Egg Cart'n chicken tractor?

[Felicitas]

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Would something like this fit your needs?

http://www.randallburkey.com/prodinfo.asp?number=10605

 

[PortageGirl]

WELL! That looks pretty interesting! Just have to get them from their coop to the pen, then back to the coop... HMMMMMMM!!! trying to imagine a flexible walkway like a airplane 'jetway' (or whatever they call those things at an airport gate) to get them into a 'transport trailer' sort of thing, then out of it and into the chicken coral!

It sure sounds like the airborn predators in your area are a HUGE risk for your girls sovia. From your discription, without keeping them contained on the trips back and forth, they'd scatter and become prey no doubt about it!

 

[patandchickens]

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In what way? It is not guaranteed they'd be any happier in a tractor. They'd have growing grass to scratch in, but less space, which is a real tradeoff... Have you tried cutting a bunch of green stuff and shovelsful of dirt and such and putting it all int he run for them to scratch in? That can be a pretty good compromise.

Ideally, I will have the chickens in their permanent coop at night (good protection against the mountain lions, wolves/coytoes, etc.) and in the tractor during the day when we are home. If anyone has seen a tractor that big that is still easily movable, I would really appreciate your input!

Ah! Ok, what you want is a Lee or Salatin style tractor like would normally be used for meat birds. Or a cattle panel hoop style one, ditto. As long as your ground is pretty good 'n' flat and not real lumpy, you can have a tractor of that design up to 10x12' -- it will not be super predator proof and it will NOT be winterizeable, but if you already have a fixed coop and run those aren't necessarily big problems.

If you built a big but lightweight tractor on GOOD wheels you could roll it up to the run, open doors, shoo chx into tractor, shut door, then wheel tractor to wherever they will spend the day. A few cinderblocks would help temporarily anchor it against winds.

Not feasible for winter months, but then, you have a coop

Just a thought, good luck,

Pat​

 

[red star11]

That looks way to small!!!.

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[TreeFever]

Yeah it does look tiny but I think the design is something very easy to do yourself

Just a little shed with the wheels and such. It would work nice for less birds though. I just cant see paying that much

If you're looking for a simple tractor to move them around in during the day, all you need is a big A-frame tractor that is really simple to build! Make it with a decent sized footprint and with part of it with a roof for some shelter. So long as they're going inside to a heavy duty coop at night, this would be a nice way to let them explore new grounds

 

[The Yakima Kid]

The egg cart'n has two separate levels, so it is technically a little under 48 square feet. I have just ordered one since we hope to be full time in Nevada where some of the local predators include mountain lions, coyotes, and bears. I also intend to put it inside a walk in run portable run. I will try and keep people posted on how it works for us. Realistically, I intend to use it more as a stationary but portable coop.

 

[ChicKat]

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Good for you! I have always thought that the egg cart'n incorporates some really good ideas. I think that one big difference is that some climates require the entire chickens per square foot measurements to be inside the coop, and other climates easily also incorporate the run, and so the calculations are coop & run. Will be looking forward to updates on how it works in your climate.

 

[ChicKat]

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Hi Sovia,

I think I know exactly what you mean. I wonder if my thought that the chickens need to be outside, is my projections on them, or their real need. And a change of scene is good for anyone/thing.

Maybe a pvc portable coop would be of interest to you. The top is enclosed.
http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pastured-poultry-pen.htm

I think I priced this out at just over 100.00 material excluding the chicken wire or bird netting to keep them inside. It would be a playpen. But there are variables, such as the thickness of pipe walls that would vary the cost. I also think had I built one of these, I would have put some kind of nestbox inside, and made another access door.... so if while they were in their play pen, it was laying time, they could have a place to lay.

There are some parts -- like a 5-way connector, that I did not see at the local big-box store. so it would probably take some forethought and ordering the specialized connectors.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

It has two levels to be sure which would make it about 48 sq ft, but the birds are not going to evenly distribute themselves over that space. Most of the time they are all going to be wanting to be on the bottom level where the grass is.

I looked over their site and read their specs and if it were me I'd put no more than six hens in the thing and likely no more than five. Their Yolks Wagon model is somewhat cheaper for not a lot less functionality so that's the one I'd go with if I were in the market for such a thing.

The one change I would make is to put some ground apron wire all the way around it which would improve it's predator resistance a lot.

I have seven poultry tractors at the moment and need to build at least two more. Most of them are of the hoop style made with cattle panels using 4x4s as the skids. They are heavy, but can hold up to fifteen large fowl birds without the necessity of letting them out often. Weather permitting I move them every day. They don't have wheels so it takes a grown man and an hand truck to get the job done. Wheels would make them easier to get going so that a smaller person could do it. They've proven themselves storm resistant though I have yet to try them in tropical storm or hurricane. For that I'd use some ground anchors and rope to secure them. Gale force wind or less and they are OK.

The ground apron wire makes them pretty predator resistant. I built the first one over four years ago and the only predator losses I've ever had inside one of my tractors is when the ground apron wire grew old and developed holes that I did not repair fast enough.

But as another poster noted they cannot be made pretty. They are what they are so if aesthetics matters to you in such things then you'll need to look elsewhere.

 

[res]

I hate to bring an old thread to life... but I have the Egg Cart'n and wanted to post my experiences with it so far. It is extremely sturdy and well built. Very, very predator proof. It looks heavy, and it probably is, but even my tiny 60lb daughter can move it around. It takes zero strength the engage the wheel and pull it to where it is needed. I currently have 5 hens in it, and it gets moved 2x a day around our 5 acres. Takes at most, 30 seconds to move it. It has panels that can be put in to 100% enclose it for cold/windy weather. It is so easy to move that it can be wheeled into a garage, shed, or barn as needed to keep the hens warm. I think it is an extremely good choice for someone who wants to keep a few hens, and wants a simple-to-move tractor that will not be visually offensive to the neighbors.