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Tractor Talk Discussion Forum

Anyone built a chicken house?

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Galen

10-02-2005 16:55:19




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I just "inherited" 22 chicken from my wife's dad. I threw together a make-shift shelter from chain-link, chicken wire, a calf waterer, and some plywood. Anyone have any good ideas on how to build a good chicken house fast and cheep (I mean CHEAP)?




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chuck Bolton

10-03-2005 17:40:16




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
look for older hog houses--near me they can often be had for $50 and moving them home-- i just bought several smedlely houses for hogs and they would work well with minor modifications. the big thing is -keep an open mind and scrounge. lol



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buickanddeere

10-03-2005 14:04:23




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
In progress right now. They have an internal dia of 6ft and are 16 ft long. The walls are 4" thick reinforced concrete. A wooden frame doorway is being built for each end and mounted on posts into the earth. The the tile are lined up in parallel on 16 ft centers, the east ends are 4" low. The plan is to span the tile with 2x8's and put an almost flat roof over. It should keep the birds out of the wind and dry.

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terrypy

10-03-2005 08:57:15




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
Built an a-frame recently. Did it for about $150. Kept several quineas in it. If you want the plans I can send them to you. The a-frame we built was not completely enclosed since we don't have the cold weather(TX). So there would be more cost to enclose the full sides or you could use tarps depending on your weather and remove them for summer. Works good is on sleds so that you can move it with a tractor.

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dhermes

10-03-2005 08:27:12




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
The wooden "kits" for garden sheds could easily be adapted for building into a chicken house. The local Orschelins currently has the 8X8 sheds for $390 - clearance. You can't buy the materials and build them from scratch for that price. About the only alteration would be to change the door set up.



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John (MO)

10-03-2005 06:55:13




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 Book mark this sight in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
Here is a sight with plans for building just about anything.



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Coldiron

10-03-2005 05:22:48




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
When we were looking for a home here in N. Idaho we looked at a retired Veterinarians place that had a super nice chicken house because he wanted to avoid poultry diseases. It had two rooms, large nesting boxes with drop fronts for easy cleaning and vents that could be closed up in winter during the severe cold. But the amazing thing was, it was insulated, had lighting and was heated. He said it was over kill but his chickens were happy. LOL

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37 chief

10-02-2005 22:03:04




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
Get rid of the chickens. They will all have names real soon if you have kids, and you will never be able to eat them when they stop laying. It seams like they never die. been there done that.Stan



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wayne2

10-03-2005 05:54:37




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to 37 chief, 10-02-2005 22:03:04  
Extremly good point,old birds are tuff even w/dumplings. LOL Wayne



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Galen

10-02-2005 22:25:36




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to 37 chief, 10-02-2005 22:03:04  
No kids, so I don't have to worry about that! Wife wants to raise chicks for the freezer and have a few layers for eggs. Both of us grew up around chickens, but we were kinda suprised with this deal. Her dad wanted to "thin his herd" - he has over 120, and would have given us more, but we were driving our Ford Expedition, so chicken haulin' wasn't in our plans! 300 miles with chickens in the back of an SUV (in cardboard boxes) is NOT fun.

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Keith-OR

10-02-2005 20:43:35




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
I'm with Old, RV's make great chicken house. And Cheep cheep cheep, couldn't resist. In my area there is a lot of them sitting around and can be had just for the asking....Keith



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wayne2

10-02-2005 20:42:25




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
Any outhouses around? Just nail some cross boards so they can roost, keep em pinned for couple of weeks(they are stupid-like they just moved) throw in some nesting boxes w/straw-shavings, wala eggs happy eating, I like mine over easy. LOL Wayne



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old

10-02-2005 19:45:41




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
My chicken house is an old travel trailor. Got it for hauling it off. Works very well and its mobile. LOL if you look around you can probaly find one for little or no $$.



