Question on tractoring..

[justafewchickens]

I want to get some cornish X. I have seem the tractors for them, which I love the look of. My question is, do you keep them there at night? I have racoons and the occasional fox. We trap what we can, but you know how it is. Too smart, too big.

Do the tractors keep them safe at night? It looks like just chicken wire on most. I have a chicken coop, but the top is open in the run, and they jump down to the run. I can build a ramp, but my chickens have made it bare earth.

Just wondering if there were people in my shoes,and what they did. Thank you.

 

[DenverBird]

We get foxes in my neighborhood and they'll dig right under unless we've got wire on the bottom.

 

[justafewchickens]

I would not have thought to put wire at the bottom, but what about racoons that can grab in? I have experience with predators, so I worry. I want to stock us up with meat , not predators.

 

[ronniewayne]

to build a pen raccoon and fox proof i would think more like a hog trap with the heavy 3/16" wire panels ....in a 3x3 square with chicken wire over that...that would be a heavy pen to move by hand but with wheels and a dolly ....i dont use such a pen i have great pyreenes dogs they are great i free range my hens and have tractors for my chicks....in 2 yrs so far no preadator losses...these dogs can be available cheep or free...i saw one on craigs list for free the other day...some people use the red flashing light with a motion detector too...the last thing i read by joseph salatin he had went to the livestock guardian dogs ...it would defeat the purpose to have them in the chicken pen on a bare dirt floor ...the idea is to move them to fresh pasture daily so they get some green grass and dont eat and breath their droppings all the time..good luck with your chicks it is the best eating you can get we all need to raise what ever we can ....the american diet is killing us one bite at a time....imho the toxins and drugs we ingest should be criminal ....

 

[Tracydr]

You can use hardware wire and put a skirt on the tractor. I'm sure others have better ideas for tunneling predators. If predators are a real problem, electric poultry netting is best.

 

[Sundown_Farmer]

We surround our small fleet of tractors with permanet from premiere one. Some rotate guard dogs to keep the critters at bay. There seem to be no end to the raccoons in my neck of the woods so electricity is the solution.

Also, on Big Red Feather's council, I'm switching from Salatin-type tractors to cow panel chicken tractors. They are lighter, there is more room to work in them, better ventilation in hot weather and it's easier to catch the birds at harvest time.

 

[justafewchickens]

Thank you all for your ideas. I have thought about livestock guardian dogs, but I only have four acres, and thought it might wander off. The electric poultry netting is a great idea. Thanks again!

 

[jaj121159]

Quote:
I have two Salatin type tractors and a "hoop coop" made from cattle panels. Everything you say is true, but a word of warning, we've have had steady, high sustained winds in the 20-30 mph range. Twice, the winds hae picked up the hoop coop and moved it. Both times it left the feed bunks behind and several chickens. Luckily we haven't had any birds hurt, but have had some left outside of the hoop coop. The Salatin type tractors haven't budged. I have the hoop coop facing south and the wind has been from the south, I think the tarps are acting like a parachute. I started keeping it at an angle to the wind and so far so good.

To the OP, I have hardware cloth on the sides of my Salatin style tractors, and covering the first two feet of the hoop coop's sides. You can get some great deals on hardware cloth on Amazon.com.

 

[mstricer]

I had that same thing happen last year with high winds went out to feed at 5am and looked dumb founded, saying hay someone stole my birds and their house, now mind you mine is made of 2 x 4 and is 8 x 8 square, after looking a minute I found the house in the neighbors yard, the wind tumble it just in between 2 6 ft high arborvitaes and over a 4 ft fence, I they said who would want to play a trick like that, I'm a little slow.

edit to add a pic

 

[Bossroo]

It must have been the same trickster wind... About 20 years ago, my 16 x 30 all steel horse barn, anchored into the ground every 6ft. in the perimeter with concrete 12" x 12" posts was given a flying lesson... I found it the next morning 25 yards away in the neighbors field. It whent over a 6 ft. cyclone fence, then landed upside down in a crumbled pile of twisted metal.

The horses didn't get even a scratch.