Tractor questions

[21hens-incharge]

10x20.........a hoop coop/tractor when assembled is roughly 8' wide. Pretty close to the 10' desired. Building the base out of 2x6 or 2x8 lumber would make it pretty darn strong.

How many birds are you planning in each tractor? You may not need to move them every day if your bird density is not heavy. They would need drug with a tractor or riding mower or atv at 10x20 in size. Maybe that mower, tractor or ATV could be used to knock down tall grass in section it is getting moved to. That should make it take just a few minutes.

 

[Edgars Mom]

@ChickenCanoe...ah, I see where the confusion lies... What I meant was the coop portion... I don't need a building attached, just the run with a tarp. I would be moving them daily so they would be getting dragged on to new grass and I don't want to have to weed whack every day.

 

[Edgars Mom]

@ 21 hens-in charge... I was thinking about keeping small groups... Ultimately I would like to have three tractors with 6 heritage turkeys in each. I want them to have lots of room so they can flap their wings and have lots of fresh grass.

I saw one design online that I can purchase and it's 10x20 and can be easily moved by one person. The problem is that it requires a welder and it relies on the aprons for predators. Almost every design incorporates these aprons but nobody says how they work in long grass. Most pastures aren't kept mowed and are only knocked down once or twice a year. If I can find out if the skirts work I'm considering buying that plan. But I need to know if it will work before I put all of that money out.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Can you link that plan......often the great folks here can help with seeing flaws or errors in designs or even better/less expensive ways to do things.

 

[Edgars Mom]

Can you link that plan......often the great folks here can help with seeing flaws or errors in designs or even better/less expensive ways to do things.

Yes... Here it is:

https://www.atomiczombie.com/porta-pen-poultry-tractor-diy-plan/

 

[iwltfum]

No serious chicken farmer is moving their pasture pens across long grass unless they are using a prairie schooner on wheels. You need to cut the grass ahead of the pasture pens, it will make moving them alot easier and the chickens will actually be able to eat the grass. long grass can cause problems for chicken crops.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Yes... Here it is:

https://www.atomiczombie.com/porta-pen-poultry-tractor-diy-plan/

So basically a hoop coop with metal framing. Looks doable. The skirt is "deployable" so basically it gets raised then lowered like I thought it would work on a hoop structure.

I definitely agree that tall grass needs mowed before the birds use each section.

With low population density moving it once a week should be fine.

Mowing first also reduces cover for snakes and other predators.

So....mow or have goats.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

One thing I'd like to mention is that actual grass isn't the best forage for any poultry. They will eat grass as a last resort. Grass is usually too fibrous and not very nutritious for poultry.
They prefer tender forbs and subterranean things they can dig up like seeds, bugs and tubers.
A good list of plants they prefer and are more nutritious is clover, alfalfa, beets, radish, turnips, dandelion, peas in winter and buckwheat in summer.
Once established, things with deep roots like alfalfa and dandelions, once established are hard for them to kill.
There is a variety of turnip called 7-top that sends all its energy to the vegetative forage rather than the tuber. However, turkeys do tend to dig up tubers that chickens may not be able to do.

 

[Edgars Mom]

The crappy thing about mowing is that the turkeys go crazy for clover and alfalfa which are plentiful in our pasture (about 40% or more). There are other weeds that they love as well. If I mow they won't be able to eat it. They need it attached to the roots so they can rip the leaves off. When I pick clover and put it in with them they are unable to eat it because it isn't attached. They just pick them up and drop them. If I hold it for them they go nuts ripping it apart. The main reason I was thinking about tractors is so they could graze and eat these plants. If I mow I don't see the point of moving the structure at all since I will be stripping the food out of it beforehand. I wonder if people using these tractors are just dragging them around on their lawn vs an actual pasture.

 

[iwltfum]

The crappy thing about mowing is that the turkeys go crazy for clover and alfalfa which are plentiful in our pasture (about 40% or more). There are other weeds that they love as well. If I mow they won't be able to eat it. They need it attached to the roots so they can rip the leaves off. When I pick clover and put it in with them they are unable to eat it because it isn't attached. They just pick them up and drop them. If I hold it for them they go nuts ripping it apart. The main reason I was thinking about tractors is so they could graze and eat these plants. If I mow I don't see the point of moving the structure at all since I will be stripping the food out of it beforehand. I wonder if people using these tractors are just dragging them around on their lawn vs an actual pasture.

The idea is to cut the pasture a couple days ahead of the pens so that it has a chance to regrow a bit before the birds get on top of it. That way, they have the benefit of the tender new growth of those plants and none of the problems that the fibrous old growth can cause. Trust me, your birds will like the mowed area alot better than the long grass. The long stems also prevent them from scratching at the dirt as well as they would if it were cut.

I raise my turkeys in large netted areas in my orchard with electric netting with a simple roof shelter. and I move them to a new area of orchard (about a week after I mow that area) when they wear out the spot that they were in (depends on how old they are, but usually every week or two. Their density is about 500sqft per bird once they get out to the orchard) I raise my broilers in salatin style 10x10 pasture pens (made out of 2x2's) and move them manually daily with a custom dolly. I mow the area ahead of them with about a 3 day lag time between mowing and when they reach the mowed area.