Rural Gardening: Questions about building Chicken Tractor, 1 by Badseed

Badseed wrote:
The wheels are not attached in these photos. Hubby bought wheels at Tractor Supply that were kind of like push mower wheels. They did not hold up. He said he would replace those with the bigger wheels like the ones they sell for the garden carts. They are not retractable but only keep the unit about 1.5" off the ground.

We did not put any type of metal on the pen floor. When ever the chickens or dogs dig around the exterior wood, we move the coop. Our birds also go in the coop when it's dark and we shut them in and let them out in the morning. We have had no loss to predators. The only time we did lose any to predators, two of the small silkie girls sneaked under the lumber and got left out because they were hiding. ;(

The last picture you posted, looks like it would be pretty heavy. I also recommend using plywood where you can. It costs less and it's lighter. Our coop is OSB painted with exterior paint. After a year, it's still in great shape. You can see the roof is also shingled.

Will you have an attached yard or let them run free during the day?

We also have 3 smaller, similar coops that house 3 silkie sized birds or up to 5 silkie chicks for a time. Those are much easier to build and my husband can whip them out in a few hours. LOL