60 chickens, two chicken tractors, one acre: Will their waste help or hinder forage growth?

[aart]

I tractored a small batch of Cornish-Rocks over the winter (FL winter, folks!) in a smallish tractor. First, they spent the first three weeks in a brooder, then a small pen for a week, then the tractor. When the birds were small, we only moved the tractor every other day. Only when they got bigger did we need to move it every day. I would move it half the length in the morning, then the other half the length in the late afternoon. This seemed to keep them from laying around ... a bit of an accomplishment with CRs. There was just one downside when the last pullet decided to do a "Logan's Run" and had the stamina to lead us on a merry chase around the front of the property.

How many birds in how big of a tractor?

 

[dfr1973]

How many birds in how big of a tractor?

Eight CRs in a tractor of PVC pipe and wire measuring approx 2.5 ft by 2 ft by 8 ft with a "funky roost" on one end due to a measuring error.

This was taken in mid-December.

 

[centrarchid]

Early in the production cycle the birds will consume little of the plants and depending on their ration, they may not consume much later. The forages will be impacted more by trampling and foraging / scratching. You will see a flush of growth after tractor moved off but plants responding positively may not be the best for the next past. Depending on soil type, it may be prudent to lime soil after tractor moved off at patch.


I see with my setup that plant recovery varies greatly as a function of season, soil type, weather and even slope. Next round I will seed behind tractors. A restricted ration promotes more feeding attention on plant community but slows growth of birds.

 

[nayeli]

That sounds good, other than the sq ft per chicken. It should help your soil while providing free food for the chickens! You will also get the benefit of less pests (fleas, ticks, etc).

 

[aart]

I would think that the vegetation/soil would suffer as much from the high nitrogen poops as it would from scratching with that population density.

 

[dfr1973]

I would think that the vegetation/soil would suffer as much from the high nitrogen poops as it would from scratching with that population density.

It likely varies with what you start with ... I have ashtray sand for soil, and the native grasses and low ground vegetation (sometimes called "weeds") seem to thrive on the abuse. If your soil and groundcover are already good, then it may be step backwards.

 

[CrazyTalk]

30 chickens in a 6x10 pen 24/7?
That's gonna be crowded......
...or do you plan on free ranging them during the days?

30 birds in a 6x10 pen is way more space than most meat birds are allowed. That's 2 sqft per bird - most are kept under 1 sqft per bird. 8x8 tractors with 50 Cornish Cross aren't uncommon.

 

[aart]

Quote: I'm sure that's true....it's only my opinion that just because it can be or is done, doesn't mean it's healthy for the birds or the soil.

 

[alldembirds]

i think the question was about forage growth and the animals waste...

 

[CrazyTalk]

I'm sure that's true....it's only my opinion that just because it can be or is done, doesn't mean it's healthy for the birds or the soil.

Do you have evidence that it's not? We're talking short term, immature birds here - most of the space recommendations given on this forum are given for very small numbers of adult birds. Space per bird does not scale linearly at all. 100 birds in 200 sqft are going to have way more space to move around than 2 birds in 8 sqft.


As to forage growth and animal waste - there's no way for us to tell - the amount of time is going to vary greatly based on his soil conditions, weather conditions, and what type of grass hes growing, and there's no way we can predict it via the internet. He's going to have to watch and do the work. This is like asking "how many acres does a cow need" - it depends on a ton of specific things.