# Sticky  Housing: Links, Pics, and How-To's



## Cyngbaeld

*ADDED BY LADYCAT:

Please do not post pictures in this thread. Post links to pictures instead.*

=========================================================

*LINKS*

5. Poultry Plans INDEX; North Dakota; 3 index pages listing about 100 plans.
http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/POULTRY.htm
http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/????.pdf
(Insert 4, 5, or 6 digit Plan # for question marks ? ? ? ?).pdf



7. Moveable Pen for Fowl; 1997; Tennessee; 3 pages.
http://www.utm.edu/departments/cece/idea/mopens.shtml

8. Range Poultry Housing; ATTRA CT 125/16; 2003; USDA-SARE; 16 pages.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poulthous.html
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/poulthous.pdf

9. Growing Your Range Poultry Business - An Entrepreneur's Toolbox; 2002; USDA; 63 pages.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/poultrytoolbox.pdf


*Other links*

http://www.cps.gov.on.ca/english/po5000/poultry.htm

http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/POULTRY.htm

http://www.plamondon.com/hoophouse.html

http://www.i4at.org/surv/poultry.htm

http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/avian/plhouse1.pdf


----------



## DwnByTheCreek

Here are a few more good links on chicken coops....


http://www.poultryhelp.com/link-housing.html

JoAnn


----------



## bergere

*Chicken Tractor Links*



http://www.bright.net/~fwo/sub10.html 



These were posted by KC awhile back.


----------



## Cyngbaeld

If you have a coop or tractor or equipment or other set up that you would like to share, please post the link to your own thread about it. DO NOT POST PICTURES ON THIS THREAD. Many of us are on slow dial up and a page heavy with pix takes forever to load. ONLY post the URL of the thread. If you don't know how to do that PM me and I will help you. Thanks.


----------



## Cyngbaeld

The little red coop, by Wags
http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=183999


----------



## CGUARDSMAN

here is a pic of my coop using starplate system sold by strombergs
http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u64/cguardsman/henhouseandpigpen001.jpg


----------



## Firefly

I made a tractor (sorry, no way to post pics), 5x8 with the long sides made of 4x4 and short, 2x4. Bent 10' PVC pipe over the short way and covered it with 1/2" welded wire. Attached the wire to the wood with big staple nails, and to the pipe with zip ties. I plan to cover it with plastic and try to grow a few vegies during the New England winter. I used the 1/2" after a bird owner told me a horrendous story of racoons sticking their paws through large-enough holes and taking out the chickens piece by piece. He came out in the morning to find a pile of heads.  Can you imagine! The tractor worked well for my 15 CX's and 6 turkeys, all ~2.5 weeks old when put out there. I'm an older woman and I could move it over the grass fairly easily, having attached skis to the underside. Then one morning I woke up to find a turkey gone and a chicken with a mangled leg. A raccoon had managed to slip its paw underneath and pull the turkey out, but the chicken was too big so he just helped himself to part of its leg. Luckily I have a 3x4 cage made of 1" welded wire, and every night I put all the birds in it, latched it with multiple zip ties (love those things!), and covered it with the tractor. I found raccoon droppings all around the tractor including on top, and a fox or something dug under the tractor. Things got a little crowded toward the end, but no one was able to get at the birds. Had the chickens butchered today and will continue this routine until the turkeys are ready to go, or at least big enough to go into the chicken coop and defend themselves against territorial hens. It got tiresome, especially the past 10 days or so (they were 7 weeks old and very hearty fellows!), but I had chicken livers for lunch and boy were they delicious! I kept teh tractor inside a large poultry netting enclosure and would let them out of the tractor when I was home. Contrary to what some folks say, I found them to be very cute and charming. They could run and even fly a couple of feet, and when I went out to feed them they'd come running toward me, pounding the ground like a herd of miniature elephants. One got its leg caught when I was moving the tractor, was lame and didn't move around much, but still ate well so I didn't butcher it early. Another chicken spent most of its time cuddled up next to it. So sweet! This was my first experience with meat birds and I was sad to see them go.


