Can I see pics of broody tractors?

[kennedyscochins]

I am wanting to build a very small tractor to house a couple broodys. Just would like to see pics for examples. Thanks.

 

[shelleyd2008]

I don't have pics right now, though I can describe mine

I have some pens that are 3' wide by 8' long by 3' high. They are divided in half mid-way so that each side is 3'x4'. Each end has a 'door' and each side has a nest. I cover the top and sides of the pen with a tarp. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is the divider, I wish it was either solid or made from 1/2" wire...the little bantam chicks always go visiting the mama in the other pen for the first week or so, they can pop right through the chicken wire!

 

[kennedyscochins]

Quote:
This is about the same idea I had. Basically, a small house on each side where they can meet in the middle! I'm having trouble with my broody's stealing eggs from the non-broodies. I can't keep up with which are which. I keep meaning to take a pencil with me and mark them, but I forget.

 

[txhomegrown]

There are a lot of good ideas here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-tractor.html

 

[lorihadams]

I used the frames of a big crate that my husband got at work and covered half with plywood and half with hardwire cloth and put shingles on the plywood. I did it in a triangle shape, went together really quickly and my broody loved it. You could also use 2x2s to make it lightweight. We ran a 2x2 across the top to use as a handle for moving it if needed (we also put quail in it at one point and used it as an isolation pen) and attached the framed sides to it at a 45 degree angle. We put plywood on the back side but left it open on the other end for more sun. Here's a pic....

You could also do a small hoop house. Frame out a rectangle with 2x2s or 2x4s and then using long screws attach pvc pipe across the sides. Cover with hardware cloth and put a tarp on one end. We did this version with a taller roofline in the front for our broilers and just a tarp in the back side. This is way bigger than you would need but you could scale it down and either do it in a triangle like the front or use just the pvc like the back side.

Just remember that you really aren't going to move it much for a broody but you might want to make it moveable for later use as a breeding pen or isolation pen.

You could also use a dog crate with no bottom in it on grass like I did (under supervision) for my bunnies.

 

[elmo]

One tractor for multiple broodies? Careful with that. While they're all sitting on eggs it works, but when they come off the nest with their chicks, feathers will fly and blood may be drawn.

One of my broodies accidently got loose and mixed it up with another broody, and I got a nasty little bruise on my arm from breaking up their fight. It's nothing like pecking order battles, this was serious. They were going for each other's combs and they meant business.

I kept all of my broodies in separate pens until they told their chicks to get lost, then let each "cool down" by themselves for a couple of days before returning them to the flock. Those mamma hormones are strong stuff.

 

[Judy]

My thought was, make the tractor big enough to hold the chicks til they are full size, in case you need to keep them separated from the flock this long.

I've had mamas help each other raise chicks, and mamas that attacked each other. Maybe a tractor with two small coops as you pictured, but with an easy way to drop a partition down the middle if you need to.

 

[lorihadams]

The broody probably won't want to be moved. When we had a broody we put her in a big crate frame with a solid floor and roof (the short ends) and hardwire cloth on the sides and covered the back with a tarp. We also turned it on its side so the long side was on the ground for more room. You could also just build a frame from 2x2s in rectangle and cover it in chicken wire or hardwire cloth and cover the back half and sides with a tarp. Sounds ghetto but it worked until she hatched out the eggs and then we moved her and the babies into the big tractor we used for the meaties. If you have access to a big dog crate that would really work well as long as you have enough room for her to have a small bowl of water and food in there. Once she hatches out the babies you could always move her into bigger digs.

The main thing is this: think about how you will utilize any pen you build in the future. You could also build something that looks like a small rabbit hutch....my ducks live in my old rabbit hutch now and they love it. IF you put it together with screws then you could always dismantle it later and stack it flat when not in use. A hoop house is really easy to do that with. The pvc doesn't take up much space and is lightweight.

Our last "crate pen" we built has been used as a quail house, broody house, chick house, and a pen that we loaded up on a trailer with babies in it to take to a chicken swap for sale. Just make sure that you aren't building something that can't be used as anything else in the future. Especially if you are sinking a good chunk of money into it.

Here is my crate pen in different phases, and yes that is a light brahma hen that hatched out 13 indian runner ducklings.