- Mar 31, 2010
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I have an old chicken tractor, classic triangular shape. About 1/3 of it has solid plank sides to provide shelter, and the rest of it has chicken wire sides. Prior to getting our big coop, my laying hens lived in this tractor. I had too many hens for the size of the tractor, so I began to treat it like a coop - making an additional yard for them with a large circle of poultry netting fence from Premier 1 and letting them out of the tractor during the day. Because the setup was near the house and I have toddlers, I never actually electrified this fence. Despite the lack of electricity, the fence seemed to serve as a visual deterant to predators. In fact, the only time a fox ever tried to get the hens was the one night that they were in the tractor without the fence around it. I can staple hardware cloth to the bottom of the tractor to prevent predators from trying to dig into it, but the whole thing probably isn't as predator-proof as a coop in general.
I have 11 5-week old Cornish X's that really need to move out of their brooder. They need more exercise, and the brooder is in a room that I think is getting too hot for them as the weather warms up. I'm thinking about putting the 11 Cornish Xs into the chicken tractor and encircling the tractor with another fence made of chicken wire. Similar to what the hens had, but I won't be letting the Cornish X's out of the tractor during the day. They would be near the house, so with any luck, I would hear the commotion if something tried to get them. (The attempted fox attack happened at 5am, and the hens' yelling woke us up in time that we didn't lose anyone.)
I guess my question is: Did I just get really lucky with my tractor/fence setup the first time? I've put so much time and money into raising these chicks, and I sure don't want to lose them to a fox 2 weeks before slaughter. Before they arrived, I had it in my head that I would butcher at 6 weeks. They don't look big enough to me now, so I really want to get them to 7 or 8 weeks. I've been told their best chance at making it that far is to put them on pasture, so that's how my tractor idea came about. I'd love some advice. Does this sound like a good idea, or is there a safer way to pasture these buggers?
I have 11 5-week old Cornish X's that really need to move out of their brooder. They need more exercise, and the brooder is in a room that I think is getting too hot for them as the weather warms up. I'm thinking about putting the 11 Cornish Xs into the chicken tractor and encircling the tractor with another fence made of chicken wire. Similar to what the hens had, but I won't be letting the Cornish X's out of the tractor during the day. They would be near the house, so with any luck, I would hear the commotion if something tried to get them. (The attempted fox attack happened at 5am, and the hens' yelling woke us up in time that we didn't lose anyone.)
I guess my question is: Did I just get really lucky with my tractor/fence setup the first time? I've put so much time and money into raising these chicks, and I sure don't want to lose them to a fox 2 weeks before slaughter. Before they arrived, I had it in my head that I would butcher at 6 weeks. They don't look big enough to me now, so I really want to get them to 7 or 8 weeks. I've been told their best chance at making it that far is to put them on pasture, so that's how my tractor idea came about. I'd love some advice. Does this sound like a good idea, or is there a safer way to pasture these buggers?
