CHICKEN TRACTOR AND HOW WE USE THEM
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So please enjoy the photos and video of some of our chicken tractors. I'll do my best to explain what is in the pictures. First off a chicken tractor is a movable chicken coop usually with out a floor. Chicken tractors can also house other kinds of birds like ducks and turkeys. Most chicken tractors are a lightly built which one person can drag around. It may have wheels to make it easier to move.I built these two chicken tractor out of pvc, chicken wire, some zip ties and a couple tarps.
Used some t-post to keep these chicken tractors from blowing away during high winds. These two are 15 foot by 10 foot. Chicken tractors are great for keeping your chickens safe from predators and weather. Also your chickens will not be laying eggs all over and sending you on an easter egg hunt in the middle of the summer. lol
Put some roosts in. Had to put a leg on the roost. My chickens tend to all get on the same one and I was afraid it was going to break. We used a large old pot turned on its side for an egg "box".
A chicken tractor can be so much more that just a coop. On HOP farm we use chicken tractors to prep our garden beds... A chicken scratches, pecks/eats and poops all day long. When you put those qualities in one area the chickens will eat the bugs/grass/weeds, till the ground by scratching and fertilize with there poop. We also add a big pile of mulch the last few days they are in that spot so the chickens will spread it for us also. The red rope at the right of the picture is for pulling the chicken tractor along. One reason I made these so tall is so we could put turkeys in them also.
We also use a "Joel Salatin" type chicken tractor like the one in the video for broilers, young egg layers and the occasional duck.
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I love the simple elegance and utility. I built a chicken tractor at my wife's request at one point, and like a typical lout, it was so overbuilt it took four strong men and a skid steer to move it anywhere. It was completely useless. I love the idea of the lightweight and easily assembled materials. I am inspired.
Thank you @drwillwho! I have made one the same way. Had to rig it up so I could slip some wheels on it just to be able to move it and it was still a bear. lol.😆
In my defense, we didn't lose a single chicken to lion or rhino. Of course we live in East TN... but still, I'm counting it a win.
Poutry farm is good
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Thank you @odesanya!
I love the idea of a chicken tractor! It's windy all the time here, though, so I wonder if it would be practical for us. Do you have a permanent chicken coop at all or just the tractor? Also, is it really durable enough to keep out the predators? They don't dig underneath to get in?
Thank you @hebrewhousewife! If it is windy all the time I wouldn't recommend a tall chicken tractor. But there all different styles of chicken tractors and one for just about any climate. You would probably want to use a little heaver materials, use a light wait tin for the roof instead of a tarp and may need to put some wheels on it that either go up and down as you want to move it or ones you can slide on and off. The only permanent coop i use is a 10 by 10 dog lot fitted with perches, nesting boxes, electric netting and cover to keep them dry if it is raining. Only use the 10 by 10 during the winter or if i need to separate some for any reason.We have never had a predator get in or dig under and kill any of your chickens wile they are in the tractor. (knock on wood). I did worry about that for a little bit but then we invested in some electric netting.