Chicken tractor, roosters only?

[Salixx]

I have a rather high ratio of boys to girls. I know I have 4 boys in my older birds (16 total) and am nearly certain that two of my three black silkies are boys.

I adore some of my boys a little too much to consider rehoming or eating them. They are also bantams - the two silkies and an OEG so there wouldn’t be much there to begin with. I also suspect that at least two of my five younger silkies are boys but they are only 4.5 weeks old.

I also have a Phoenix cockerel who is becoming a problem - aggressive with the girls and has been mildly aggressive with me. He will eventually be food but is significantly smaller than his brothers and I’d like to try to grow him out a bit before he’s culled - but spare the girls his attitude.


Has anyone done a chicken tractor bachelor pad? Is there anything special I need to consider?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hannahnic14]

We started our bachelor pad this week! I have 4-5 roosters that I want to grow out to sell or keep! Here is a pic of our set up! Our first chicken tractor made with no plans so it needs some tweaks but overall we love it! And yes, the door is too tall

 

[Salixx]

Do you have a separate coop for them at night? Or are you building that in too? I know a fox lives in there area, there are sometimes loose dogs, neighbor’s cats and plenty of other critters that I’m certain would love a silkie smooth snack. Mine will also need protection from the cold in the winter… it’s 90 out today but in a couple months the ground will probably be frozen

 

[Hannahnic14]

Do you have a separate coop for them at night? Or are you building that in too? I know a fox lives in there area, there are sometimes loose dogs, neighbor’s cats and plenty of other critters that I’m certain would love a silkie smooth snack. Mine will also need protection from the cold in the winter… it’s 90 out today but in a couple months the ground will probably be frozen

I'm going to winterize it for sure, probably cover the bottom with some plastic for drafts and pine shavings/hay on the floor. We have a livestock guardian dog that sleeps outside the chicken tractor so we don't really have to worry about predators. I'm no help there!

 

[Alaskan]

I have a rather high ratio of boys to girls. I know I have 4 boys in my older birds (16 total) and am nearly certain that two of my three black silkies are boys.

I adore some of my boys a little too much to consider rehoming or eating them. They are also bantams - the two silkies and an OEG so there wouldn’t be much there to begin with. I also suspect that at least two of my five younger silkies are boys but they are only 4.5 weeks old.

I also have a Phoenix cockerel who is becoming a problem - aggressive with the girls and has been mildly aggressive with me. He will eventually be food but is significantly smaller than his brothers and I’d like to try to grow him out a bit before he’s culled - but spare the girls his attitude.


Has anyone done a chicken tractor bachelor pad? Is there anything special I need to consider?

Thanks in advance!

For a bunch of males, especially if some are aggressive and some are submissive, you need SPACE.

I often have too many males come fall, and I toss them in my fenced, with net over the top, vegetable garden. By the time I put males in there the vegetation is tall, so easy to hide in, and lots of space. Because of the huge amount of space I never have problems.

But then I eat or sell them before snow becomes an issue.

In a snowy climate, especially where bullying is a potential issue, you need HEAPS of snow free space.

A cost effective choice is a hoop coop. If you look on the coop pages there are lots of examples.

I know people in Alaska that use hoop coops. Tarp the entire area, and they leave the front fully open to half open depending on how cold it gets. Fully open (well... hardware cloth) front down to about -10F or -20F, then only half of the front open (But NEVER close it all the way,ventilation is important).

At least 10 square feet per bird of snow free space.. you might need more if there is bullying.

 

[Salixx]

For a bunch of males, especially if some are aggressive and some are submissive, you need SPACE.

I often have too many males come fall, and I toss them in my fenced, with net over the top, vegetable garden. By the time I put males in there the vegetation is tall, so easy to hide in, and lots of space. Because of the huge amount of space I never have problems.

But then I eat or sell them before snow becomes an issue.

In a snowy climate, especially where bullying is a potential issue, you need HEAPS of snow free space.

A cost effective choice is a hoop coop. If you look on the coop pages there are lots of examples.

I know people in Alaska that use hoop coops. Tarp the entire area, and they leave the front fully open to half open depending on how cold it gets. Fully open (well... hardware cloth) front down to about -10F or -20F, then only half of the front open (But NEVER close it all the way,ventilation is important).

At least 10 square feet per bird of snow free space.. you might need more if there is bullying.

Thanks for the info! The bully will be a short term resident whatever happens since he started showing aggression towards me quite young - 6-7 weeks. I tolerated him with the others because, well, he’s a chicken and I don’t have kids so the risk was low. He was still going to be Dinner (that’s his name…). But now that he is becoming a bully to the girls - especially my two sweet Dutch bantams, I worry it will only get worse. His two brothers keep him mostly in check but sometimes they are on the other side of the run.

The other older chicks right now are well behaved but they are still young (13ish weeks). My Velcro silkie Floof is the “worst” behaviorally with the others and it’s only mild pecking when he thinks he should get all the mealworms. Nobody gets hurt and he doesn’t chase. The OEG and other (potentially) male silkie are very shy/quiet. I do know this could change if removed from the current flock as the two larger 15 week Phoenix cockerels are clearly in charge. At least they are both good boys and seem like they will make good roos.

I’ll check out the hoop style you mentioned - if nothing else, I’m intrigued.

I was thinking the tractor might work since the boys I want to keep are all bantams and I’ve read they don’t need as much run space but I also realize this may be referring to hens.

 

[Chickeria]

Great thread - I'm following!
I'm also building a bachelor pad in tractor style for my bantam silkie boys (actually 5 boys, still waiting for some possible surprises, they are 4 months old now), I plan to have one or two boys with the girls and the others in the bachelor pad. I got the possibility to purchase a wonderfully self-build little wood wagon (originally used on carnival parades) that I will rebuild as their coop and because it is on wheels I want the run to be a tractor. I plan to build the run in that triangle shape, with two wheels on one short side so it can be lifted and wheeled to a new place. The boys will have supervised free range time, too.

 

[Alaskan]

Tractors in general have less than ideal space, but can be effective since they are moved often and the fresh grass is a good distraction.

I use tractors for breeding sets and for the raising of chicks.

However, the distraction of fresh grass is not enough for a flock of males.

They need space to avoid each other and hide from each other.

Hoop coops are an exception in that they can be pretty large and still be movable.