Waterfowl(and other fowl) Tractors?

[Wolf-Kim]

Does anyone here have waterfowl tractors?

I was looking at PVC tractor designs for chickens(as well as other PVC structures) and I began to think of PVC as giant tinker-toys. If I were to make the pens taller and larger, they could be used for geese(or peafowl or turkeys), right? Or even using the original pens, with minor alterations, to use them for pheasants or quail.. Can you put gamebirds in tractors? I would love to get my quail out of cages if they can safely and securely live in a tractor. Would quail or pheasants dig out too bad?(Afterall, tractors do not have bottoms, they just sit on the ground.

Same thing for ducks, but I don't think I would have to change much from the original design, I just couldn't put as many ducks in there.

The PVC pens "should" be light enough for me to move by myself, so they could be moved every day or every other day. Our grass is out of control right now(FIL sold the tractor

) and I don't like the mudpits that ducks create when they stay in one location for too long. So I would imagine a tractor that could be moved across the yard(or horse pasture) would help keep the grass down, provide greenery for the waterfowl while keeping them safe, and provide the waterfowl(and their eggs) with a clean and fresh environment.

The chances of a kiddypool in each tractor would be unlikely, but supervised and timed swims in our pond would provide them with some recreation, while the majority of the time they are protected from most predators.

LOL. I'm sure someone in here has waterfowl tractors.. Anyone? Pictures or input would be wonderful.

Thanks!
-Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Would I need to build a covered section to the tractor? I know that the original design calls for a tarp over half, but the original design was for chickens.

Wouldn't waterfowl, just prefer to be out in the weather? I know my original ducks did.

I could provide something to use as a nest, but I was wondering if an actual "shelter" was needed?

Anything to make the thing lighter, is good. I thought about plastic dog houses, but that would just add weight and be useless if the ducks and geese didn't use it.

What do you think?

-Kim

 

[okiemommy]

Hey I'm not the only one who has thought of pvc being giant tinker toys!!


Can't help you on the feesiblity of the project though

Seems like they would be so light that it would be easy for a predator to topple over depending on how big it is.

ETA I am curious as to what the opinions are on this as well b/c I will need to address making shelter for the same kinds of birds soon.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Thanks Okie.

I was hoping that as long as I make it wider instead of heavier, it would keep from tumbling over. I hope so anyway..

Thanks again for helping me out.

-Kim

 

[Wolf-Kim]

This is where the original idea/plans for the PVC chicken tractor are. So that was the base of my design, it obviously needs to be at least taller for turkeys, geese, and peafowl...

http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pastured-poultry-pen.htm

-Kim

 

[okiemommy]

No prob Kim

 

[perfectly_polish]

Hey Kim!

We build a tractor like coop for our ducks, 13 of them. It doesn't have wheels but we move it once a week to let the grass under it grow. It was 4 feet wide, by 16 feet long, of course you make it any size you want, we would like to build one so it's big enough a kiddie pool will fit in it, but they do get to range outside. Let me go see if I can find pictures of it..

 

[coffeelady3]

With those plans you could easily double the height, at least!

 

[Alaskan]

I would think if you put tarp (or plastic) on a corner, that it would serve well as duck or goose 'shelter'. Especially if you turned so the wind didn't blow in, and used it just for summer.

So just a bit of tarp on two walls and the roof, just enough to cover all the ducks in the pen if they wanted shelter.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Okay, thanks. I figured a tarp would be the most basic, I just wondered if ducks and geese really use a shelter. If they don't, I was going to see if they would be okay without one. A tarp would only add wind-resistance, and sometimes we get some pretty swift winds during our daily T-storms. I'll give them a tarp, just in case. Better safe than sorry.

Does anyone know if gamebirds can be kept in bottomless tractors?

How about peafowl?(I wouldn't have many and it would probably be our biggest tractor...

-Kim