Billylynn
Songster
My 8 x 4 chicken tractors worked well for 5-6 chicks. How do I know? A big indication seemed to be the condition of the grass and that the chickens always were able to stay clean. My grass was a beautiful, deep green with no holes a couple of weeks after the tractor had been moved and the chicks seemed to be contented with no behavioral problems between them.
In my two years of experience, I had tried raising Cornish X and Red Rangers. Red Rangers were a more active breed and it seemed wiser to, in the future, plan for more space per bird based on the activity level of the breed. So when I went to order my next batch of Cornish X and realized I could save 1$ a chick by ordering 15 instead of 10, I took the plunge thinking that since I had lost one or two previously, things would probably work out okay. The good news is, the breeder sent 17 very healthy, vibrant chicks. The bad news is, they grew quickly and at two weeks were overcrowding my brooder (horse trough) in a big way. Out to the tractors they went. The first week went fine since the tractors were moved daily. By the time the 2nd week of tractor- life began (the 4th week of chicken-life) things began to get funky. The birds were beginning to fuss at each other and the mess they were leaving behind was covering a greater percentage of the ground and they were digging holes in the corners. So I bit the bullet and let them out of the tractor, terrified that my dog would begin having them for lunch, or that the hawks in the neighborhood would swoop in and have one for supper.
Oddly enough, neither thing happened. After a chicken turned around and faced off the dog a couple of times, our dog was content to keep her distance. And my husband had assured me that predators would stay away because of our sheepdog, and he was right. We did not lose a single one. Well, we did lose one...a grandchild tripped and fell on one.....the chicken died later of internal injuries.
Another really strange thing happened. When I let them go back into the tractors at night by themselves, they all went into the same one. It made me think of that old saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." During the day I continued to put food and water in the two different tractors and some birds would go in each one, but at night they all gathered together. What fun it has been to watch them! I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
The moral of the story is the size of the tractor really does matter for the health and happiness of the bird and the health of the grass....and the happiness of the owner.
In my two years of experience, I had tried raising Cornish X and Red Rangers. Red Rangers were a more active breed and it seemed wiser to, in the future, plan for more space per bird based on the activity level of the breed. So when I went to order my next batch of Cornish X and realized I could save 1$ a chick by ordering 15 instead of 10, I took the plunge thinking that since I had lost one or two previously, things would probably work out okay. The good news is, the breeder sent 17 very healthy, vibrant chicks. The bad news is, they grew quickly and at two weeks were overcrowding my brooder (horse trough) in a big way. Out to the tractors they went. The first week went fine since the tractors were moved daily. By the time the 2nd week of tractor- life began (the 4th week of chicken-life) things began to get funky. The birds were beginning to fuss at each other and the mess they were leaving behind was covering a greater percentage of the ground and they were digging holes in the corners. So I bit the bullet and let them out of the tractor, terrified that my dog would begin having them for lunch, or that the hawks in the neighborhood would swoop in and have one for supper.
Oddly enough, neither thing happened. After a chicken turned around and faced off the dog a couple of times, our dog was content to keep her distance. And my husband had assured me that predators would stay away because of our sheepdog, and he was right. We did not lose a single one. Well, we did lose one...a grandchild tripped and fell on one.....the chicken died later of internal injuries.
Another really strange thing happened. When I let them go back into the tractors at night by themselves, they all went into the same one. It made me think of that old saying, "Birds of a feather flock together." During the day I continued to put food and water in the two different tractors and some birds would go in each one, but at night they all gathered together. What fun it has been to watch them! I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
The moral of the story is the size of the tractor really does matter for the health and happiness of the bird and the health of the grass....and the happiness of the owner.
