Phase 2 of chicken tractor construction is to build a roof on the chicken tractor, which will also be a coop for them to sleep in at night. After researching architecture on Wikipedia for the better part of last Saturday morning, I decided to go with a gambrel roof.
The coop/roof needs to be both predator-proof and maximize headroom. The tractor is a 4ft cube, so if I just slapped a plain shed roof* on there, 1) either the angle would be flat enough that a raccoon could jump up and make trouble, and 3/4ths of the wedge would be too narrow for the chickens to use, or 2) the angle would be so steep that the tractor would be 8ft tall. There are limits, people! The same goes for a regular gable (i.e. triangular) roof, although to a lesser extent.
The gambrel roof (what I always called a “barn roof”) is a clear winner in this respect. It maximizes usable headroom, while having a very steep slope on the sides so that leaping raccoon ninjas will just slide off.
I found an article online titled How To Build A Gambrel Roof, but it doesn’t have any graphics. I was having trouble picturing the process, so I decided to build a miniature 1:12 model. My model would be 4 inches square at the base, with a roof peak 3 inches high.
I started out by cutting a Home Depot paint stirring stick into “lumber” with an Exacto knife. (Kids, get your parents to help!) These pieces are 4 inches long and about 1/2″ wide, in scale with the culls that I’ve been buying.
One piece split when I cut it. Just like real life!
Next, I sketched out the template on a sheet of paper. (I don’t own a protractor, so I had to print one out from a helpful website. How did we ever do anything before the internet?) I laid out the lumber, and began tracing the angles and making cuts.
I assembled the trusses by cutting out wee little braces out of cardboard, and stapling them on, then filling the joint with Elmer’s glue. (This is the project that I became absorbed in while I was playing Sims last Sunday.)
In place of plywood cladding, I cut up a cereal box into tiny sheets and taped them on. I used the Exacto knife to cut doors and windows into the plywood.
I made a very big mess of my desk.
And then it was done!
I admired my work for several minutes before I started noticing its flaws. As you can see from the above picture, the cladding on the gable ends doesn’t quite fit the trusses.
I cut the cardboard from the gable ends by using the original sketch as a template. Obviously the reality of the truss was a little bit off from the original sketch. So that’s one important lesson learned from the model-making process: use the actual thing for a template, not the template used to make the actual thing.
Want a peek inside?
Another advantage of the gambrel roof is that it’s very strong. I had trouble balancing things on the roof peak, so I used my sock-in-progress as a pad. As you can see, even the miniature roof can hold a surprising amount of weight without any trouble.
Oh, if only I could make the real thing from cereal boxes. Do you know how much plywood costs? A lot!
* Technically known as a “skillion roof,” and isn’t “skillion” a great word?
makes me think of “Witness” and having a barn raising!
You were clearly having waaaaaaayyyy too much fun with this. Xacto knives and fake protractors and cereal-box cladding! Where will it end?
Despite the fact I have practically no carpentry or architectural experience, I’ve started to daydream about building chicken tractors to sell. You can get $1500-$2k for a prebuilt chicken tractor, and I’m having a lot of fun with mine!
Psssst…. you don’t need plywood.
http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html
Lots of photos of chicken tractors.
If you are going to go into construction, you need to learn where the reusable lumber/plywood is. Chickens don’t need brand new expensive wood. Although they do need something waterproof and varmint-proof.
Are there any demoliton companies or old buildings being torn down? Could you use corrugated metal for the roof? I used metal from above ground pool sides on the roof of a chicken coop I had at one time. Ingenuity is everything in keeping costs down.
I’m most impressed with your model, and the fact that you bothered to build one!!
is this anywhere near you?
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/zip/1161638065.html
Skillion skillion skillion gable cladding truss protractor chicken tractor sock stapler skillion!
The miniature is so cute. A hamster would be so happy in that.
Northmoon–I read your comment wrong and thought you said “vomit-proof.” Gave me pause until I reread it.
Rain–A hamster would so EAT that.
Erika–So much fun to read. Your blog is great.
How fun to see another knitter turned chicken raiser! Our chicks just went to live permanantly outside last weekend and I miss their cheeping in the house. I’m working on getting some pictures of the coop my husband built but whenever I think about it, it’s raining. We stalked craigs list and finally found free plywood- it is expensive new!
So did you ever build the gambrel roofed chicken tractor? My chicks need me to settle on a design and start building and I’m still looking for ideas!
I did, and it turned out beautiful, but it had some pretty serious design flaws and I had to abandon it after a month.
First, it was square and tall, which made it very difficult to drag across the ground. Second, I hinged the door at the top, which allowed one of the hens to escape for a rousing round of “Let’s try not to get killed by the neighbor’s dogs.”
Here is the finished version: http://redshirtknitting.com/?p=1597
I eventually went to a long rectangular model which you can see here: http://redshirtknitting.com/?p=1726
(I still have the little model that I made in this post, though. Haven’t quite been able to bring myself to throw it away. It’s just so cute!)
THanks for the insights-still working on my gambrel-roofed tractor, the peeps aren’t quite ready to go outside yet so I still have *some* time. Making it shorter than yours was.. still going to be gawd awful heavy but we’ll see! Great blogs