"You just go down in the morning, and put the chickens in the tractor..."

[NatJ]

Next question would be how much layer-related stuff do I need to put in the tractor? Still put a couple roosts for daytime naps, I'm assuming? And 2-3 nesting boxes in case they decide to lay while they are out there during the day? Dustbath, toys, 2x food, 2x water... I was also planning on having food and water in the coop, we were just not planning on making the tractor like fort knox since it would be primarily for daytime use. It just feels like a lot, like setting up a whole second coop basically, vs. it looks like most cases people are using the tractors for meat birds with just food and water. And then the logistics of moving them into it each day.

Tractor for laying hens:

Nests, yes. Hens lay eggs at all times of the day. I suggest a few plastic bins that have a lip on their edges, drop them in between two roosts so they hang there, and put a handful of bedding inside. Fake eggs optional.

Roosts, yes. Just put a few suitable boards running across the tractor from one side to the other. Space two of them so you can drop in the plastic bins for nestboxes.

Dustbath, don't waste your time setting it up. The chickens will create one on whatever ground the tractor sits on.

Food and water, yes. You can hang a plastic milk jug by its handle, cut out the other half of the top part, and use it as a feeder or waterer. One in each corner makes 4, which makes two for feed and two for water. Or you can use one bigger waterer right in the middle of the tractor so they can access it from different sides, and put the feed at the two ends.

For moving the chickens: if you put something tasty in a bowl, and bring it to them each day, the chickens will usually be happy to follow that bowl. So you may be able to open the coop door, walk to the tractor with a bowl, put the bowl in, shoo in any stragglers, and close the tractor. Start with the tractor near the coop, and move it further away with time. The "something tasty" can be kitchen scraps, or it can be wet chicken food. I prefer wet chicken food, because they cannot pick up a bite and run off with it. This forces them to stay where the bowl is while they gobble the "treat." I don't know why they like it so much better wet, but they do, and that is convenient for me!

Alternate way to move the chickens: get a puppy play yard, or a dog kennel that comes apart into panels, or a roll of chicken wire and a few posts, and make a path from the coop to the tractor. Let the chickens go along that path, walk behind to shoo the stragglers in, and close the trailer.

Third option for moving the chickens: carry them one by one. Go into the coop and close the door, grab one.... If you do it every day, they should get used to it, and catching them won't be too hard. And it will give you lots of practice in catching & carrying chickens. For putting them home at the end of the day, I would go with some other method, rather than crawling around in the tractor to catch them.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

...grab them one by one to return them to the coop. That did not increase their trust level.

 

[igorsMistress]

How about a chunnel from the coop to the tractor? Add a little pop door and all you have to do is open it in the morning and close at night. Cuz once they’re out, in my experience they’re out and good luck coaxing them to lockup even with treats.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

No conduit in this run. Frame is 2x6 lumber, box is 8x12" the panels are simply bent into shape. I used a ridge board to help with snow load.

Very cool! I will show him what you did and see if that may help inform how he wants to do it. Thank you!

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

How about a chunnel from the coop to the tractor? Add a little pop door and all you have to do is open it in the morning and close at night. Cuz once they’re out, in my experience they’re out and good luck coaxing them to lockup even with treats.

Chunnel = Chicken + tunnel? Lmao

yeah, I feel like that is going to be the simplest solution. What material would you use for that? I'll have to Google chunnel pics hahha. For the time being, he still wants to hang basic nesting boxes inside, where I would love to add them external to the back and give the girls a tiny bit more space that way too, but at least with the chunnel method, I could clean or get eggs just by walking in the coop portion, and not close off my human access where you have to walk through the tractor to get to the coop.

 

[igorsMistress]

Chunnel = Chicken + tunnel? Lmao

yeah, I feel like that is going to be the simplest solution. What material would you use for that? I'll have to Google chunnel pics hahha. For the time being, he still wants to hang basic nesting boxes inside, where I would love to add them external to the back and give the girls a tiny bit more space that way too, but at least with the chunnel method, I could clean or get eggs just by walking in the coop portion, and not close off my human access where you have to walk through the tractor to get to the coop.

Exactly! We would use hardware cloth and 2x2s or something similar. Depends on how Fort Knox you want to make it. We don’t have anything more than birds of prey and the odd cat once in a while. Just be sure you lock the pop door at night I imagine.

 

[NatJ]

he still wants to hang basic nesting boxes inside, where I would love to add them external to the back and give the girls a tiny bit more space that way too,

Chickens mostly use the space at ground level.

So if the nestboxes are hung above ground level, the chickens will not lose any space they care about.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Tractor for laying hens:

Nests, yes. Hens lay eggs at all times of the day. I suggest a few plastic bins that have a lip on their edges, drop them in between two roosts so they hang there, and put a handful of bedding inside. Fake eggs optional.

Roosts, yes. Just put a few suitable boards running across the tractor from one side to the other. Space two of them so you can drop in the plastic bins for nestboxes.

Dustbath, don't waste your time setting it up. The chickens will create one on whatever ground the tractor sits on.

Food and water, yes. You can hang a plastic milk jug by its handle, cut out the other half of the top part, and use it as a feeder or waterer. One in each corner makes 4, which makes two for feed and two for water. Or you can use one bigger waterer right in the middle of the tractor so they can access it from different sides, and put the feed at the two ends.

For moving the chickens: if you put something tasty in a bowl, and bring it to them each day, the chickens will usually be happy to follow that bowl. So you may be able to open the coop door, walk to the tractor with a bowl, put the bowl in, shoo in any stragglers, and close the tractor. Start with the tractor near the coop, and move it further away with time. The "something tasty" can be kitchen scraps, or it can be wet chicken food. I prefer wet chicken food, because they cannot pick up a bite and run off with it. This forces them to stay where the bowl is while they gobble the "treat." I don't know why they like it so much better wet, but they do, and that is convenient for me!

Alternate way to move the chickens: get a puppy play yard, or a dog kennel that comes apart into panels, or a roll of chicken wire and a few posts, and make a path from the coop to the tractor. Let the chickens go along that path, walk behind to shoo the stragglers in, and close the trailer.

Third option for moving the chickens: carry them one by one. Go into the coop and close the door, grab one.... If you do it every day, they should get used to it, and catching them won't be too hard. And it will give you lots of practice in catching & carrying chickens. For putting them home at the end of the day, I would go with some other method, rather than crawling around in the tractor to catch them.

Thank you! I love the idea of positioning the roosts to hang the nesting boxes from! I also appreciate the specific tactics for corralling them. I suppose I can try before we attach it too, and see how it goes. I do have a baby gate panel thing I could use, but I also like the idea of getting them used to being handled (and giving me some practice) by carrying them in one by one. Lots to think about!

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

Another thing rolling around in my mind is being unsure where exactly to cut a new chicken door without knowing for sure how deep the litter may be. It doesn't look like there's much clearance beneath the window for a door to slide up without putting it all the way at the bottom. :/

 

[NatJ]

Another thing rolling around in my mind is being unsure where exactly to cut a new chicken door without knowing for sure how deep the litter may be. It doesn't look like there's much clearance beneath the window for a door to slide up without putting it all the way at the bottom. :/

Maybe put hinges at the top and a latch at the bottom, instead of sliding?