Posts Tagged ‘chicken tractor’

Chicken House Plans For Healthy Happy Chickens

Chicken house plans must of course be designed to keep your chickens safe from predators and the brutal elements.

This means that your chicken coop must be built to keep out dogs, cats, and hawks that might harm baby chicks or eggs.

At the same time your coop should be designed so your chickens have plenty of access to outside air circulation. These feats can be easily accomplished by enclosing your chicken house and run in wire netting with a small enough mesh to keep out food stealing rats and mice.

Your chicken house needs to have a solid roof however so your chicks are protected from rain and sun. Your chicken coop should also have an enclosed area for your chickens to sleep in at night and where they can huddle when the wind blows cold.

During the day your chickens will appreciate access to the sun and outdoors. If you are not able to let your chickens roam freely in a fenced yard or field, you should design your coop to have an open area called a chicken run that is enclosed in wire netting, or you could transfer your chicks into a portable enclosure.

A portable chicken coop which is also called a chicken tractor or chicken ark, lets your chickens travel around the yard while being kept safe and secure. A chicken tractor is a small A-frame chicken house with a covered roof and wire sides. There is no bottom to this chicken coop so your chickens can scratch in the dirt and enjoy the outdoors.

In order to keep your chickens happy and healthy, design your chicken house with those points in mind rather than just thinking about ways to keep your chickens from wandering off. Build a chicken coop to keep them safe from the weather and other critters that would do them harm and add runs or let them roam in a chicken ark to get plenty of exercise through scratching and chasing bugs.

Don’t want to design your own coop? Here are some nice chicken house plans.

Fred Land, an aspiring urban farmer and backyard chicken keeper.

Important Details for Assembling a Chicken Ark

The only likely tricky part of building a chicken tractor is installing windows.

Building a chicken tractor or ark is an uncomplicated endeavor that only takes a day, so you should be able to get your chicken ark manufactured and poultry installed extremely fast. It is going to be much quicker than building chicken coops. Besides “A” framed formations you can construct it with a flat roof. The top can be of any appearance. The only critical factor is whether it keeps the inside from getting wet. In addition to the wood housing you will ideally want an attached chicken run. A chicken run is a space that is wholly enclosed with wire. It’s sort of like a porch attached to a home.

A nesting box ought to be built into the housing if you intend to gather clean eggs. Dirty eggs have an unappetizing look to them and as a result have to be washed prior to usage. Many individuals choose to build their chicken arks tall so that a little roosting bar is able to be added. This gives the birds a place to sleep off the floor like they would in the wild. The ark has a sliding door entrance between the porch area and nesting location so they can be shut in at night for extra warmth and fortification.

Offering feed to the birds is easy by means of chicken arks. You are able to feed them a supplemental food or permit them to free range for very nearly all of their meals, but there are two big problems with not offering supplemental food. First of all, they won’t get enough protein and calcium free ranging, so they will not lay eggs very frequently. And second, you will need to move the chicken ark every single day, or perhaps more than once a day, to new fresh areas for free ranging. The ideal solution is to supplement their meals with a feed that contains some grit and calcium. The grit helps them grind and digest their food appropriately while the calcium is needed for producing hard shells.

Although it may seem as though fresh eggs would be higher in nutritional quality, this is not so. Whether bought at the store or raised yourself, they contain identical nutritional makeup. And while we’re on the subject, brown and white eggs are equal with regards to nutritional value. At least that’s what the scientific “eggsperts” say. On the other hand, eggs bought at the neighborhood supermarket are as a rule a great deal older, possess a paler flatter yolk, and peel better when hard boiled. If you plan on hard boiling your freshly grown eggs be sure to let them sit in the refrigerator for several weeks before hard boiling them. Fresh eggs don’t peel well after being hard boiled; the shell usually to the egg.

Performing a little advanced planning and homework can be the distinction between building chicken arks the easy and inexpensive way or the tough and expensive way. By beginning with some simple chicken plans you will most likely be able to manufacture your hen houses or chicken arks correctly the very first time and avoid frequently-seen and costly mistakes.

There are a good deal of factors that ought to be taken into consideration when it comes to deciding on the style of chicken coops or chicken arks that will best suit your needs. The number one factor is the amount of poultry you will be growing. The greater the amount of pullets, the bigger the coop will have to be.

