Raising seven baby chicks in a box in the corner of the living room gets old around the 4th week. By the 5th week they are just too big to keep inside any longer. I started building the Chicken Tractor when they were about 2 weeks old. The weather this time of year was not exactly cooperative to say the least. One final nice day yesterday allowed me to finish this project and get the Chicks into their new home.
The idea behind this tractor was to house the birds comfortably and take advantage of the scratching and fertilizing without having to do a lot of cleaning. I looked at MANY designs and as I usually do I took the parts of each that I liked and incorporated them into this design.The (Portable Coop) or Chicken Tractor was built almost entirely of recycled and re-purposed materials other than the Chicken Wire and hardware, although some of that came from a burn pile too.
The "Free Air" roost is part of the design I really liked. It keeps the birds out of the wet ammonia atmosphere and dry and comfortable. The roost itself is removable along with the nests for easy cleaning, (Think pressure washer) and the end opens when you only need to gather eggs and check bedding, food and water.I am sure that I will make a few improvements in the design and I haven't designed the feed system and waterer yet, however I have some really neat ideas for those too.
Bottom line on this project. It is worth doing the research into all the types of coops and tractors you can build or buy. Look into space suggestions for the birds, nesting requirements and shelter needs for your area and then have some fun. Your Chickens will thank you.