----------



## meganwf

Finally getting the pictures posted: I borrowed this idea from Eliot Coleman, the organic gardener. Even though there is an overhang it gets a bit more water in it than I would like when there is a strong rain. But for 9 months out of the year I think it will work. I have 6 chickens in there right now but one, a standard hen will move to the big chicken house in the fall and then the bantams will have more breathing room. In the winter I plan on moving them all into the barn where there is electric for thawed water.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1430/956562857_f9633d5874_b.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1075/956556811_9db35b8508_b.jpg

Thanks!


----------



## sugarbush

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/smithie128/100_0490.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/smithie128/100_0489.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/smithie128/100_0488.jpg


----------



## Wisconsin Ann

Links to photobucket album. link is to the thumbnails,Just click on one to start seeing them fullsize.

basically pics of our hoopcoop and a couple of regular coops, atm. I'll be adding more when time permits.

coops and hoop

You should also be able to go back up to basic album level if you want to check out any of the other albums there. (chicken pics, couple vacation shots, enameling,...stuff)

If this isn't working, someone please PM me?


----------



## Wisconsin Ann

link to a thread on HT that included some great pics of members' setups for the birds: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=211656


----------



## FL_Homestead

God it takes forever to get accepted to this board any way check out my FIRST tractor I will have better pictures in a day or so
http://www.freemafiagame.com/images/MINE/10-21-07-coop.jpg

Just got my first 2 hens today YIPEE :clap: They are so funny in the new home


----------



## hotzcatz

We had a light chicken tractor built of a big rectangle of PVC pipe with hoops going up and over the top. Covered it in 1" chicken wire mesh. Unfortunately, the bottom of the chicken tractor was straight and our back yard isn't so there was room between the ground and bottom rails for a mongoose to get in. Slaughtered all nine of the chickens in about ten minutes. Only ate the crops from the chickens though and the carcasses were still warm so I bled them out, cleaned them and put them in the freezer. So,if your yard isn't flat, then there may be a problem with predators getting under the gaps between the rails and the ground.


----------



## FL_Homestead

Ok so an up date on my chickens
http://www.freemafiagame.com/images/MINE/10-26-07-coop-complete.jpg

http://www.freemafiagame.com/images/MINE/10-26-07-Razzle.jpg


http://www.freemafiagame.com/images/MINE/10-26-07-Dazzle.jpg


----------



## smalltime

Another FL. Boy here  Here's my first tractor...

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/kriptoker/PA130010.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h160/kriptoker/PA130009.jpg


----------



## homemom1fl

Here is a link to pics of my new coop. Design was copied from backyard chickens medium coop section (thanks to the person who designed the Chick Shell-A).

Coop is 4 ft wide and 12 feet long. We are putting wheels on it to move it around the yard. The floor is 1/2 inch hardware cloth so we will move it around to scatter the black gold falling through. 


http://s223.photobucket.com/albums/dd92/homemom1fl/egg chalet/


----------



## DETMURDS

I don't understand the term "tractor" in chicken coops? I am guessing this is an issue of being portable? I am sure if that is the case, the yard grass would look great!

Some very nice chicken homes,...thanks to you all!


----------



## Wisconsin Ann

DETMURDS said:


> I don't understand the term "tractor" in chicken coops? I am guessing this is an issue of being portable? I am sure if that is the case, the yard grass would look great!
> 
> Some very nice chicken homes,...thanks to you all!


that's pretty much it. you move the tractor around to new grass/greens so the birds have fresh eats every day, and you get a nicely fertilized yard


----------



## Callieslamb

let's see if I can do this without putting the picture here.

My tractor is able to be taken apart, in case we ever have to move, or don't use it for long periods of time. 


http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg138/calliel_photos/th_chicktractorside.jpg


----------



## sugarbush

I have been asked to build some for other people. I should have more pictures up of several different sizes within a few weeks.


----------



## Jack T.

Our meager setup. . .

Ooops. . .no pics

here's the link

Tractor


----------



## Miz Mary

My AWESOME hubby finished my new chicken tractor !!!!! How many layers would YOU put in it ?? It's 4' x 8'......

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r7/blindrootinhogs/HPIM1379.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r7/blindrootinhogs/HPIM1380.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r7/blindrootinhogs/HPIM1378.jpg


----------



## meganwf

http://www.flickr.com/gp/[email protected]/6uC2D1

After years of various tractors that are a pain in our hilly yard I finally have a real chicken coop. I'll add paint to the barn side to make it look better but it is so nice to go in and turn on the light when I need to and it is a great feeling to know the chickens are safe and out of any bad weather.