Hear more info about constructing an inexpensive chicken ark, basic info about raising poultry, and a whole lot more. Discover more: Chicken Arks – Crucial Info.

Putting Together a Cheap and Trouble-Free Chicken Ark

A chicken ark is akin to a chicken coop, but smaller and transportable. A chicken ark, also known as a chicken tractor, is straightforward and quick to put together using simple chicken ark designs and means poultry can replicate normal behavior and be sheltered from predators. And you get to choose what parts of the yard or garden your flock are able to scratch around in.

A chicken ark works perfectly for up to 4 or 5 birds and is a prudent solution if you do not want to construct a permanent chicken coup. The most important advantage of using a transportable chicken ark is to get the benefits of free range chickens while keeping them sheltered from foul climate conditions and predatory animals. It can be dragged to a new location every few days to give the birds new forage and keep you from having to clean up a permanent chicken coop repeatedly.

The most familiar design for a chicken ark is an “A” frame, which is comparable in appearance to the sawhorse. The most universal style has a straightforward design, a triangular structure that makes it amazingly unproblematic to manufacture, even for inexperienced hobbyists. The only potential tricky part of putting together a chicken tractor is putting in windows.

Constructing a chicken tractor is basic project that only takes a day, so you should be able to get your chicken ark constructed and chickens installed extremely rapidly. In addition to “A” framed construction you are able to build it with a horizontal roof. As long as the inside stays dry it doesn’t matter what type of form it has. In addition to the wood poultry housing you will want an attached chicken run. This is a space that is entirely enclosed with wire. It’s sort of like a porch attached to a house.

A nest box has to be built into the wood housing if you aim to gather fresh clean eggs. Soiled eggs have an unappetizing look to them and as a result ought to be cleaned before usage. Some people choose to construct their arks high so that a little roosting pole is able to be added. This gives the birds a place to sleep off the floor which is instinctive for them. The ark has a sliding door linking the chicken run and nest location so they are able to be kept in at nighttime for added warmth and security.

You have the choice to feed them a supplemental food or allow them to free range for pretty much all of their meals, but there are two issues with not giving them supplemental nourishment. First, they won’t find sufficient protein and calcium grazing, so they will lay very few eggs. And second, you will have to move the chicken ark every single day, or possibly more than once a day, to fresh places for grazing. The best solution is to add to their meals with a feed that contains some grit and calcium. The grit helps them grind and process their food correctly while the calcium is necessary for producing strong shells.

Even if it might seem as though fresh eggs would be elevated in dietary quality, this is not so. Whether purchased at the store or raised yourself, they both have identical nutritional structure. And while we’re on the topic, brown and white eggs are the same when it comes to dietary value. At least that’s what the chicken “eggsperts” tell us. In spite of this, eggs purchased at the neighborhood supermarket are as a rule a good deal older, have a paler flatter yolk, and peel better when hard boiled. If you plan on hard boiling your freshly collected eggs make certain to let them stay in the fridge for several weeks before doing so. Freshly grown eggs do not peel easily after being hard boiled; the shell usually to the egg.

Joshua has grown chickens for over 25 years and has built all of his own chicken sheds during that time. He is an expert on successfully growing chickens for meat and egg production. He keeps a web site where you can read related articles in relation to building a chicken coop, a chicken ark, successfully growing chickens, and more.

Yourself Thanksgiving

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CommunityChickens.com E-newsletter – 11.15.2011:

Feature Story: A Homemade, Handmade, Do-It-Yourself Thanksgiving

by Suzanne Roark

It really isn’t Thanksgiving, in my mind, if I just go to the store to fill a shopping cart with food and paper plates and plastic forks. The real fun in the holiday is the work. Divvied up and shared by each one of us, we all work together for one common goal. Older kids set up the extra tables and chairs. Younger kids like to chop, peel, grate and stir. Hubby grunts through the hard work of turkey processing. I am there, guiding the group, planning, preparing and cooking. In the end we all reap the reward of a job well done.

Let Suzanne inspire you to create a Thanksgiving to remember …

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The Challenge Remains

by Jennifer Burcke

It’s official: the Purina 60 Day See the Difference Challenge has come to an end at 1840 Farm. At least the 60 day part. Farming and raising food for my family is a journey of the never ending variety. Sixty days may come and go, but the challenge remains.

