle panel for the high section and 8' panels for the low section.

 

[3KillerBs]

...It's the image of moving my Premier 1 fence with a net attached, to accommodate summer tractor movement, that I find daunting.

I admit that moving 100 feet of fence by myself is awkward, but I *can* do it. Usually I recruit my son or husband to assist with one of us carrying the fence and the other pulling and resetting the posts.

If it's just a matter of morphing the shape or moving it over a few feet I pull out a few stakes at a time from one end to give me some slack and "walk" it around to where I want it.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I like this idea. You could use a 16' cattle panel for the high section and 8' panels for the low section.

Exactly so. I'm going to keep thinking on it. My last effort at a mobile grow out pen was a bust, and the rabbits are rapidly taking over the grow out pen I attached to/constructed inside the barn.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Wow, you two, this is incredible feedback and input.

@U_Stormcrow , did you just draw that? Nice "rough" sketch! I have noticed that cattle panels seem to provide the lightest framing, and can appreciate your approach in that regard. I have a visceral reaction to things that are aesthetically cage-like, so the arch portion works for me, better than a box configuration, though I'm now hoping for something tall enough to stand in for the run part. Not sure how the box section relates to a coop, but it sounds like there's a concept you've got brewing.

Regarding those wheels, I scrutinized that, too. She uses pocket screws throughout, so I'd imagined it stronger than it appears, but I agree that it is a concerning place for such a join, and a potential point of failure.

@3KillerBs, I absolutely appreciate the importance of the birds not overheating, and had and still have the same concerns there, especially if they need to get up into the nesting box during the daytime heat. Ammonia is a good general point, too, though I imagine it would be the lesser danger in this set up where the tractor requires daily moving.

I agree that the coop of the second tractor I posted is too small, which is why I'd like to go to 4x5. Now that I'm reading the thread you shared, I see that nesting boxes don't count. I was planning to bump out a double nesting box, but make it extra wide to include a 1x2' dust bath, so maybe that can count. Recommendations I read said 4 sq. feet/bird for large birds, and 3 sq. feet/bird for med. birds, equaling 22 square feet with my flock, which is what I'm at exactly if I count the dust bath. I read 8-10 feet of run per bird, and the grass below would be 55 square feet, or 9.16 per bird. I'm going for a good set up that functions as their bare minimum, and this seems to me it, if I can build it in a way that DH likes (he likes the look of that one) and that is still easily moveable like that one is.

I look forward to having them out in a Premier 1 fence at times, but as a new chicken owner I'd like to have a set up that wouldn't require additional space and forage; just veering on the side of caution, since this is all new to me and I don't want to be pressured by circumstance to let them free range and have an unhappy result. Just in case, I've taken the precaution of getting only medium-dark colored breeds that are predator aware, but it seems possible that three of my birds could fly a Premier 1 fence (Ameraucana, Faverolles, and Favaucana) so that's the kind of thing that has me wanting a good baseline with a tractor. I do plan to set up the Premier 1 with a net zip tied to the top for additional run in the winter, over my garden...


...It's the image of moving my Premier 1 fence with a net attached, to accommodate summer tractor movement, that I find daunting.

These birds are pets first, and my cover consists of trees that are mostly on slopes with not the best brush, so I'm thinking that they'd need a net or a guard person/creature. I dream of getting a guard dog, just because I want a dog anyway, but I've promised DH only one "pet project" at a time.

That's funny, and somewhat daunting, to learn how hard it can be to get them back in a coop from pasture! I was planning to train them with meal worms. Sounds like I'll really need to work at it! ...Maybe their familiarity with daily forage in the tractor will make the meal worms relatively exciting? Here's hoping!

LOVE your inverted lawn chair idea. I was planning a hinged seat attached to the side of the run, for a clean seat, but the lawn chair would be more fun for the birds. Sounds like a definite addition to my winter netted fence area at least!

Oh, and that coop you linked to is amazing!!! Not hand-moveable, but they really thought of everything, and it's also the most stylish of the hoop coops I've seen. Gotta hand it to them! It must have been hard to part with!

Yes, I just threw it together with Paint.net while I was posting - surprisingly robust for a free program that started as a college project. If I was serious, I'd use Sketch-up.

Its clear that you are giving this a lot of thought and doing tons of research. We REALLY appreciate that. I'm certain you will find the community supportive of your efforts.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’m about to embark on a renovation of our run and coop, and was planning to install a 12” 1/2 HWC skirt with landscaping stakes. Do you think it should be 24”?

24" would be optimal if you have the materials for it. If cost/material is a factor, I feel that 16" is about as short as you can go and still have some decent level of protection.

 

[Devorah]

24" would be optimal if you have the materials for it. If cost/material is a factor, I feel that 16" is about as short as you can go and still have some decent level of protection.

Thanks! I think the plan is to bury the 1/2 HWC 12” in the ground and to also lay down a flat skirt 18” secured by landscape stakes.

 

[3KillerBs]

Thanks! I think the plan is to bury the 1/2 HWC 12” in the ground and to also lay down a flat skirt 18” secured by landscape stakes.

You don't have to have both a vertical barrier and an apron. I won't hurt, but it's a lot of extra work.

Many people choose the apron because it's so much easier to install than digging the trench for a vertical barrier.

 

[Sunshine_Amy]

I admit that moving 100 feet of fence by myself is awkward, but I *can* do it. Usually I recruit my son or husband to assist with one of us carrying the fence and the other pulling and resetting the posts.

If it's just a matter of morphing the shape or moving it over a few feet I pull out a few stakes at a time from one end to give me some slack and "walk" it around to where I want it.

I can imagine moving the fence itself just fine. To be clear, I meant to depict not just the electrified fence netting, but an attached net overhead (attached to top with removable zip ties, which I read someone else did, likely for a permanent set up). It was a notion that came to me as the only real security, but it doesn't seem practical to move. If anyone can imagine doing it, maybe with my 3 other family members to help, let me know. Obviously some kind of center pole would come with it. Does that even seem feasible?