By far the best reveiw/ comments video. You tube should put yours at the top. The book is unclear with conflicting diagrams for the end walls. Thanks for your time
I strongly recommend covering those middle sections of the roof with poultry netting. Don't rely on the tarp to offer protection. I had two dogs rip it clean open, jump inside and kill an entire tractor of birds.
Thanks Phillip - that is a great perspective and one we hadn't considered. We do have many different predators, so that is something we should think about. The only thing I would do differently is maybe using the hardware fabric instead of the poultry netting - the poultry netting sags and latches onto us when we are inside the tractor... maybe the hardware fabric will be the same, but it seems much more robust and is lots easier to work with.
Thanks for the video. You solved one of my issues. This video is alittle older, so just as a suggestion I used screws with fender washers where you used the roofing nails. Also you can get j clips(for cage building) to attach the chicken wire to its self in the middle section and lots of zip ties attached to the conduit will help get the sag out of the chicken wire. Thanks again.
Solid plans for sure. Whata ya think about boring holes in the 2x4 frame to clean up where the conduit meets the wood? You could just stick the conduit into the holes and secure it with one screw. In thinkin that you could run a strip of wood trim around where you're having problems with the wire tearing your tarps. Bevel the edges or round them over on a board and tack it on over where the wires seam is. I really like the overall design and affordability.
Boring a hole in the 2x4 would hold the conduits better, but your 2x4 will rot much faster, especially if your hole doesn't go all the way through the board to let the water drain out. Your idea with the strip of wood for the wire would work well I think.
I checked cost of a stapler $$$, thinking of using a fender washer and construction wood screw! Also what months do you raise your meat birds, I live in SW Louisiana our winters are not that harsh, but June to November hurricane season is brutal on us!!!! I have no place to put birds or shelter out of weather!! I’m going to search and look at ur water system , thx for the tips
We can't usually get birds out on pasture until May. We start them in the brooder beginning of April, and can't go much past the middle of September. Yes, I agree - wind and blowing rain are the worst. Heat was bad until we added misters - that was a game changer for us. We also added landscape fabric to the front (prevailing wind) side. That helped quite a bit with blowing rain, wind and sun. Of course high enough winds are impossible to deal with. We would strap all of the tractors together and anchor them with t-posts at 4 corners. We generally only have occasional spring wind storms, but if you have to do that every day, it is rough!
By far the best reveiw/ comments video. You tube should put yours at the top. The book is unclear with conflicting diagrams for the end walls.
Thanks for your time
Just downloaded the plans and built two tractors. The 1’ 8 7/8” is still there which we discovered is also still an inch too short ;)
I strongly recommend covering those middle sections of the roof with poultry netting. Don't rely on the tarp to offer protection. I had two dogs rip it clean open, jump inside and kill an entire tractor of birds.
Thanks Phillip - that is a great perspective and one we hadn't considered. We do have many different predators, so that is something we should think about. The only thing I would do differently is maybe using the hardware fabric instead of the poultry netting - the poultry netting sags and latches onto us when we are inside the tractor... maybe the hardware fabric will be the same, but it seems much more robust and is lots easier to work with.
you can put plastic garden edging over the edges to hold the wire and keep it from ruining the tarp
Great suggestion!
Thanks for the video. You solved one of my issues. This video is alittle older, so just as a suggestion I used screws with fender washers where you used the roofing nails. Also you can get j clips(for cage building) to attach the chicken wire to its self in the middle section and lots of zip ties attached to the conduit will help get the sag out of the chicken wire. Thanks again.
Glad the video was helpful. Thank you for the tips!
Solid plans for sure. Whata ya think about boring holes in the 2x4 frame to clean up where the conduit meets the wood? You could just stick the conduit into the holes and secure it with one screw. In thinkin that you could run a strip of wood trim around where you're having problems with the wire tearing your tarps. Bevel the edges or round them over on a board and tack it on over where the wires seam is. I really like the overall design and affordability.
Boring a hole in the 2x4 would hold the conduits better, but your 2x4 will rot much faster, especially if your hole doesn't go all the way through the board to let the water drain out. Your idea with the strip of wood for the wire would work well I think.
The dimensions have been changed in the book
interesting and useful info. thanks
The dimensions have been changed in my book that I got a couple of weeks ago
I purchased just this week, and it's wrong in my version. 🤔🤔
Thanks
You are welcome!
On the second editions no where to find how to make the door, of course I figured out 👍
Nice job!
I checked cost of a stapler $$$, thinking of using a fender washer and construction wood screw! Also what months do you raise your meat birds, I live in SW Louisiana our winters are not that harsh, but June to November hurricane season is brutal on us!!!! I have no place to put birds or shelter out of weather!! I’m going to search and look at ur water system , thx for the tips
We can't usually get birds out on pasture until May. We start them in the brooder beginning of April, and can't go much past the middle of September. Yes, I agree - wind and blowing rain are the worst. Heat was bad until we added misters - that was a game changer for us. We also added landscape fabric to the front (prevailing wind) side. That helped quite a bit with blowing rain, wind and sun. Of course high enough winds are impossible to deal with. We would strap all of the tractors together and anchor them with t-posts at 4 corners. We generally only have occasional spring wind storms, but if you have to do that every day, it is rough!
It hasn't been fixed. Just purchased and made the same mistake
I altered the size when I built my tractor for Ducklings. Because of the size change, I had to measure the notches to be even as I built the tractor.