To celebrate the end of the Purina 60 Day See the Difference Challenge, I would like to offer a little encouragement to those of you who have shared so much with me. I will be randomly selecting a reader to win a Purina FLIP video camera. This is the same camera that I use to share videos on this forum and on my own blog. It is my hope that it will encourage you to share your chicken keeping experiences with our community.

Keep reading to learn how YOU could win your very own FLIP CAMERA …

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The Mallard Drake

by Margaret E. Kellogg

When learning about ducks, one thing I ran across surprised me: It can take five months for a mallard drake to, well, look like a mallard drake!

For Easter this year, I purchased four baby mallards at the local feed store. But as they grew, they all looked the same. The goal, of course, was to have a hen and a drake out of the four, but it appeared that we had just obtained four hens.

I was about ready to sell a couple of the hens back at month five, when, we started noticing a change …

Read more about Margaret’s adventures with mallards …

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The Chicken Tractor

by Rebecca Nickols

The purpose of a chicken tractor is simple: it’s movable, it lacks a floor which allows the chickens to forage and scratch, it provides shelter and protection from the weather and predators, and it has a separate nesting area. Jeff chose to build an A-frame design which he originally intended to be more of a chicken “sled.” The plan was that I could easily pull or slide the tractor, but when he had completed the frame it took both of us pulling, pushing and lifting to move it even a short distance… The “sled” then become a “tractor” when he added wheels to the front and back of the portable coop. It’s still a little hard for me to maneuver over our rocky/hilly soil, but it’s doable and I’ve put the tractor to use in a variety of ways.

Keep reading about Rebecca’s tractor to get tips on building your own …

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GRIT’S GUIDE TO BACKYARD CHICKENS, 2ND EDITION From the rooftop terraces of New York City to the sprawling lawns of rural America, the backyard chicken movement has taken hold and is making a massive impact among city dwellers and country folk alike.

As the authority on rural know-how, Grit magazine has long been leading the charge and is now proud to introduce its 2011 special Guide to Backyard Chickens.

At 100 full-color pages, this one-of-a-kind reference book is designed to arm you with all the information needed to enjoy the simple country pleasures of farm-fresh eggs and poultry, straight from your own backyard.

Order your copy of Grit’s Guide to Backyard Chickens today for just $6.99!

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Found on Facebook

We’re just sure that our readers have the most interesting coops in the world, and here’s proof! Marlene June Hill, of Alberta, Canada, posted this photo of her groovy coop on Facebook. And other readers are following suit! See photos more photos on Facebook!

If you’d like to participate in COOP SNOOP, please use this link

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… but if you’re interested in just posting a quick photo of your coop, share it with us on Facebook!

Join us on Facebook! …

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All About Building Chicken Arks and Tractors

With the increasing popularity of small-scale hobby farming, more people are trying to get into raising their own produce than ever before. Even people with small urban yards or rooftop container gardens want to try to grow their own food, including raising chickens. A chicken ark (also called a chicken tractor) is the ideal way to raise birds in a small space, and chicken tractor plans can be followed by anyone, with or without prior building experience.

Why Build a Chicken Tractor?

Chicken tractor plans are generally for small coops without floors. These allow chickens to engage in their natural scratching behavior, while keeping them confined to the floorspace of the chicken tractor or ark. These are especially great for small urban or suburban farms, since they allow hobbyists to keep their birds confined, and offer some protection against small predators. A chicken tractor or ark can either be cleaned out regularly, or manure can be allowed to accumulate underneath, and covered with clean bedding.

Easy To Move and Clean

At the end of a certain period of time, the small, lightweight chicken ark can simply be picked up and moved to a clean area, and the manure and soiled bedding dug up for composting. Chicken tractor plans are generally not for permanent structures like many other coops, since a lot of the chicken ark’s appeal is in its small size and relative portability.

Beware of Predators

The features of a chicken ark that make it so great for urban hobby farmers, however, might make it less appealing to hobbyists in more rural areas. Chicken tractor plans are designed to provide a small, relatively secure area for chickens to scratch and lay, but a simple chicken ark often doesn’t provide enough protection against predators like foxes or coyotes. The fact that most types of chicken ark have bare floors makes them attractive to predators who can dig or burrow, so builders who live in areas with foxes or coyotes might want to scrap their chicken tractor plans for something that’s a bit stronger, with a solid floor.

