I'm pretty darn proud of myself. Inspired by designs here in these forums, and informed by feedback from folks also in these forums on my initial designs, I designed, did take-offs, acquired materials, and built it entirely by myself. It's the prettiest and most functional thing I've ever built alone (I've helped to build some pretty darn awesome things, like a treehouse-style tiny house, but always under the leadership of a more accomplished carpenter/builder).
So, first off, the specifications I needed to fulfill:
* House 2-4 chickens
* Lightweight enough to move by myself
* With nest boxes for laying
* Secure from predators
* Low maintenance, ability to leave for a day or two or three without hiring a chicken sitter
The build took three days, including design & acquisition of materials (not including the many hours over a couple of weeks of tossing ideas around and researching the best practices).
Now, the build:
Materials acquisition was a PITA. Takeoff wasn't too bad, but with trying to social distance as much as possible, I ordered everything for curbside pick-up. Home Depot was a MESS. I ended up waiting 1.5 hours for everything to be brought out, with one thing and another. Between that and having to borrow a friend's trailer because mine needs repair, it was a 3-hour errand. Whew. That was Day 1.
Materials:
* Two sheets of plywood (the thinnest I could get)
* 1 2x4x10
* 3 2x4x8 pressure treated (for ground contact)
* A bunch of 2x3x8s (I think I ordered 9 and used 6)
* Two sizes of screws. I LOVE the star-head deck screws for this project. Almost no pre-drilling necessary. No stripped screws.
* Big ole roll of 1/2" hardware cloth
* 1/2" T-50 staples
Things I had on hand already and/or salvaged/made do:
* Hinges
* Twigs (lol)
* 3 cans of paint
The three pieces of ground contact PT became a ground frame.
While it wasn't the absolute most time consuming part, getting the angles for the a-frame was absolutely the hardest part. Don't let anyone tell your kids they won't need math for real life. Freaking e. Also, this was the hardest part to do alone, as I ended up having to hold a lot of things in place all at once in order to trace angles and ferevermore, I do not wish this part of the process on anyone. For my next one, I'm just going to trace the pieces from this one.
Now with a third set of legs added in the middle. Later, a carpenter friend told me to brace the legs, to make them more stable, and told me how. You'll see that htey are braced in a later photo. I didn't brace them until near the end of the build.
Now I've added a loft frame for the coop portion, which will be open to the run. This is just a rectangular frame, screwed into place. When I get to that point, I'll add a small length of dimensional lumber to close the gap on the end.
And now I've cut a piece of plywood for the coop floor. This bit was a bit fiddly, as I cut it just a touch too wide and had to fiddle with it so that it wouldn't cause the eventual walls to bow out. Note that I did NOT screw it down at this point. There is wire to go on the frame, and the wire wants to go UNDER the wood. Makes for a tidier finish, less likely to poke anybody, and also more secure.
Beginning to attach wire now. I used a manual stapler for a lot of it, and then my wife found an electric stapler I'd forgotten we had, and it got a lot easier. Either one works, but if your hands are small womanish-type hands, an electric stapler will save a lot of bruises and effort.
More wire! It's starting to look like a proper run now. At this point, I felt like I was about halfway done. I was not halfway done. The doors were the most time-consuming part... we're getting there.
A coop wall! I had several cans of paint lying around, so I used them! You don't have to paint, but it makes it prettier and the wood will last longer.
Here's the inside of the coop at this point, along with some of my tools... and glasses, because I'm old (haha). I freaking love my cordless Porter Cable tools, but I will admit that a corded circular saw probably would have saved me some trouble. The batteries on those things run out FAST. On the other hand, again because I'm smallish and woman-ish in body type, and my hands are small, the small cordless circular saw is easier for me to handle than a giant corded monstrosity.
More wire complete...
The all-important chick inspection. Here's my hatch of 21 chicks at right about 2 weeks. They've been outdoors in a quail run I built (the quail for which hatched at the same time and are currently still living in a brooder indoors) for a few days except on the coldest nights. I let them out when I'm out there with them and they absolutely adore the chicken tractor. They can't wait to move in.
Approved!
I added dividers to make nest boxes. They're 14" wide and deep because some of my babies are brahma mixes, and they're going to be big.
Painting and making the doors. There will be three doors: One on the coop for collecting eggs; one on the run at the farthest end from the coop, and one under the coop for placing food and water. I used branches for handles. I think it adds a nice rustic touch to an otherwise Scandinavian look and, best of all, is free. The branches will probably rot over time, but they're easy to replace.
