Keeping chickens is an incredibly rewarding hobby for the suburban homesteader. Learn why a mobile chicken tractor is better than a coop and see if this chicken housing is ideal for your homestead.
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What Is A Chicken Tractor?
Also known as a chicken ark in the UK, the chicken tractor is a mobile chicken coop with a run attached. It is used to pasture raise birds for meat and/or eggs and allows the birds to peck all the grassy goodness they want. A chicken tractor
Some chicken tractor
You can make a chicken tractor or buy an easy to clean plastic chicken tractor and although that sounds a little crazy, having a coop which you can clean out in under 30 minutes with a hose makes owning chickens sooooo much easier when you are working full time and working on a backyard homestead!
Why Use A Mobile Chicken Tractor?
Aside from the fancy, modern easy to clean chicken coops
- More Hygienic
If you have chickens already then you probably know that chickens are messy. If you don’t have chickens already then let me tell you now that they are poo MACHINES. Keeping chickens in one area means a build up of poop which leads to bad smells and flies. Poop build up and flies is a common problem for coops which remain in one area and is why they need regular deep cleaning. A chicken tractor means that you can move your flock around your yard and keep them contained and safe from predators. - Lower Feeding Costs
With all that grassy goodness, bugs, seeds and everything else in the grass your flock will have lower feeding costs because they will be foraging in their enclosed run area of the chicken tractor. When you move the chicken tractor you are providing your flock with new ground to forage and feed on. - Protect Your Crops
An enclosed movable coop means that your chickens can forage without fear of them destroying your vegetable garden or the herb garden or the flower beds….Chickens free ranging will get into anything and everything you don’t want them to be in. At the end of the growing season you can of course move your chicken ark onto the garden bed to let the chickens much any bugs trying to overwinter and any other left over vegetation. - Cheaper Coop Costs
Chicken arks are waaaaaaay cheaper to build than a traditional non-movable coop. If money is tight there are plenty of plans for low cost chicken tractors. Since chicken tractors are meant to be moved daily, there is no need for bedding or very little bedding helping to make your budget stretch further. - Garden Maintenance
A flock of chickens will happily scratch and till the ground as part of natural, normal behavior. Their scratching can help till your garden bed if they are moved onto the area and their manure also helps to fertilize the ground and replace nutrients lost in the soil. On the backyard lawn, as long as the birds are moved daily, then they won’t dig up and destroy your lawn like chickens do in a normal coop. - Break Boredom
Bored chickens become bullies. When we allowed our birds to have time in the extended run, the feather pecking and cannibal problems stopped. If chickens are cooped up they will start fighting and pecking at each other. A chicken tractor which is being moved around yard provides some mental stimulation and a change of scenery. The fresh ground encourages scratching and foraging behavior so they are less likely to be fighting with each other.
Building A Chicken Tractor
Here are some great resources to help you build your own chicken tractor if you are handy at woodworking:
How To Build A Chicken Tractor via A Home Made From Scratch
$30 Chicken Tractor via Lumnah Acres
Cattle Panel Chicken Tractor via Longbourn Farm
Electrical Conduit Coop via The Owner Builder Network
$100 A Frame Coop via Ana White
Meat Chickens Tractor via Weed Em and Reap
DIY Pull Chicken Tractor via Abundant Permaculture
Easy Chicken Tractor via Flip Flop Barnyard
Disadvantages Of Chicken Tractors
There are some disadvantages to mobile chicken coops and like many things on a homestead, you need to weigh up what will work for you.
- Chicken tractors can be more of a seasonal chicken rearing coop if you live somewhere very cold. Many people feel that this type of coop can be difficult to insulate which is true if you are building more of a portable run without any night shelter or the shelter has a screen or mesh floor meaning that the cold air comes in. Building a solid shelter area can help keep your flock warm.
- Predators might be able to get into this coop design. I’m sure bears can get into anything they really want to get in. However, smaller predators can be deterred by using sturdy latches and the right building materials.. Be sure to use hardware cloth and create a flat skirt to reduce burrowing around the run.
- Escaping chickens can happen as you move the chicken tractor. Move them at night and provide your flock with a night-time sheltered roost to avoid this problem.
- Your birds could be moved over an area where poisonous plants are growing. Chickens will peck and eat anything. To avoid accidentally poisoning your chickens, check the ground where you will be moving your chickens to and avoid areas with any toxic or poisonous plants.
Do you keep your birds in a mobile chicken coop? What’s stopping you from raising chickens in a chicken tractor? Let me know in the comments!
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