----------



## Trainhound

Here's my Barn tractor.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4774.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4776.jpg

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4788-1.jpg


----------



## Tiempo

Trainhound said:


> Here's my Barn tractor.
> 
> http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4774.jpg
> 
> http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4776.jpg
> 
> http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4788-1.jpg


Ooooh..me likey  :bow:


----------



## sugarbush

This one is just a hen house for 6 birds. Features inclued double doors for easy clean out, nest box access from the outside and a sliding hen door.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/smithie128/100_0210.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/smithie128/100_0211.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a343/smithie128/100_0208.jpg


----------



## Kim_NC

We did this one recently for breeding pens. It houses 10 birds/space in a tri-plex, 30 total. Would also work well for small laying flocks.....

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?t=253728


----------



## Messianic4

I saw the pics of your coop..nice job!!

I was taking a peak at your chick pics...and you have one just like mine. I have been trying forever to find out what kind she is...in your first chick pic below your coop...it is the brown and black on...it looks like the one I have. I have no clue what kind mine is....HELP!!!


----------



## TammyL

Small Scale Poultry Products. 

THE CHICKEN RUN portable poultry shelter is for raising range poultry for meat, or producing farm fresh eggs, while fertilizing your lawn, garden or pasture. The Chicken Run is the finest portable range chicken shelter on the market today. 
Standard Shelter: Size 5' Wide x 10' Long x 21" High. Holds approximately 24 hens and 30-40+ broilers. Visit web site at http://www.easy-garden.com


----------



## BasicLiving

Here's a picture  of the coop and run we built. We used a shrimp net for the netting to keep the chicken hawks out - and 8 foot cedar posts, sunk in the ground 2 feet for the corners and gate area to hold the netting up so we can easily walk in the run.

Nothing fancy


----------



## duckidaho

We built a hen house using a scrapped tool shed with no roof, windows, or door. We had to move it from a neighbors property. Bought some wood and hinges, salvaged some 2X4s to make it stronger. And we'll be adding some salvaged roofing shingles. As a luxury we may paint it too look cute.

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp142/duckidaho/henhouse.jpg

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp142/duckidaho/coop4.jpg

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp142/duckidaho/movingcoop1.jpg

The chicks arrive in 10 days:dance:


----------



## MitchD

This is great. Thanks


----------



## DKR82

Trainhound said:


> Here's my Barn tractor.
> 
> http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4774.jpg
> 
> http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4776.jpg
> 
> http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u256/TrainHound/PICT4788-1.jpg


Wow, that's gorgeous! Do you have plans?

DK


----------



## mamadelbosque

Heres a picture of the duckhouse (built off the design of "duckingham palace" in Four Season Harvest by Eliot Coleman) we just built yesterday! We moved our ducklings into it today (14 indian runners - we're keeping 8 or 9, the others are going to our neighbor who helped us build the duckhouess). Theres more pics on my blog (mostly of it in various stages of completion):

*EDITED: Please do not post pictures in this thread. Post links to pictures instead. See the first post in this topic.*

http://emilyrose.smugmug.com/photos/551303340_mo2jm-M.jpg
This is a sideview with everybody who helped build them (and my DS 

http://emilyrose.smugmug.com/photos/551303443_shxSi-M-1.jpg
And here's a front view of one finished with DS inside


----------



## fostina1

http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=38352

a few pics of my tractor attempts.


----------



## Mac_

I've got a picture of the 8' x 8' chicken coop on skids that we built on the blog below. It also has a mister system to mist the roof when the temps get over 100.

I've also got a 10 x 12 larger coop built on skids that I use for broilers.

Both have a fiberglassed floor and utilize a deep litter system with wood chips that lasts a long time before it has to be changed.

If comments on the blog express interest in the larger coop and plans for both, then I'll post some plans for them when I get the time.

http://growingbeyondorganic.blogspot.com/search/label/chicken coop

Mac_


----------



## Farmfresh

Easy to build plans for backyard chicken coop - LOW COST.

http://www.uBuilderplans.com

Gallery of pictures = http://www.ubuilderplans.com/node/37

Give it a look!


