Does anyone move chickens to tractors during day, back to coop at night?

[WingItRanch]

So... I'm going to be the odd one out here..

I do this exactly thing. I have a nice large coop and run that's predator proof. We have all sorts of critters in my unfenced partially wooded acreage (bobcats, hawks, foxes, coyotes, etc) so I do not free range.

A friend gave me small chicken run wrapped in hardware cloth with a little house on top that I've turned into a mobile tractor. I added wheels and handles for moving. I park it at the run door, open both doors carefully so no one escapes, and the chickens file in one by one. They're so excited because they love grass. I don't do it every day but when I have time. It's their little field trips! I move it around the property so they can scratch in new areas. The funniest part is when I move it. They understand now which direction I'm going and they jog to keep in the front.

I mostly keep the ramp to the little house pinned up but if they're in there for more than an hour, I put straw down and that acts as their laying box.

It's not a ton of room like my run and coop but it works nicely for short field trips.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So... I'm going to be the odd one out here..

I do this exactly thing. I have a nice large coop and run that's predator proof. We have all sorts of critters in my unfenced partially wooded acreage (bobcats, hawks, foxes, coyotes, etc) so I do not free range.

A friend gave me small chicken run wrapped in hardware cloth with a little house on top that I've turned into a mobile tractor. I added wheels and handles for moving. I park it at the run door, open both doors carefully so no one escapes, and the chickens file in one by one. They're so excited because they love grass. I don't do it every day but when I have time. It's their little field trips! I move it around the property so they can scratch in new areas. The funniest part is when I move it. They understand now which direction I'm going and they jog to keep in the front.

I mostly keep the ramp to the little house pinned up but if they're in there for more than an hour, I put straw down and that acts as their laying box.

It's not a ton of room like my run and coop but it works nicely for short field trips.

But you don't let them out of the tractor to free range in the pasture, then load them back up in the tractor at the end of the day and drive them back home, right? This is what I understood OP was wanting to do. Maybe I misunderstood.

 

[WingItRanch]

But you don't let them out of the tractor to free range in the pasture, then load them back up in the tractor at the end of the day and drive them back home, right? This is what I understood OP was wanting to do. Maybe I misunderstood.

No, that would be absolute chaos! Maybe I misunderstood but I read the OP was saying they would keep them in the tractor so they could graze in the pasture but not free range.

Mine stay in the tractor to forage and then I walk it back and park it at the run again and they all file back into their main enclosure. It's actually surprisingly organized!

 

[Shadrach]

If one can't free range for whatever reasons I think chicken tractors are a great compromise. It's building the right tractor that's important. Most I've seen are on the small side and would need moving more than would be convenient.
We had large tractors on a free range farm I worked at for new chicks for a while. The grown ups did free range. One problem we found is to be secure from say a large dog attacke they needed to be heavy and that meant moving them with a tractor; probably not something for a small back yard then.
Like many of these things, done right and they're far better than having the chickens confined to a run which is undoubtably bare of anything green and edible nothing really to encourage the chickens to forage/scratch which they need to do to keep fit. It's not just about the food, it's equally about the exercise.

We used to herd the chickens to and from the tractors with two long canes, one in each hand. It wasn't ideal but with practice we and the chicks got the idea. Later when we moved to broody hatched and reared chicks, once one got mum moving in the right direction the chicks would follow. A few days of slight frustration and everybody except that one. There is always that one , got the idea.

 

[WingItRanch]

Good point by @Shadrach . I will say that while my tractor is sturdy and would hold against predators... it is heavy and requires some strength to move it around. I'd like it bigger but then I wouldn't be able to move it.

 

[Shadrach]

I thought this an interesting blog. He's farming essentially and knowing whether one is farming or keeping a few pets for eggs and enjoyment is important to be quite clear on. As farming methods go he found a lot going for a tractor system. Have read. See what you think.

https://richsoil.com/raising-chickens.jsp

 

[thistlewick]

In my research of the animal husbandry of keeping chickens, I was trying to figure out in rotational grazing, how *many* chickens you need to really do proper coverage of just an acre of pasture (I have 7 acres of fenced, 3 acres of hay, and 8 acres of woods, 24 in all, the rest are just frontage and house and shed etc)

Someone else has done the due diligence of figuring out the ideal # of chickens for pasturage -- where they do their 'job' of clearing bugs, clipping grass and spreading manure...

50 per acre. Anything more than that then you get bare ground and too much chicken poop that destroys the ground chemistry.

So for me, that's... untenable. I had to change what I wanted to do with my chickens from the ground up.

 

[FNF]

No, that would be absolute chaos! Maybe I misunderstood but I read the OP was saying they would keep them in the tractor so they could graze in the pasture but not free range.

Mine stay in the tractor to forage and then I walk it back and park it at the run again and they all file back into their main enclosure. It's actually surprisingly organized!

Exactly this - nice to see someone does it successfully. I would not let them free range out there, they'd be confined to an enclosed tractor to be safe from hawks, etc, but moved periodically to graze on goodies and bugs, then brought back to the coop/run in the afternoon. Still not sure I'll do it but I'm happy it's worked for you!

 

[paintedChix]

I thought this an interesting blog. He's farming essentially and knowing whether one is farming or keeping a few pets for eggs and enjoyment is important to be quite clear on. As farming methods go he found a lot going for a tractor system. Have read. See what you think.

https://richsoil.com/raising-chickens.jsp

Thank you for that link! What a lot of studying & learning w/ all the additional links.

 

[paintedChix]

In my research of the animal husbandry of keeping chickens, I was trying to figure out in rotational grazing, how *many* chickens you need to really do proper coverage of just an acre of pasture (I have 7 acres of fenced, 3 acres of hay, and 8 acres of woods, 24 in all, the rest are just frontage and house and shed etc)

Someone else has done the due diligence of figuring out the ideal # of chickens for pasturage -- where they do their 'job' of clearing bugs, clipping grass and spreading manure...

50 per acre. Anything more than that then you get bare ground and too much chicken poop that destroys the ground chemistry.

So for me, that's... untenable. I had to change what I wanted to do with my chickens from the ground up.

And again THANX for the link. Another link to read, digest & learn from. I have one of is books & .... think I've seen him on YouTube (if not his own, then some other permaculturist..).