Have chicken tractors....now have bad back

[Farmgirl1878]

Pulley system? Could you explain that?

Sure, depending on your chicken yard, you can attach pulleys to trees, buildings, or posts and use them to pull your chicken tractor wherever you want it to go. The pulleys just make it easier.

Check out this video:

 

[paintedChix]

Make a harness for that huge dog in the background in one of the pics and make him drag it! He will likely have fun doing it, plus it'll be an exercise workout for him! I've seen dog pulling competitions pulling massive weights, granted they were specifically bred and train for it, but I think it will be fine for your dog.

Yes, this. You could even make the harness out of double layered feed bags, either hand stitched or sewn on your sewing machine. Here's some links showing some dog harness's. If you or a neighbor have ponies/horses - you could see if a halter would fit your dog - ready made harness.

This one is pretty elaborate. Dog pulling harness.

I don't remember the ones we used at the UKC shows having this much strappage over the back, but here's another one... Universal harness

Here's a nice one - Ultimate Pulling Dog Harness

This article is GREAT!! More Info

Unfortunately, I don't have pics anymore of my girlfriend's Corgi weight pulling at UKC shows - in 2008 & 2009. Can't remember what his weights were either, but DO remember that they were impressive!

A pic of our daughter using a large pony/Arab halter while training Monkey, our "Finky" (Finish Spitz) puppy, to pull, starting at 8 months of age. Never fully trained him as he was a digger and dug under a 6' fence a couple of months later & was tagged by a car on the the road right in front of our home - dislocating a hip and causing issues for a time. He was neutered and lived to be 10 yrs old before cancer took him from us. 2nd Pic after we moved to our new property - 2 1/2 yrs before he passed. Possible he also had a thyroid condition - some lines do... never tested. Did not have heart worms (tested regularly & on preventative).

Adding on to this idea - hand cart under the frame, lift, slide 3" diameter pvc pipe along the front that you've lifted up, remove hand truck, pull coop forward rolling it across the PVC pipe. Lay the PVC pipe next to the coop, ready for the next day? Maybe not easy to do on your own, just a thought.

I'm currently using this method for 6 different types of tractors, LOL! No pics right now and it's 100*f actual temp & 120* w/ current heat index, so not going out right now... This heat wave has to break!!

 

[aart]

Adding on to this idea - hand cart under the frame, lift, slide 3" diameter pvc pipe along the front that you've lifted up, remove hand truck, pull coop forward rolling it across the PVC pipe. Lay the PVC pipe next to the coop, ready for the next day? Maybe not easy to do on your own, just a thought.

Hmm....wonders of the pipe thing would work with chickens in the tractor?
Just lifting front off ground and the added wheels on the handtruck would greatly reduce drag and thus effort to move.

 

[Billylynn]

Going with forklift and wheels moved to center for an easier pivot.
We don't have trees, etc for the pulley or jack options to work. Dog harness? Definitely get the dog to pull those grandkids around to keep them out of trouble

 

[aart]

Going with forklift and wheels moved to center for an easier pivot.

Please post pics, or better yet video, of new configuration?

 

[bluemerle]

A note on the dog - the dogs you see competing in weight pulling competitions have had their elbows and hips tested by the canine orthopedic foundation. Your average backyard dog is not structurally sound enough to pull weight on a regular basis, and surgeries to repair torn ACLs or even worse damage can cost thousands of dollars. Best not to risk it.

I'm glad you found a solution! I will mention that, if all else fails, you can attach hand winches to vehicles as an anchor. Just be careful - they can fail.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I'd add skids, or remove some of the wood to convert the straight cut wood on the bottom to fashion skids.

 

[sealer39]

Judging by looks, your tractor is probably 1/3 the weight of mine. The below pic is my set up. I thought you could use the trailer wheel I have on mine for your rectangular tractor with wheels on one end. As you can see, I lift the bars to raise the back wheels and hook the bars into place then I crank the trailer wheel to elevate the entire tractor. I have a bad back also and my set up is not easy to move up hill but I can do it. That third wheel makes a big difference in the about of effort it takes to move a tractor.

For the other tractor you have, I think the hand cart and PVC trick would be the easiest solution. I’m guessing you may get a 3” PVC under it if you use a hand card with extra large tires. Harbor Freight sells one that is inexpensive and I really like mine.

 

[paintedChix]

A note on the dog - the dogs you see competing in weight pulling competitions have had their elbows and hips tested by the canine orthopedic foundation. Your average backyard dog is not structurally sound enough to pull weight on a regular basis, and surgeries to repair torn ACLs or even worse damage can cost thousands of dollars. Best not to risk it.

I always to forget to mention that dog would need to be taught to pull and to not be terrified of pulling. and should be conditioned for such pulling. You're right, dealing with those types of injuries are not fun at all (for people, ponies or dogs)...

 

[Billylynn]

Success! Pretty much.
put two trailer hitch wheels on one end. These are adjustable and easily crank up and down. The other end I'm using a hand truck to lift and pull. Pulling is easy, lifting is minimal. Love these wheels. Worth the money. In the future I 'd like to modify my design to be able to put one on the front.