----------



## am1too

Cyngbaeld said:


> *ADDED BY LADYCAT:
> 
> Please do not post pictures in this thread. Post links to pictures instead.*
> 
> =========================================================
> 
> *LINKS*
> 
> 1. Small Scale Poultry Housing Designs; 19??; Virginia; 1 page each.
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/designs.html
> â¢ Plan No. 6188, 50 to 80 Layers:
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/61881.html
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/61882.html
> â¢ 20' x 20' Layer House:
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/plan.html
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/side.html
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/front.html
> â¢ 8' x 8' Layer House -- 15 to 20 hens:
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/perspective.html
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/cutaway.html
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/sidesection.html
> 
> 2. Small Scale Poultry Housing; SFF#10; 19??; Virginia; 3 pages.
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/10.html
> 
> 3. Brooder Houses and Equipment for the Home Flock; G80-530-A; 1981; Nebraska; 7 pages.
> http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/poultry/g530.htm Dead Link -- pages are being updated
> 
> 4. Homemade Comfort Cages for Small Poultry Flocks; FS-429; 2003; Maryland; 4 pages.
> http://www.agnr.umd.edu/MCE/Publications/Publication.cfm?ID=317&cat=C
> http://www.agnr.umd.edu/MCE/Publications/PDFs/FS429.pdf
> 
> 5. Poultry Plans INDEX; North Dakota; 3 index pages listing about 100 plans.
> http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/POULTRY.htm
> http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/????.pdf
> (Insert 4, 5, or 6 digit Plan # for question marks ? ? ? ?).pdf
> 
> 6. Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture; 2001; USDA-SARE; 16 pages.
> http://www.sare.org/bulletin/poultry/
> http://www.sare.org/publications/poultry/poultry.pdf
> 
> 7. Moveable Pen for Fowl; 1997; Tennessee; 3 pages.
> http://www.utm.edu/departments/cece/idea/mopens.shtml
> 
> 8. Range Poultry Housing; ATTRA CT 125/16; 2003; USDA-SARE; 16 pages.
> http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poulthous.html
> http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/poulthous.pdf
> 
> 9. Growing Your Range Poultry Business - An Entrepreneur's Toolbox; 2002; USDA; 63 pages.
> http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/poultrytoolbox.pdf
> 
> 10. Large-Scale Pastured Poultry Farming in the U.S.; Research Brief #63; 2003; Wisconsin; 2 pages.
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/2003/01/01/largescale_pastured_poultry_farming_in_the_us/index.php
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/pdf/rb63.pdf
> 
> 11. Raising Poultry on Pasture, Brief #57; 2001; Wisconsin; 2 pages.
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/2001/10/01/raising_poultry_on_pasture/index.php
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/pdf/rb57a.pdf
> 
> 12. Pastured Poultry Study, Brief #46; 1999; Wisconsin; 5 pages.
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/1999/12/02/pastured_poultry_study_addresses_broad_range_of_is
> sues/index.php
> 
> 13. Poultry Enterprise Budgets INDEX; 2003; Wisconsin; 1 page.
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/2003/02/01/poultry_enterprise_budget/index.php
> 
> 14. Generic Poultry Enterprise Budget; 2003; Wisconsin; 10-27 spreadsheet pages.
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/pdf/poultry/poult_budg.XLS
> 14a. Generic Poultry Enterprise Budgets INSTRUCTIONS; 2003; Wisconsin; 17 pages.
> http://www.cias.wisc.edu/pdf/poultry/poultry_dir.pdf
> 
> 15. Transporting Poultry in a Humane Manner; SFF#6; 19??; Virginia; 3 pages.
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/6.html
> 
> *Other links*
> 
> http://www.cps.gov.on.ca/english/po5000/poultry.htm
> 
> http://www.cerc.colostate.edu/Blueprints/Poultry.htm
> 
> http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/plans/POULTRY.htm
> 
> http://www.plamondon.com/hoophouse.html
> 
> http://www.i4at.org/surv/poultry.htm
> 
> http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/10.html
> 
> http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/PDF/poulthous.pdf
> 
> http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/avian/plhouse1.pdf


Some maybe all these links don't work. The VT ons at a minimum. I forgot how many of the other I tried.