Not A Lot Of Space?

If you’re an urban hobby farmer with a small space, a chicken ark might be perfect for you. Raising chickens can help reduce your grocery expenditures, allow you to eat better, and even make some extra money selling eggs, and a chicken ark can help you raise healthy, beautiful birds, no matter how much space you have to devote to them.

Next, visit Tim’s blog and learn more about building chicken coops and find out the best way to keep your chickens healthy and laying eggs in an easy to build chicken ark.

Build a Chicken House Run to Keep Your Hens Safe

A chicken pen, sometimes called a hen run, is the protected open area attached to the hen house, where the chickens can roam safely while they forage, hunt for insects and get the fresh air they need. It also helps to keep your flowers, vegetables and other plants looking good rather than being hen-pecked!

Runs give chickens the space they need because birds that are overcrowded get stressed and more aggressive towards each other, and can stop laying eggs. Hens need space, the more the better, although this will inevitably depend on the area of backyard available for them.

The hen pen should have plenty of green vegetation growing in it for the chickens to eat, otherwise you will need to feed them on a daily basis. Remember that chickens also need access to water, because they sweat easily especially in summer. If their beaks are open and their wings splayed, they must have water as soon as possible.

Chickens are domestic creatures that are easy targets for many types of predator, including raccoons, weasels, foxes, birds of prey, rats and neighborhood dogs and cats. It is up to you to provide proper protection for your hens, so your chicken pen must be designed to give them a safe environment in which to live and lay.

There is nothing complicated about a chicken run, but it has to be well-made. For instance, if the wire mesh is not buried sufficiently in the ground, rats will be able to dig underneath and get access to the hen house. Then no fresh eggs for breakfast! This is where you should think about getting some tips and advice from experts knowledgeable in chicken runs.

Check the perimeter regularly, because it is not unknown for dogs or foxes to gnaw away at the wire over time to make a large enough access hole. Friends of ours positioned their coop and pen so that they could be seen from the kitchen table, a lesson learnt from bitter experience.

You might want to think about installing some sort of drainage for the chicken pen as well. Chickens can make their run quite messy after a while, made worse by wet weather. If possible, try to site the run on slightly sloping ground, which will help keep the area reasonably dry. Some chicken keepers put tarpaulins or even permanent roofing over their runs but this can be an expensive option and is not really necessary if the pen is large enough.

Instead of a fixed run you could think about making a “>chicken tractor or portable chicken coop, sometimes also known as an ark. A chicken tractor is a simple structure which combines a coop or nesting box with an attached run. The tractor can be moved around to give the hens a constant source of new insects and vegetation, and to save your yard from being scratched bare. It also gives your garden free fertilizer! However, because the tractor has to be mobile it tends to be quite small, perhaps 6 to 8 feet long and 4 or 5 feet wide, so is suitable for only a few hens at a time. A chicken tractor is very cheap and easy to make, however, so you could have several spaced around your backyard if you have many hens.

It pays to get expert advice on how to “>build a chicken pen before making your chicken run, unless you are experienced in space, feeding, shelter and health requirements for keeping chickens. None of it is complicated, but you owe it to your chickens to keep their living environment safe and comfortable. They will reward you with a regular supply of tasty free-range eggs.

Kieran Gracie has developed a website, buildthingsdirect.com,
dedicated to providing information, advice and help for exciting and easy-to-do projects in your garden or backyard. These include sheds, chicken coops, log cabins, solar panels, solar water heaters and wind turbines.