Run door attached! If I could do ONE thing differently, I would make this door much bigger. I'd raise the stud it's attached to, and cut a larger hole in the plywood. I was concerned about how much plywood I had (I didn't need to be, but I wasn't sure), and vastly underestimated how big that opening needs to be if I hope to crawl through it. As it is, I CAN get through it but it's such a royal pain I hope I won't have to do it very often.
Now with a handle. Isn't it cute??
This end piece does double duty. It's the closed end of the coop, and it's a door into the run. The coop creates a sheltered outdoor area for shade and protection from rain, and it's where I will put their food and water. This piece was another PITA part of the project. Getting all those angles just right. And I hate that it wastes a lot of plywood, but I made good use of the extra bits.
And now with the coop door attached! I'm SOOOO pleased at how pretty this turned out! If you look closely, you can see at the top right corner of the tractor how I braced that corner. I also braced the bottom corners, where the a-frame pieces meet the bottom frame. There are no hatches yet to keep the doors closed. That's the thing I forgot to get at HD, and had to order on Amazon. They arrive Wednesday, so this is not predator safe until they do arrive.
And here is the completed thing from the back.
And a little interior view of the coop portion. It's open into the run at the far end, with a lip added to hold straw in. I do like the size of this door. There's a substantial lip so straw doesn't tumble out when you open it, and plenty of room to access the interior.
And the finishing touch–a ladder to get to the coop.
Chickens approve!
In fact, their enjoyment of the whole thing is extremely gratifying. They definitely understand that this is THEIR space, and they LOVE it. There are 21 chooks. I'll keep between 4 and 8 (I'm building a second tractor after this one). Right now, though, it's plenty of space for all of them.
They'll move to the tractor tomorrow (but will come indoors over night, since I can't lock the doors yet), and the 2-week-old quail will move to their run (which I also built, a couple weekends ago).
I'm sore and tired but thrilled!
I hope you enjoyed, and let me know if you have any questions!
Edited to add: Total cost for materials came to $180. I do NOT consider this a budget build. I needed the tractor YESTERDAY and did not have a lot of relevant salvage lying around, as I'd used most of it on the quail run. However, I do consider it a representative cost of what you might expect to pay if you also buy all the materials new.
So, first off, the specifications I needed to fulfill:
* House 2-4 chickens
* Lightweight enough to move by myself
* With nest boxes for laying
* Secure from predators
* Low maintenance, ability to leave for a day or two or three without hiring a chicken sitter
The build took three days, including design & acquisition of materials (not including the many hours over a couple of weeks of tossing ideas around and researching the best practices).
Now, the build:
Materials acquisition was a PITA. Takeoff wasn't too bad, but with trying to social distance as much as possible, I ordered everything for curbside pick-up. Home Depot was a MESS. I ended up waiting 1.5 hours for everything to be brought out, with one thing and another. Between that and having to borrow a friend's trailer because mine needs repair, it was a 3-hour errand. Whew. That was Day 1.
Materials:
* Two sheets of plywood (the thinnest I could get)
* 1 2x4x10
* 3 2x4x8 pressure treated (for ground contact)
* A bunch of 2x3x8s (I think I ordered 9 and used 6)
* Two sizes of screws. I LOVE the star-head deck screws for this project. Almost no pre-drilling necessary. No stripped screws.
* Big ole roll of 1/2" hardware cloth
* 1/2" T-50 staples
Things I had on hand already and/or salvaged/made do:
* Hinges
* Twigs (lol)
* 3 cans of paint
The three pieces of ground contact PT became a ground frame.
While it wasn't the absolute most time consuming part, getting the angles for the a-frame was absolutely the hardest part. Don't let anyone tell your kids they won't need math for real life. Freaking e. Also, this was the hardest part to do alone, as I ended up having to hold a lot of things in place all at once in order to trace angles and ferevermore, I do not wish this part of the process on anyone. For my next one, I'm just going to trace the pieces from this one.
Now with a third set of legs added in the middle. Later, a carpenter friend told me to brace the legs, to make them more stable, and told me how. You'll see that htey are braced in a later photo. I didn't brace them until near the end of the build.
