Where are the plans for the chicken tractor?

[ChristianMengele]

Was looking for the pdf you mention on the video. Thanks.

I currently own 4 Rhode Island reds and 4 Plymouth Rock, all hens. I didn't think about Bantams because I was looking for a source of meat as well and figured Bantams were too small. I didn't know about the lawn thing either. Great info! Thanks for the videos.

[gardengirl72]

Thanks for asking. I have never actually made them! Sorry. I have detailed instructions on my pets page though. Sorry about that. Let me know if you need further advise.

http://www.gardengirltv.com/pets_small_livestock_raising_chickens_rabbits_goat s.html

Patti

[ChristianMengele]

Thanks for the reply. I'll be building one soon since my chicks are already growing too much for their 24x24x24 wire cage. I would love to let them go free range but they like to go under the porch and make a mess. ;-)

Just as an aside, I have a row of cherry tomatoes by my fence and I'm thinking of building my rabbit hutch over that. They say rabbit droppings fertilise without aging. Thoughts, anyone?

[gardengirl72]

Christian,

First of all great choice in Rhode Island Red Birds. They do really well in tractors.

Rabbit poo is completely fine right out the bunny. I use it all over the place. Chicken poo needs a lot of carbon to keep it stable, but is general fine if tilled into soil.

Sen me a pic of the chicks. I love em when they're young.

P

[ChristianMengele]

Sen me a pic of the chicks. I love em when they're young.


Hey there, I bought wood today to get started. My car can't carry a lot, so I just bought half of what I needed. I'll get more wood on monday and start on the raised bed, then the tractor. I didn't expect the hardware cloth to be as expensive as it is. I think I'll substitute with "poultry wire", which is half the price.

I got a new chick today, it's not a RIR, it's something else. I just thought she was so cute. We named her Beep-Beep. ;-)

http://www.christianmengele.com/Images/beep.jpg

Here are my Rhode Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks and Beep-Beep.

http://www.christianmengele.com/Images/chicks.jpg

Can't wait to get started!

C

[gardengirl72]

Oh how I just love them at that age. They are just perfect. Thank you so much for sharing them.

[AbbeyLehman]

VERY cute!! We had a couple visitors earlier this summer...I believe a neighbor keeps them, as we hear the roosters all the time! :p

http://www.gardengirltv.com/messageboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=2&stc=1&d=1220865570

http://www.gardengirltv.com/messageboard/attachment.php?attachmentid=3&stc=1&d=1220865570

[Golem in the Gears]

awwwwww... can I share?

[gardengirl72]

Nice Golem. What a great looking Ark and brooder set up.

[ChristianMengele]

I had some issues which prevented me from working on the tractor this week, so I moved the chickens to my rabbit hutch. Now I'm thinking that might not have been the best of ideas because when then move to the tractor and I finally put the rabbits in the hutch should I be worried about the rabbits catching some disease from the chickens??

I'll post some pics eventually of the hutch I built. Essentially I lacked the materials for the tractor but had enough for the hutch so I went ahead and did that instead. Silly me...

[gardengirl72]

Well, you will probably have to wash it out real well with soap and water and let it dry out really well in the sun before you put the rabbits back in there.

It will be fine, rabbits can get sick going behind chickens.

[RogueAPBT]

Patti, do you have a link to more specifics on that? I believe you, just never heard of that. We've actually kept chickens and rabbits together many times over the years, with no sickness on either animals' part, so I'm just curious what it is that can happen to the rabbits.

Cheryl

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

No problem putting your chickens where bunnies have been...
There are no interspecies issues between rabbits and poultry that I am aware of?

You also mentioned that you have selected chicken wire over cage wire, as the cage wire was too expensive. I have some thoughts about that.

Chicken wire, though cheaper, is light weight and short lived comparitively. Also, chicken wire, being so thin, can at times injure young birds if they are unfortunate enough to get caught in it. There are also several grades of chicken/poultry wire to check out.

I choose the cage wire for several reasons:

It's strong enough to support drinkers which hang on the sides.
It is long lasting and can actually be used to build a small cage (without wood supports)
Some cage wire has 1x2" openings, this allows you to put 1x2 wood through these openings for handy perches. (1x2 wood is actually .75 x 1.5" so it goes right in handily).

This is a wonderful new forum Patti has going and I'm glad to participate... how I do love caring for poultry!

[Backyard Permaculture]

Patty

ReRead Joel Salatin's Pastured Poultry Profits. He overwinters his rabbits inside his chicken pen in wire cages suspended above the floor. That way the rabbit droppings and wasted food fall to the floor where the chickens can scratch through it. And, unless the rabbit cages are screwed to the ceiling of the henhouse, and I think it not likely, you can bet the chickens get up on top of the rabbit cages.

In his books, he points out that running different species over the same ground benefits both species. For example, he runs his cattle ahead of his chickens, and any intestinal parasite eggs that might leave the hind end of the cattle will be eaten up by the chickens when they come along behind them. Most parasites and many diseases are species specific.

Chickens and rabbits are such different species, I doubt that there is much risk of sharing disease.

Ron

[Backyard Permaculture]

OK all you chicken tractor fanatics. I have my own version of the chicken tractor. You can go to my albums and see the old version that I used to use and the newer, bigger, lighter weight version I am now building.

Since I am over 6' tall and like to be able to walk into the pen to care for my birds, I make my pens taller than those that Patti makes, basically roofless, easy to disassemble and reassemble, even around a tree in it's path as I move it around to give the birds fresh pasture daily.

Anywho, without further ado, I will post 1 picture here and you can go to my page to view more if you wish.

http://www.gardengirltv.com/messageboard/picture.php?albumid=16&pictureid=65

Happy chickenkeeping

Ron

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

What do you do to keep out flying predators?

How does your chicken tractor roll? I see that the panels come apart at the corners... probably great for storage.

Where do the birds roost? Where do they go when it rains?

Thank you for sharing your innovation! I'm with you on the height issue.

Here is a video of another, much smaller chicken tractor solution:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qzMZ5U2bbo

This version rolls easily and in winter, you can roll it right into a garage or barn, or use it to raise peeps! You can also set birds aside for breeding, using tractors like this one.

[gardengirl72]

I did it Ron, but it does need some kind of roof. Wire, and then maybe a tarp for sun and rain? I do think a tall one is super cool. If you could hand some roosts in there it would be very entertaining!

[Fred's Fine Fowl]

Just thought I'd toss my two cents in on the roosts...

Chickens really seem to enjoy roosts that swing, I call it the tree branch in the wind sensation. So, I always hang a few roosts by chain or line so they can balance.