----------



## d0a0b

Those links have been broken for just about as long as I've been a registered user. 

Here's one updated link:

Small Scale Poultry Housing Designs
http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1092/2902-1092.pdf


----------



## Firefly

Here are a couple that look good. 

This one is a surprisingly small coop considering how many birds it holds. Mine only go in to sleep, so I think it would work fine. http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Monmouth_major_hen_house.html

This tractor looks good, and a nicely written story too. http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=47038


----------



## pointer_hunter

Firefly said:


> Here are a couple that look good.
> 
> This one is a surprisingly small coop considering how many birds it holds. Mine only go in to sleep, so I think it would work fine. http://www.chicken-house.co.uk/acatalog/Monmouth_major_hen_house.html
> 
> This tractor looks good, and a nicely written story too. http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=47038


I built a tractor using this design. It works great. I thought that I would try something different with the wheels though. Instead of having to put each one in when I want to move it, I hooked the wheels on and ran a cable up to the front so that I could pull the cable and it would drop the wheels down. It worked in theory, but reallity was a bit different. I may use the same design but use 1/2 in square steel tubing for the frame and see if that holds up a little better.


----------



## Firefly

pointer_hunter said:


> I built a tractor using this design. It works great. I thought that I would try something different with the wheels though. Instead of having to put each one in when I want to move it, I hooked the wheels on and ran a cable up to the front so that I could pull the cable and it would drop the wheels down. It worked in theory, but reallity was a bit different. I may use the same design but use 1/2 in square steel tubing for the frame and see if that holds up a little better.


Oh good, someone who's actually used it! Was it hard to lift to put the wheels in? He mentioned it being easy enough for his pregnant wife, so I thought it would be very easy. But if I remember right he said conduit is lighter than PVC and I don't think that's true. Did the conduit frame not hold up well? What's the difference in price between the conduit and steel? More info please, pointer_hunter!


----------



## pointer_hunter

Firefly said:


> Oh good, someone who's actually used it! Was it hard to lift to put the wheels in? He mentioned it being easy enough for his pregnant wife, so I thought it would be very easy. But if I remember right he said conduit is lighter than PVC and I don't think that's true. Did the conduit frame not hold up well? What's the difference in price between the conduit and steel? More info please, pointer_hunter!


I had an issue with the frame folding over while I was trying to build it. I propped it up with 5gal buckets at each corner, but it still just seemed a bit wobbly. I had a few older pieces of conduit laying around, so I ran smaller diaginal pieces from each corner. I also used self tapping screws all the way around rather than the drilled hole and wire method he used. This may have given him his stability? I put a piece of steel siding on the top for shade and rain cover and the rest got poultry netting. The door opened in the front rather than like his where it opened where the solid cover was. I think this helped with the opening and closing (MUCH lighter). As I said, my wheel idea didn't work so I just drug it from spot to spot and it was still very easy to move. The only problem with that is conduit bends very easy, so there were a few times I had to pick up the back end and push the conduit back straight. I think the next one will be the same design idea, only with the steel tubing. I think it will double or triple the cost, but it should hold up a few years longer than conduit and hold it's shape a bit more. One thing I may look into though is a bigger top door. With the size I made it, I had to kneel down and reach back with a chicken hook to catch the broilers. It's under snow right now, but when it thaws out, I'll get a few pictures.


----------



## Suzy_Bean

On chicken tractors--they can be really awesome, but it is best to not use the chickens to eat everything in the area they are put over. (I know many people have the chickens do this and scratch into the dirt to prepare it for raising food.) According to Paul Wheaton's article on raising chickens, http://www.richsoil.com/raising-chickens.jsp, "40% of what grows on the ground is probably good for chickens to eat. 30% is slightly toxic and the rest is moderately toxic to very toxic." The chickens won't die or anything, but won't necessarily feel good The article I mentioned above is really great for comparing the pros and cons of different methods, rating them using factors like poop hygiene, access to bugs, amount of work, level of confinement, etc.


----------



## HillRunner

anyone have a design for quail housing?