Chicken House Designs – The Educated Approach

When making a chicken house (or coop) in your backyard it is imperative that you take as much into consideration that you can before you make a commitment. A chicken house is a stationary construct that requires rigorous planning. While going about making one it will be best if you prioritized your approach based on some critical factors. The following should be kept in mind while planning the chicken house:

a. The poultry size: This is paramount. The size of your poultry will determine the size and type of your coop. As a rule of thumb it is recommended that at least 4 square feet of space be provided per bird so that they may move freely in their house. The smallest you can acquire is a chicken tractor measuring at about 20 square feet while the larger ones go above 40 square feet.

b. Predators: The most nagging problem that poultry farmers face. Your chicken house needs to ensure that no predators whether land based or aerial can make its way into the coop.

c. The Backyard: If your backyard is incapable of supporting your poultry or is too small for a large sized coop then it will be best to shorten your poultry size (of course you can also move into a bigger place!).

d. The interiors: You need to carefully and tactfully plan out the interiors of the coop as it must ensure the maximum comfort for the chicken. A feeder and a waterer must be available filled at all times. There should be a place for the chicken to nest. Also make sure that the windows provide for cross air ventilation. A good idea is to cover the chicken house’s floor with sand or saw dust as chicken love taking sand baths.

These should get you started. There are many intricate things that must be taken into account also. Your Chicken house need not be something impossibly perfect; such thoughts can often seem intimidating and should shunned aside. What must be kept in mind are your requirements and the issues that you are or potentially will be facing.

When making a chicken house (or coop) in your backyard it is imperative that you take as much into consideration that you can before you make a commitment. A chicken house is a stationary construct that requires rigorous planning. While going about making one it will be best if you prioritized your approach based on some critical factors. The following should be kept in mind while planning the chicken house:

a. The poultry size: This is paramount. The size of your poultry will determine the size and type of your coop. As a rule of thumb it is recommended that at least 4 square feet of space be provided per bird so that they may move freely in their house. The smallest you can acquire is a chicken tractor measuring at about 20 square feet while the larger ones go above 40 square feet.

b. Predators: The most nagging problem that poultry farmers face. Your chicken house needs to ensure that no predators whether land based or aerial can make its way into the coop.

c. The Backyard: If your backyard is incapable of supporting your poultry or is too small for a large sized coop then it will be best to shorten your poultry size (of course you can also move into a bigger place!).

d. The interiors: You need to carefully and tactfully plan out the interiors of the coop as it must ensure the maximum comfort for the chicken. A feeder and a waterer must be available filled at all times. There should be a place for the chicken to nest. Also make sure that the windows provide for cross air ventilation. A good idea is to cover the chicken house’s floor with sand or saw dust as chicken love taking sand baths.

These should get you started. There are many intricate things that must be taken into account also. Your Chicken house need not be something impossibly perfect; such thoughts can often seem intimidating and should shunned aside. What must be kept in mind are your requirements and the issues that you are or potentially will be facing.

Chicken House Designs – Keeping Things in Perspective

While designing a chicken house it is important to keep a few important things into perspective so that a better and satisfying experience may be had. Most poultry farmers out of sheer enthusiasm ignore many important things that seem trivial at first sight but end up being serious issues later. If you want to steer clear of these things then you will want to arm yourself with a plan of action which will be very handy as you commit yourself to making your coop.

When formulating your plan you need to keep a few things in priority. These things can be summarised as follows:

a. The Size of your poultry: All chicken houses come in three kinds: small sized chicken tractors, medium and large chicken coops. The chicken tractor is essentially for 2 to 4 chickens, while the medium sized coop is ideally suited for 6 to 8 birds. The larger size coop is for over 10 birds. You must remember that a chicken needs to be provided with at least 4 square feet of space so that it may live comfortably.

b. The weather: Again a very important determinant. Your chicken need to be comfortable in their house so you must keep the weather in mind while making the coop. For example if you live in cold area then you must have proper insulation in your coop. Also make sure to design the chicken house so that the windows can permit a cross-air ventilation.

c. Your Backyard: This pertains to both its size and the intention you have for it. If your backyard is big then it can accommodate a large chicken coop, also if you want to keep it clean of pests and weed then a chicken tractor is the way to go.

d. Chicken house interiors: The interiors of the coop need to be designed so that the chicken may have plenty of space to move around, and breathe. Also keep a feeder and a waterer filled up at all time within the coop. A good idea is to cover the floor of the coop with sand or saw dust as the chicken love taking sand baths.

Did you know that the leading cause of chicken death is because of neglect? Even though most people have the best of intentions they simply lack the knowledge they require to maintain a healthy livestock. On my Chicken House Designs Page I have discussed various things that you need to keep in mind when you are raising your poultry.