tractor pros and cons

[ninny]

I thinking of doing tractors for layers or using poultry netting and a movable house. What are the pros and cons for this type of thing. Are their any books that go in to detail on this? They would be these in the winter as well.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some of the things that come to mind are predator protection/risk, how often you have to move them, and how many you are talking about. A tractor is probably more predator proof, you have to move a tractor often, and you are really limited in how many will actually fit in a tractor. I think either one can be made OK for an Illinois winter.

 

[ninny]

Thanks! If i use a house they will be locked up at night. A house seems more usefully then a ton of tractors for a large amount of birds.

 

[jktrahan]

I just built a tractor and I love it. I'm keeping it in my garden and letting the girls out in the evening. They all roost in the top which is the coop at night and can be locked in by raising the ladder. The biggest con is the amount that can be kept in the tractor. I built mine to fit on top of my raised garden beds that I plan on building and it can hold 4 to six bantams. I keep hay in the bottom for them and clean it out and the coop out once a week. I love the ability to move it and let the chickens weed for me. I am about to plant some garlic in an area behind my fence and instead of breaking my back digging up the ground and weeding ... etc, I just broke up the ground with my pitchfork a little and parked the tractor over the area. after about 3 days it was weed free.

http://themtrahans.com/wordpress/?s=chicken+tractor

here it is with the first coat of paint:

 

[ninny]

Your tractor is really cute!!

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

 

[PepsNick]

My first coop was a tractor. It is 100% predator proof and worked great, now it's for sick and injured birds.

Pros...
-VERY portable
-Predator proof
-Met all needs for my birds


Cons...
-Way too small. Chicken math.
-Hard to clean
-Hard to attach a run to

Edited to add: Here it is. I eventually got a small run attached.

 

[Valerie Dawn]

Have you read the book "Chicken Tractor" by Andy Lee? That points out several different types of tractors and ways to use them. I'm not half way through it yet and I'm getting a lot out of it.

Good Earth Publications, 1994.