4x8 chicken tractor build and thoughts

I've been meaning to make a new chicken coop and run for a while. We have one, but the coop isn't well designed and the run "runs" north, which leaves it damper and colder than it needs to be a lot of the year.

My building skills could use some work though and I've been curious to try out a chicken tractor. Decided to "just do it" and build a tractor. Didn't really follow any existing design. It's 4 feet by 8 feet.

Wanted to share the build, what worked well, what didn't, and what I'm planning to change. I used a lot of old materials, so there's some random colors and such throughout. I also made some mistakes on fitment, my tolerances were poor, and ended up adding more materials here and there to cover holes.

The chicken egress door ended up turning out really well. It's the door on the side that rotates. Very simple and problem free so far.

I wanted to be able to catch rain water and protect chickens from the elements a little better. It ends up being pretty dark, although no problems laying yet. The rain catch does work and would work better with a cap on the end of the black pipe. Unfortunately, the "clean-out" cap on the side of the black pipe with the chicken nipple leaks. I haven't taken the time to put some kind of thread sealant on it. I did the math and a 4x8 roof is actually plenty of rain water for chickens in a year, if you didn't lose any, etc. For us it'd be something like 500 gallons a year at a minimum.

I wanted to maximize open ground space and elevated the nesting boxes. Of course, they only use one of them. One notable problem is that the chickens roost on top of the boxes. The boxes should be lower than the roosts and the top of the boxes should be covered.

It is very sturdy. No chickens have escaped while it was closed up. The rope going under the bottom was mostly just laziness and will wear out over time. The rope actually broke, but not down there.

Which brings me to the biggest issue. It's too heavy! I knew I'd have to keep weight in mind. I used 3-ply plywood for a lot of it, once I thought of it. I still have some half inch plywood which is overkill and heavy.

When the black pipe has water in it, it's even more. Even without, it adds too much weight. And isn't a reliable enough source of water to be worth using. The roof also adds a lot of weight.

I've been able to pull it with about all of my might. My back went out, so my wife tried to pull it. She couldn't pull it at all.

I'm going to ditch the rain catch and try to lose weight on it however I can. Planning on having a pipe style setup for food and water, to be very easy to refill.

I should've made the door open exposing the eggs first, rather than last. A chicken did get out once through that big door.

Another issue is that especially for these smaller, active birds, it's not much space to run in. But it makes an okay coop otherwise. I've had 8 birds in it for a while which is about the most I'd want.

It did run over a bird once when pulling, but the bird was thankfully okay. A lot of that is because it's so heavy I end up having to yank it to get going over a little mound, etc (our ground is not very flat.) When it's moving slowly and steadily the birds do a good job staying out of the way.

Hopefully this helps someone else on their build, or deciding whether to build/not build one in the first place.

I hear you Theodorin! You learn so... much from building the first!

The one thing you didn't do wrong - you built it with a sloped roof! I had read so many accounts of chicken "tractors" with flat roofs that the first one I built had one. I've had nothing but grief out of flat roofs in the Pacific North Wet.

The first one I built was also too heavy, but not as bad as yours as I could move it on flat ground (I'm a 115 lb wimpy female and do the best I can!)

Yes, perches higher than the nest boxes is a bit of a chicken mantra. Not as convenient for the humans, but keeps them cleaner for sure. So long as you feel the nest boxes are sturdy enough for the chickens, I would cover them with some thing like a wooden tray full of sawdust so they're easier to clean. Eight birds in that space if it's full time is more than I would put there, so giving them more space to roost might ease tensions.

Depending on your predator pressure, if you build another one, I recommend hardware cloth rather than chicken wire. Chicken wire keeps chickens in, but it pretty much doesn't keep anything out.

Some people use something like a dolly strapped on to provide temporary wheels for moving, however most of those systems haven't worked for me because I can't lift the shelter to install or remove said wheels.

I eventually went with a non permie solution. I need 4x8 light shelters for my mother ducks with babies. I went with 2" PVC pipe base so it slides easily, and 1/2 pipes bent for the top. I made it a smidge over 4 feet high, so that I can enter in a crouch for short periods if things need to be done.  In this picture, it got pressed into service as part of a daytime run for some ducks and chickens.



I made the people doors an 18" step over - won't keep a determined adult in, but it keeps the babies from wandering out when I'm servicing them. This one has just been set up for a new mom and her hatchlings.



Yes, a decent pop-door is awesome. I can only let moms out when I'm in the field because of all the aerial predators that think duckling is a yummy, bite-sized snack.



I've retrofitted two of the shelters with a removable perch along the 8 ft length because occasionally I end up with an older bird or two needing "protective custody.

Apart from wishing I could find something more sustainable to make them out of, these have worked well and are constantly fully subscribed. I've got a Muscovy mom due in 3 days and I am *not* at all sure who's going to have to get doubled up or evicted to have an empty one!

That said, my next iteration is likely going to have more straight lines and fittings, in the hope that I can use light aluminium for the roof to make it longer lasting without adding too much weight. I have found them so helpful that I'm prepared to spend a bit more money if it means I can have it last better.