New PVC chicken tractor, just finished!

COURT3800

In the Brooder
11 Years
Aug 26, 2008
11
2
22
Hi all,
I'm a newbie chicken owner, but just finished building my first chicken tractor yesterday. Found lots of great ideas on the forum and online and thought I'd share the results!!

Old temporary chicken home
15011_chick_temp_home.jpg

New Chicken Tractor, just finished yesterday!
15011_chick_tractor.jpg

Inside the new tractor:
15011_tractor_inside.jpg

The girls at home (Buff Orpies, 3.5 weeks old!)
15011_chickens_at_home.jpg


To finish, I'll be enclosing the back of the tractor and adding nest boxes and a PVC feeder.
 

redhen

Kiss My Grits...
Premium Feather Member
11 Years
May 19, 2008
35,106
206
458
Western MA
...neat....
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.how did you get the wire to stay on there.?.(sorry..dumb question..lol)..Wendy
 

beakkeeper

Songster
13 Years
Jul 20, 2008
973
15
234
So cool! I love your chickies too!
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Do they get sun from anywhere else? The coop looks fully shaded...
 

Fast Chick

In the Brooder
11 Years
Aug 11, 2008
50
0
39
Make sure you have a way to SECURELY attach it to the ground or something really heavy. My neighbor built a very nice PVC shelter for his hens and I had it on top of my goat shed after the next decent storm.
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He found most of his chickens but not all of them.
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COURT3800

In the Brooder
11 Years
Aug 26, 2008
11
2
22
Wow, good questions!
I attached the wire using zip ties (like 200+ of them!) and screws and PVC glue to hold the PVC together, and bungee cords to hold the tarps on.

I fully shaded the tractor as it's 95 degrees in the afternoon here in Florida and is raining every day (I've read several posts about chicks getting soaked in the rain and dying-perhaps not a problem in the heat though I'm still a worried chicken mommy). However, my husband asked this question too. Would it be better to leave some part of the tractor exposed to the sun?

As far as weight goes, we would have to hurricane proof before a storm - very possible after all the activity this season. I would bring the kids (chicks) inside, and remove the tarps so that the wind could pass through - may also stake or tie it down - though there wouldn't be much for the wind to catch (I hope!)

Thanks for the feedback all - I knew you guys would see things I missed, that's why I love this forum!!
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Lee

Songster
11 Years
Jun 27, 2008
346
6
138
Marion County, IN
Nice job! I think I see white zip ties holding the wire. I love these and buy the military spec black ones. Resistant to the sun.

Lee
 

chiknlady

Songster
11 Years
May 12, 2008
370
1
141
SE PA
Great job! I think this could be modified to make a great duck house...since mine don't like to be confined...
 

COURT3800

In the Brooder
11 Years
Aug 26, 2008
11
2
22
Yeah, it seems like confinement might be tough in places with heat like Florida - I think the cross breeze seems to help my girls, though I'm sure those w/ indoor coops have great cooling systems worked out.

Also, I didn't know they made zip ties that resist sun wear. I know that the PVC will ultimately sucuumb to the sun, but if I qet a couple of years out of it I'll be happy!
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