chicken tractor

[daytime dave]

My step son got more meat birds than he needed. I made a chicken tractor to keep the overflow we were given. It came out pretty good.

[Hatchdog]

My step son got more meat birds than he needed. I made a chicken tractor to keep the overflow we were given. It came out pretty good.

Very nice. I’ve seen the portable coops before but didn’t know the term “chicken tractor”. I like it!

[BrokenolMarine]

Very nice result. We have built the new coop here in Oklahoma, and are working on the gates and doors now to finish it off. Tina has had a number of chicken tractors over the years, from simple to fancy. She designed them and I built them They are great. For those who don't know, they are called "Tractors" because you can move them from place to place and the birds clean up the bugs in the yard and "fertilize" the area you park them in. When we left VA she sold off the tractors she had left.

She has been looking at designs so she can separate the few birds she doesn't want in the main coop, and has to decide if it's worth the expense and effort, or just sell off those birds...

[Sir Henry]

Thanks for the explanation. I was going to ask for a friend.

[CT_Shooter]

I built this chicken tractor in 2014 just before my wife became ill. Before she got too sick to help, we would move it every morning to a different location so they could feed on the bugs and fertilize the lawn. After she passed, I gave it away.

I bought the building plans from Catawba ConvertiCoops.

http://catawbacoops.com/

Chickens.jpg (113.96 KiB) Viewed 6807 times

[BrokenolMarine]

Tina's Chicken Tractor is nearly done, we just have to cut and attach the metal roof panel to the upper coop area. Then she can paint the siding on the coop area and spray thompsons on the areas that aren't salt treated. The tractor will be ready for the few birds that will be isolated from the new main coop. It's Tina's design, slightly modified from her previous tractors. I just made sure the difficult parts went together and made the dado cuts and the like. She did a lot of the work herself. (Farm Wife.)

nearly done.jpg (440.05 KiB) Viewed 6661 times

[BigAl52]

Some guy sang a song about tractors being sexy. This one looks to fit that well

[Travlin]

Very nice job and design. One ? It looks a little heavy to move, No wheels?

[JEBar]

Thanks for the explanation. I was going to ask for a friend.

agree

[BrokenolMarine]

Very nice job and design. One ? It looks a little heavy to move, No wheels?

If you look at the one end, the 2x6s have rolled ends, and the holes have a steel pipe passing through them forming a crossbar. Tina will just loop the tow strap around that pipe and hook it to the Ranger and drag it forward six or eight feet. The 2x6s will act like skis, sliding across the grass. She was able to slide it into position to paint without the Ranger.

[Travlin]

Got it thanks. I thought that maybe you had a treadmill inside for the chickens to walk on for a slow progress. LOL

[BrokenolMarine]

Tina got the painting done, hung the water and feed buckets and we hooked her up and towed her to the first spot. The tractor now has chickens in it.


Hooked up to tow:

07 hooked up.jpg (478.73 KiB) Viewed 7681 times

Towed to location:

09 towed.jpg (466.72 KiB) Viewed 7681 times

Ready for occupation:

10 ready to occupy.jpg (465.9 KiB) Viewed 7681 times

[BrokenolMarine]

That isn't paint on the wire... some kind of reflection from the lens on the camera I guess.

[Shakey Jake]

Ingenious. I've never heard of a "chicken tractor" before and I grew up in a rural area. We raised cows though.
Jake

[daytime dave]

The chickens had an interesting day yesterday. They took thier first and last vehicle ride, to the processor. The place we drove to was interesting. They processed our forty chickens in less than an hour. We had breakfast and came back to cooled and processed birds. The freezers are full now.

[BrokenolMarine]

Wow... I didn't know you could do that with chickens... Cool.

[Travlin]

Sounds like what happened to Rock Ridge in Blazing Saddles. " Why we'll make Rock Ridge think it's a chicken that got caught up in ".