Finishing Off the Coop Portion of the Chicken Tractor

After several days of rain last week I finally was able to get two coats of flat classic barn red paint on the coop section and reinstall the hardware. We had over seven inches of rain during last week's nor'easter and there were no leaks so I believe the caulking and basic engineering are sound.

The last big piece of engineering for this phase of the project will be putting together the pop door. This will require installing some aluminum C-rail on the inside wall to hold a sliding door of regular plywood and rigging a pull cord to the outside. Once that step is out of the way it is just a matter of closing in the run section with framing and wire and attaching the wheels. This may have to wait until spring. I'll also need to rig some kind of brackets to hold the water and feed bins. I am thinking about attaching the feed bin to the front of the coop and the water bin further down somewhere along the framing for the run. Both will need an access hatch on top so that they can be removed easily for refilling and for when the tractor needs to be moved. We'll also need some kind of simple door in the end of the run so we can let the hens out on occasion to free range in the yard.

This is a shot through the main access door showing the interior view of the nesting boxes and the roost pole. I covered the floor with cheap vinyl floor covering so it will be easier to scrape out the mess. The particle board I used while being cheap is really rough and I didn't want to have to worry about removing the droppings that are sure to accumulate under the roost.