Chicken Tractor

[MossRoad]

From the chicken seminar we attended, which was designed to introduce people to back yard chickens, as our local town just passed a back yard chicken rule allowing up to 6 with conditions, the presenter recommended not letting chickens free range in neighborhoods. He said if you neighbor has a nice car, that's where the chickens will poop. And, nice concrete sidewalks are apparently a chicken laxative! :laughing: He also said dogs are the main predators of chickens in neighborhoods, while coyotes, racoons and hawks are the biggest worries in less populated areas.

So, I figure a chicken tractor would be a good way to get the girls some changes of scenery, plus add some fertilizer under my fruit trees in summer. But as I mentioned, I fear the winter. Got some thinking to do.

 

[cmhyland]

From the chicken seminar we attended, which was designed to introduce people to back yard chickens, as our local town just passed a back yard chicken rule allowing up to 6 with conditions, the presenter recommended not letting chickens free range in neighborhoods. He said if you neighbor has a nice car, that's where the chickens will poop. And, nice concrete sidewalks are apparently a chicken laxative! :laughing: He also said dogs are the main predators of chickens in neighborhoods, while coyotes, racoons and hawks are the biggest worries in less populated areas.

So, I figure a chicken tractor would be a good way to get the girls some changes of scenery, plus add some fertilizer under my fruit trees in summer. But as I mentioned, I fear the winter. Got some thinking to do.

I'm looking to build a mobile coop on wheels. I will make a mobile pen and move them separately. My plan is to put a solar panel and and deep cycle battery with inverter to run lights. I'll also move the units up close to the house for winter storms to make taking care of the chickens easier.

I'm actually looking to recycle a very large dog house I built years ago. The base is 4' by 4' and the peak of the roof is 6' high. The whole thing is in excellent shape.
It just need some modifications such as nesting boxes.

Regards,
Chris

Regards,
Chris

 

[forgeblast]

My plan, since I have a coop already, is to take a dog crate that I have add wheels to it and then attach some 1x3 with chicken wire to make a run to allow the girls to free range. We ended up getting 8 more chicks and I figure I will probably keep 4 as layers the rest will be for the smoke house.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Anyone build a Chicken Tractor? For those not into the chicken lingo.... It's a moveable chicken coop with a small moveable run attached to it... It allows you to move small quantities of chickens around the property.

I'd love to see some pics of what people built. Below I have added a sample i found on Google images.

Regards,
Chris

Yep,

Here they are:

Our Best Tractor Yet!

Our Latest Chicken Tractor

We like the big one best.

Kevin

 

[Ed of all trades]

I am building a 10' x 10' or 12' by 2' high to put broilers in. they will hold 75 or 100 depending on what I build. With broilers I don't have to worry about winter. In Joel Salatin's book Pastured poultry profits, He says he puts his hens in a hoop house with a 15 year white cover and they have light and solar heat all winter, just have to protect the side walls up a few feet so the hens don't hurt them.

 

[Marveltone]

Here's a thread on the chicken tractor I built. Lots of pictures of the whole process. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/249529-yay-we-have-chickens.html
Since then, we've upgraded to more birds and a permanent coop. The tractor still serves to introduce new chickens, house a brooding hen, or any others that need temporary separation from the flock for whatever reason.

Joe

 

[MossRoad]

Yep,

Here they are:

Our Best Tractor Yet!

Our Latest Chicken Tractor

We like the big one best.

Kevin

Very nice.

What would keep a fox or racoon from digging under it?

 

[NoTrespassing]

That has happened. After I "took care of" 3 coons last year the problem stopped. Nothing ever got into the big cage but they did manage to reach under one of my smaller cages and pull a couple hens out that were roosting on the ground. In the big cage the hens always roosted up high and nothing was either brave enough or strong enough to get completely inside the cage I guess.

A solar fence charger would probably do the trick if things get worse.

Kevin

 

[Marveltone]

Very nice.

What would keep a fox or racoon from digging under it?

If you look closely, you'll notice the run has a 1" x 2" welded wire floor. The chickens can still eat and scratch, but nothing as big as a fox or raccoon can get in. I tried to cover all the bases I could think of.

Joe

 

[MossRoad]

If you look closely, you'll notice the run has a 1" x 2" welded wire floor. The chickens can still eat and scratch, but nothing as big as a fox or raccoon can get in. I tried to cover all the bases I could think of.

Joe

Thanks!