----------



## mousebandit

Anyone know of a source for or even the proper terminology for the battery type brooder they show in "The Have-More Plan"? We rented a place a few years ago that had exactly that, and it was perfect. Can't seem to find any though like that. The top layer was shorter and had the light for the day-old chicks, and the bottom 2 stacks were taller to split the chicks up into 2 batches once they hit 4 weeks. We will probably end up trying to build something ourselves, but that one we used at the rental was awesome - all metal, the pull-out poop trays, the metal rods that made up the sides just slid up and out - very slick. I'm not coming up with the right things on my google searches, so I'm guessing I'm using the wrong terminology there. THANKS!
Tracey


----------



## djberg

Here's an updated list of links to free plans for coops, chicken tractors, pasture pens and automatic feeders/waterers. There are hundreds of great ideas on the Internet.

http://www.todaysplans.net/free-chicken-coop-plans.html

Don


----------



## Sandi

i know the folks who admin here are busy volunteers, i just thought i'd notify folks that more than half of these links don't work anymore....so might be time for some sticky cleaning if anyone gets a chance! thanks for all the great work and resources


----------



## Adrescher7

our coop, is verry simple and for us was free. an old horse trailer that one of the axles broke off on. On the inside i took half of it and built a 2 floor nesting place to increase to floor space so all the flock will fit. I find this method verry convientent. the back Horse door is always closed except when i clean it out whereas the side "people" door is closed at night when the chickens are locked in from the coyotes and open in the morning when theyre off to roam.


----------



## cmcon=7

here is my chicken penthouse,I've not lost one since it's been up, 6 months now.
http://cheap-easy-living.weebly.com/chicken-penthouse.html


----------



## DayBird

For HappyChick. There are pictures of beautiful chicken houses here.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/showthread.php?p=5732226&posted=1#post5732226


----------



## DayBird

am1too said:


> Some maybe all these links don't work. The VT ons at a minimum. I forgot how many of the other I tried.


It won't be today, but I'll go through and delete out the dead links. I may try to revive them, but if not, they'll be gone. Then I'll delete out this discussion post as well.


----------



## randyandmegs

Here is my aluminum Salatin style pen with no dolly required. It has been popular on the BYC threads. I can email a part list and cost breakdown.

New Aluminum Salatin style pen no dolly required.


----------



## baconexplosion

Here is a link to an article showing our first chicken tractor:

First Chicken Tractor

and here is another link to my buddy's chicken tractor which is much larger:

Custom chicken tractor


----------



## Rock

DayBird said:


> It won't be today, but I'll go through and delete out the dead links. I may try to revive them, but if not, they'll be gone. Then I'll delete out this discussion post as well.


So many links in this list dont work, that I went and started working it backwards from the end


----------



## GrannyG

I love this....wish I knew more about building stuff...LOL

http://www.raising-chickens.org/chicken-coop-photos.html#Greenhouse chicken tractor<HR>


----------



## marlowzach

A frame Chicken Tractor Plans

http://greenthumbfarming.com/build-your-own-chicken-tractor/

Meat Chicken Movable Pen

http://greenthumbfarming.com/chicken-tractor-for-meat-chickens/


----------



## Rakkasan

I don't have pictures to share, but my wife and I have had great success with using 6' tall dog fences, and putting a net over the top of them. We have 3 so far. The panels are not cheap though. We have been lucky and have gotten some at yard sales for about half what they are worth.


----------



## prepper82

On my way! Antony to build a pen or possibly a bigger movable tractor for some midget white turkeys. They are said to be a good small breed for homesteads. Any suggestions on how big or dimensions for one for around 6 midgets. Lol no pun intended. I have a 10'x9.5' building for my chickens and a 10'x6'run behind it for them so I'm good at building just not sure the space recommended because I usually give a little more room for comfort. Thanks.


----------



## prepper82

Hmmm some auto correct struck my last post.


----------



## DixyDoodle

randyandmegs, as someone who is a bit of a dummy when it comes to building things, thank you so much for the detailed pics of the tractor and especially how the wheels work! I've always wondered how to deal with having wheels attached and yet not having one end of the coop too high for my birds to reach grass. I had been hoping to avoid having to lift the tractor with handles to move it, as I would like a good-sized one, which could get quite heavy once there are 10 or so chickens in it as well! I think even I can manage making a tractor now! 

Many thanks!:clap:


----------



## slingshot

Hello everyone.....