Now I've added a loft frame for the coop portion, which will be open to the run. This is just a rectangular frame, screwed into place. When I get to that point, I'll add a small length of dimensional lumber to close the gap on the end.
And now I've cut a piece of plywood for the coop floor. This bit was a bit fiddly, as I cut it just a touch too wide and had to fiddle with it so that it wouldn't cause the eventual walls to bow out. Note that I did NOT screw it down at this point. There is wire to go on the frame, and the wire wants to go UNDER the wood. Makes for a tidier finish, less likely to poke anybody, and also more secure.
Beginning to attach wire now. I used a manual stapler for a lot of it, and then my wife found an electric stapler I'd forgotten we had, and it got a lot easier. Either one works, but if your hands are small womanish-type hands, an electric stapler will save a lot of bruises and effort.
More wire! It's starting to look like a proper run now. At this point, I felt like I was about halfway done. I was not halfway done. The doors were the most time-consuming part... we're getting there.
A coop wall! I had several cans of paint lying around, so I used them! You don't have to paint, but it makes it prettier and the wood will last longer.
Here's the inside of the coop at this point, along with some of my tools... and glasses, because I'm old (haha). I freaking love my cordless Porter Cable tools, but I will admit that a corded circular saw probably would have saved me some trouble. The batteries on those things run out FAST. On the other hand, again because I'm smallish and woman-ish in body type, and my hands are small, the small cordless circular saw is easier for me to handle than a giant corded monstrosity.
More wire complete...
The all-important chick inspection. Here's my hatch of 21 chicks at right about 2 weeks. They've been outdoors in a quail run I built (the quail for which hatched at the same time and are currently still living in a brooder indoors) for a few days except on the coldest nights. I let them out when I'm out there with them and they absolutely adore the chicken tractor. They can't wait to move in.
Approved!
I added dividers to make nest boxes. They're 14" wide and deep because some of my babies are brahma mixes, and they're going to be big.
Painting and making the doors. There will be three doors: One on the coop for collecting eggs; one on the run at the farthest end from the coop, and one under the coop for placing food and water. I used branches for handles. I think it adds a nice rustic touch to an otherwise Scandinavian look and, best of all, is free. The branches will probably rot over time, but they're easy to replace.
Run door attached! If I could do ONE thing differently, I would make this door much bigger. I'd raise the stud it's attached to, and cut a larger hole in the plywood. I was concerned about how much plywood I had (I didn't need to be, but I wasn't sure), and vastly underestimated how big that opening needs to be if I hope to crawl through it. As it is, I CAN get through it but it's such a royal pain I hope I won't have to do it very often.
Now with a handle. Isn't it cute??
This end piece does double duty. It's the closed end of the coop, and it's a door into the run. The coop creates a sheltered outdoor area for shade and protection from rain, and it's where I will put their food and water. This piece was another PITA part of the project. Getting all those angles just right. And I hate that it wastes a lot of plywood, but I made good use of the extra bits.
And now with the coop door attached! I'm SOOOO pleased at how pretty this turned out! If you look closely, you can see at the top right corner of the tractor how I braced that corner. I also braced the bottom corners, where the a-frame pieces meet the bottom frame. There are no hatches yet to keep the doors closed. That's the thing I forgot to get at HD, and had to order on Amazon. They arrive Wednesday, so this is not predator safe until they do arrive.
And here is the completed thing from the back.
And a little interior view of the coop portion. It's open into the run at the far end, with a lip added to hold straw in. I do like the size of this door. There's a substantial lip so straw doesn't tumble out when you open it, and plenty of room to access the interior.
And the finishing touch–a ladder to get to the coop.
Chickens approve!
In fact, their enjoyment of the whole thing is extremely gratifying. They definitely understand that this is THEIR space, and they LOVE it. There are 21 chooks. I'll keep between 4 and 8 (I'm building a second tractor after this one). Right now, though, it's plenty of space for all of them.
They'll move to the tractor tomorrow (but will come indoors over night, since I can't lock the doors yet), and the 2-week-old quail will move to their run (which I also built, a couple weekends ago).
I'm sore and tired but thrilled!
I hope you enjoyed, and let me know if you have any questions!
Edited to add: Total cost for materials came to $180. I do NOT consider this a budget build. I needed the tractor YESTERDAY and did not have a lot of relevant salvage lying around, as I'd used most of it on the quail run. However, I do consider it a representative cost of what you might expect to pay if you also buy all the materials new.
<3