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Dave H (MI)

10-02-2005 19:39:42




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
I put mine temporarily in an old outhouse that was given to me by a neighbor. Hauled it over on a three point carry-all and put a couple of nests and perches in it. Open the door in morning and close them in at night. Had to put plywood over the bench. It was a three seater, if you can imagine that. That was temporary in 1996 and they is still living in it.



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Davis In SC

10-02-2005 19:32:48




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
When I was growing up, we had a chicken house built out of pine slabs... I had not thought of it for years... I guess no one uses slabs to build with , anymore..



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wayne2

10-02-2005 21:38:56




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Davis In SC, 10-02-2005 19:32:48  
Slabs,rounds-anything but concrete or rocks gotta take a nail. LOL Wayne



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JustTired

10-02-2005 18:16:18




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
My cousin built one out of straw bales when he was in college. Depending on the price of the bales I would say that was cheap. (It was in Kansas and the straw was probably had for the hauling) I saw one built recently buy a guy that was basically a garden shed like they sell at lumber yards.



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Sid

10-02-2005 18:12:51




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
Now I know this may seem to be a smart alec response but I am serious. Do a search for chicken tractors. Also Go to the left of this page and under Related Sites go to Kountry Life and look at their country skills section. You might find something helpful there.



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Galen

10-02-2005 18:17:49




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Sid, 10-02-2005 18:12:51  
No, Sid, not smart alec at all! My Dad used to have a Chicken Tractor when I was little. Kept the bugs off the lawn without the chickens killing the grass (unless you left it in one spot to long!). It was the spur of the moment thing - now we have chickens and no coop. Have to dig into it tomorrow before the local varmits figure out what's going on.



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Kim

10-02-2005 19:56:17




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 18:17:49  
Chicken tractors are nice, and very functional especially during spring and summer but I don't know about long term for the chickens. In the fall and winter they need a little bit tighter housing. In my opinion anyway! We transformed an old shed into a chicken house. You can build a small shed in a day, we use to build them on skids and just drag them to their final destination. We always had a people door and a chicken door. The chicken door was small and led into an enclosed pen. You wouldn't need an enclosed pen unless you have coyotes or racoons, like we did.

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Stickler

10-03-2005 08:49:20




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Kim, 10-02-2005 19:56:17  
Mine's an old 12X16' wooden grainery. Added chicken doors and windows, and because we live in the frozen wastelands of Saskatchewan, insulated and wired for heat and light. The heat is really only to keep their water from freezing, they stay pretty warm just from body heat. That holds both the layers (usally around 20 year round) and the roasters (100-300) and 10 turkeys. The chicken doors lead to an enclosed pen like Kim said, because we do have both coyotes and racoons, in fact we lost about 40 birds to them and hawks this summer. We took to closing the chicken doors at night after they went in to roost. We use a seperate building as a chick house until they get big enough to be in with the layers.

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wayne2

10-02-2005 20:45:28




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Kim, 10-02-2005 19:56:17  
Kim, same Kim as our hostess? I'm Flabbergasted I thought you had been raised in a cubicle.LOL Wayne



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Sid

10-02-2005 18:12:44




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Galen, 10-02-2005 16:55:19  
Now I know this may seem to be a smart alec response but I am serious. Do a search for chicken tractors. Also Go to the left of this page and under Related Sites go to Kountry Life and look at their country skills section. You might find something helpful there.



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Davis In SC

10-02-2005 21:43:48




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Sid, 10-02-2005 18:12:44  
Sid, yesterday , I would have thought a Chicken Tractor was one made in China, LOL... But I did a search, & saw what they are.. In fact, I saw that there is even a book written on it, from Columbus, NC..... that is only 20 miles up the road...



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mike brown

10-03-2005 07:12:38




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 Re: Anyone built a chicken house? in reply to Davis In SC, 10-02-2005 21:43:48  
After WWII farmers around here bought surplus Waco gliders and used the fuselages for chicken coops after removing and burning the wings (of the gliders).



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