We first saw this chicken tractor design from Andy Walton at Lakeview farm. It is a 10x10 tractor using 3/4" electrical metal tubing, some connectors from Creative Awnings, and chicken wire. We've gone through a few iterations in this design and have arrived at the latest prototype which is very rugged, and lightweight. The basic dimensions are 10x10x2 with two criss-crossing poles on the top. 1" chicken wire goes around the outside with a chicken wire covering half of the top (the tarp covers the other half).
Here is the list of required parts:
(12) 10' long 3/4" Electrical Metal Tubing (available at hardware stores)
(1) 8' x 12' heavy duty tarp (get the type that resists UV light)
(4) F4-A, 4 way 3/4" from Creative Awnings
(8) F3-A, 3 way 3/4" from Creative Awnings
(4) FT-A, T's 3/4" from Creative Awnings
40' of 2' high by 1" hole chicken wire
10' of 5' wide 1" hole chicken wire
A few bungie cords to tie the lid down with
a pool of 16 gauge smooth wire to cinch the chicken wire to the frame with.
You can cut the electrical metal tubing with a hack-saw, sawz-all, or rotating metal cutting tool. Be sure to put the 4-way pieces on the top of the tractor and you will have two of the metal rods crossing over the top. The "T's" go on the bottom supports, while the 3-way pieces go on all of the corners.
The whole project will cost about $120.
