Chicken Tractor / Raised Bed Garden

RHewitt

Songster
13 Years
Jul 3, 2008
445
4
216
Florence. South Carolina
Saw the idea of using chickens to till and fertilize raised beds in the off season in a magazine and started construction. The tractor sits on top of a bed that is 3 ft by 8 ft made of 2 by 10's. I filled it with top soil and will let a trio from my flock do what chickens do best, stratch, eat bugs, weed seeds, grass roots, ect. Of corse as they eat they leave fertile deposits. I will make several more beds so after a few weeks I can move the chickens to a new spot and throw a little lime in the old bed. When I plant in the spring the tractor can simple be placed on new ground to fertilze the yard as the chickens eat grass and bugs through out the spring summer and fall. It is a little heavy for one person to move so I will add some wheels and a couple handles so I can push it like a wheel barrow. Doubles as a great breeding pen or a grow out coop for some 8 week old chicks. I can also see a Broody hen using this as she teaches her chicks how to find the good stuff.

ChickenTractor2010Completed.jpg


A few construction photo's to follow:

ChickenTractor2010Stage1.jpg


ChickenTractorStage2.jpg


A staple idea I saw as well: Use bottled caps and dry wall screws. Much stronger than regular staples and collecting the caps is the fun part.

ChickenTractorBottleCapStaples.jpg
 

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