We Built our SECOND Mobile Chicken Tractor (Hoop Coop)

The meat chicks are going on 4 weeks old now and it’s definitely time for a change of scenery! This design will result in a 66 square foot shelter for meat chicks(Or non laying hens).

HOW TO build Our Mobile Chicken Tractor. Watch the video above for more detail!

1. The frame. We used treated 2×4’s. 10′ long x 8′ wide. The 8′ cross members are exactly 99″ on center.

2. The cattle panel is the standard 16′ x 50″ size. We used two of them. You simply bend them in place on the inside of the frame. Then we used 3/4 staples to secure the ends of the panels.

3. We just cut out 45 degree angles on scrap 2×4’s for the corner braces. You’ll need to notch the corners of the cattle panel with bolt cutters to go around your braces. You want to make sure the ends of the panels line up with the center of the 2x4s. This is so you can use 3/4″ staples to secure the top of the door frame.

4. We used 3/4″ staples to secure the panels. I used a scrap piece of 1″ wood to lift the panels off the ground enough to staple them.

5. My man Mason used hog rings to secure the two cattle panels together.

6. The door is approx. 37″ wide. You can make this measurement whatever you want, but we like a nice wide door. This was the largest size we could comfortably fit on this design. For now we used a hook and loop latch because that’s what we had on hand. The hinges are just standard 3″ GateHouse hinges we also had on hand. Then we covered it with chicken wire using a staple gun(with zinc coated staples). In the areas that the wire overlaps in the middle we used black UV rated zip ties.

7. Last we placed a Large 10’x 13′ heavy duty tarp on the top -secured with UV rated zip ties.

That’s it guys! This is a VERY simple build! I highly encourage you to build your own shelters. Not only does it save you money, but it allows you to build it to fit your needs. This design is so simple and can be modified in countless ways.

If you guys have any questions, comments or ideas for improvements feel free to comment below!