Getting chickens from coop to tractor?

[giantsridge]

We already have a nice coop and a run for 12 chickens, but would like to build a tractor so that we can move them around the yard for access to fresh territory. I have looked at the PVC tractor design (www.pvcplans.com) that others have suggested here, and like it a lot. However, I don't understand if it is intended for daytime only housing (in which case the chickens must travel back and forth from main coop) or permanent housing? If they are to spend the night in the main coop, how the heck do you get 12 chickens into the tractor every morning?!?
Ideally, I would prefer to keep them in the tractor in the summer, but I don't see any provisions for roosting or nesting in the PVC tractors others have built. Furthermore, I worry that it is not secure enough from predators...

Any thoughts appreciated!
Shawn

 

[furbabymum]

Subbing because I've been wondering this same thing. I see myself out there every morning chasing chickens and throwing them into the chicken tractor. Yikes!

 

[Tigertrea]

Ditto! LOL. I am looking at having a day-time run/tractor for them but, have been wondering how/if it would work.

 

[lclough1998]

I have been wondering the same thing. I made a tractor out of some fencing and I have only used it on odd occasion for cleaning out cages, holding chickens for someone, etc. I made a roost in it, covered it with 2 X 4 welded wire, covered half of it with tarp. Have not left any chicken in there over night and find I don't use it because I don't have time to try to catch and move chickens a couple times a day. I saw on CL the Original Chicken Man out here in the northwest attaches the 2 foot hardware cloth around the outside bottom, because nasty critters cant dig through it and are not dumb/smart enough to move 2 feet out and start digging. If I do this then I think if I use some sort of a ring to attach it I could fold it up and attach it to the body of the cage to move it around to greener areas.

The older chickens I put in there seemed very concerned, didnt lay any eggs, didnt settle down and eat much of anything while they were in there, I had to catch them to put them in, catch them to take them out.....

My small 6 week old buttercups went right through the fence so I have wrapped it with that cheap mesh to keep them in when I cleaned out their brooder but now I have moved them outside so the cage is just sitting in my front yard looking junky

Curious to see the responses you get...

 

[MontanaMomma]

I have a little tractor for day time use that I put at most two hens in. I go to the coop first thing in the morning, open the door up, grab two hens before they know what hit them, put them under my arms, walk across the yard and toss them in the tractor. I can see the problem with 12...

 

[Loghousemom]

Ive been putting mine out in a tractor each day. I just go on in and snag the girls and plop them on into the tractor. At the end of the day I put them away to roost.

For me this is a temporary way to get them outside until their actual run is completed. I don't know what the tractor you are thinking about looks like, but the one I built is about 5x5. I put their food and water put each morning with them and bring the whole works in at night then move it to a new location for the next day. My birds are only about 7 weeks old so they are small and easily handled. I don't trust my building skills to keep them in it overnight with the raccoons and things around, I just really wanted the chicks to be outside with us when we are working the fields and this works for us.

 

[giantsridge]

Well, I'm not getting any suggestions on my question so perhaps it is not a feasible idea. My other thought was to enclose a very large area for them to free range in, but I suspect this would be difficult to keep predators out and keep chickens in. Our existing run is about 8x16 and the girls picked that clean in no time, so I'm considered that the same thing will happen no matter how large I build a fixed run...would be curious what others are experiencing/doing with their runs.
It just seems like the portable tractor would be the ideal way to go if I could solve the issue of getting them in/out.

 

[Fam project]

If you just want fresh greens, perhaps you could build a couple of the "salad bars" inside their current run. You could perhaps make two and stagger them a week apart. Then you could rotate which one you have open, letting the other grow fresh greens. I saw a picture of it with the salad mix on my pet chicken and m thinking about doing it myself. Totally off topic, but perhaps another option.

 

[furbabymum]

Well, I'm not getting any suggestions on my question so perhaps it is not a feasible idea. My other thought was to enclose a very large area for them to free range in, but I suspect this would be difficult to keep predators out and keep chickens in. Our existing run is about 8x16 and the girls picked that clean in no time, so I'm considered that the same thing will happen no matter how large I build a fixed run...would be curious what others are experiencing/doing with their runs.
It just seems like the portable tractor would be the ideal way to go if I could solve the issue of getting them in/out.

We have a large "free range" run. It doesn't have a top on it though it is safe from digging predators. I've 12 chickens as well and they have not eaten nearly anything in their run.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

We already have a nice coop and a run for 12 chickens, but would like to build a tractor so that we can move them around the yard for access to fresh territory. I have looked at the PVC tractor design (www.pvcplans.com) that others have suggested here, and like it a lot. However, I don't understand if it is intended for daytime only housing (in which case the chickens must travel back and forth from main coop) or permanent housing? If they are to spend the night in the main coop, how the heck do you get 12 chickens into the tractor every morning?!?
Ideally, I would prefer to keep them in the tractor in the summer, but I don't see any provisions for roosting or nesting in the PVC tractors others have built. Furthermore, I worry that it is not secure enough from predators...
Any thoughts appreciated!
Shawn

Using your link, I looked very closely at the small backyard design of portable coop. I would think that the poultry are intended to stay in the tractor all the time and that you would move them about the yard from time to time so that the confined birds would have fresh ground to graze. It doesn't look like there are egg boxes or roosts as part of the design; so it looks to be more of a small scale backyard tractor intended to raise a low number of meat type birds.

The design does look sound and it shouldn't be to hard to make upgrades to the basic structure to adapt it for use with a small backyard layer flock.

That being said...if serious predation of the flock is a real concern...I don't know that I would trust my flock to anything made using a PVC Framework.