I would like to share my coops, because when I was looking for ideas there was limited information especially for the turkey coop. 

This is our chicken coop, currently it houses 12 laying hens and a guinea hen. It's modeled after the garden coop design 

View attachment 31685


View attachment 31686


Dimensions are 4x8x8 whit a 6 foot man door in the front as well as a rear clean out door. The chickens free range during the day and return to the coop at dusk, I just go lock the door and they are safe. 

View attachment 31690


Now for the turkey coop

After we had the chickens for a year we decided to try heritage turkeys for thanksgiving, given their potential I did not want to free range them. So I designed a coop and run.

View attachment 31687


View attachment 31688


Dimensions are 8x16, both coops inside have linoleum tile floors which make cleaning a breeze. Currently it houses 9 bourbon red turkeys. Both coops are wired for heat lamps and we are also going to run a batch of meat chickens in the turkey coop after thanksgiving. 

View attachment 31689


Thanks for looking.


----------



## mwilken03

Hello everyone. I am some what new to the forum and after sitting back reading and watching i decided to post pics of the rabbit/chicken tractor i built this past weekend. My daughters rabbits are housed in small 3ft x3ft cages and i wanted something to give them fresh greens with little effort. Everything i used to build this was salvaged from my work and it cost not a dime from me.


Sent from my iPhone using Homesteading Today


----------



## unregistered358967

I'm new to all of this and still in the considering chickens process but my question is this. We live in a city neighborhood with a good-sized fenced back yard. The fence is 4 foot chain link. We also have a second garage in the back. This garage is only used to house garden tools, lawn mower..things like that. Would it be possible to convert part of that to a coop? Besides the regular garage door it has an access door.

I work from home which means though I'm technically here, I'm busy working. I don't expect I could let the chickens out in the yard without me being there to stand watch?

Hope this question makes sense.  I figured we could use what we have rather than build an entirely new structure... the garage has electricity too.


----------



## JenniferLedlow

Jax-mom said:


> I'm new to all of this and still in the considering chickens process but my question is this. We live in a city neighborhood with a good-sized fenced back yard. The fence is 4 foot chain link. We also have a second garage in the back. This garage is only used to house garden tools, lawn mower..things like that. Would it be possible to convert part of that to a coop? Besides the regular garage door it has an access door.
> 
> I work from home which means though I'm technically here, I'm busy working. I don't expect I could let the chickens out in the yard without me being there to stand watch?
> 
> Hope this question makes sense.  I figured we could use what we have rather than build an entirely new structure... the garage has electricity too.


Most chickens can fly over a four foot fence, so I would put some wire over the top. Other than that it should work? If you don't want a covered run then a heavy breed would be best. Plymouth rocks and standard cochins don't fly much. Good luck! It's addicting


----------



## BacktotheRoots

We built our chicken tractor out of a old horse trailer added a solar chicken fence around it along with a battery feeder that goes off twice a day. We also installed a automatic light sensor door that opens and closes with the light and a self watering dish connected to a 45gal tank, now we are just going out once a day to collect eggs.







[code][/code]


----------



## MichaelZ

Here are plans for a 6' x 12' PVC chicken tractor suitable for meat birds. It has a fairly predator-proof lockup metal house in its design and an overhead tarp to shade the metal house to prevent overheating. 
http://www.raisingbackyardchickens101.com/chicken-tractor-plans.html


----------



## jenlyn9483

Our new broiler tractor. Close to 60 sqft. Can hold up to 25 birds, I am only doing 15 at a time.


----------



## mjohns

Here's a link to my blog article about a quail hoophouse that I built. 

https://subdivisionsurvival.com/2015/12/10/how-to-build-a-quail-hoop-house/


I spent about $90 on the project but I also used a lot of leftover stuff from previous projects. If you already have most of the materials on hand it could be done for even cheaper.

I did not make it mobile but it could easily be converted into a tractor with the addition of some wheels. The last batch I raised in it consisted of approximately 25 birds and I had them in there roughly 5 weeks. 

I had 2 of the one gallon chicken waterers for their water supply and a PVC feeder that I made for the game bird food. It worked very well for me, the only drawback was that I did not move it around and they destroyed all the grass. Thankfully it's in a good draining area of the yard and it never got really muddy even during heavy rains.


----------

