DIy CHicken Tractor

Sep 7

Am I becoming a Chicken Farmer now?!??!

Haha no —- but Jason and I did help out with the kids DYI Joel Salatin Chicken Tractor for their meat bird project. When we watched the video Jason and I realized there was no real good “written instructions” attached to the video ( you can watch OUR’s here …or the one we used by )

Today I want to share with you how we built a “Joel Salatin Chicken Tractor” - here is our steps although its not exact copy of Joel’s it was inspired by his practice and similar built.

Not sure what I am even talking bout?! - - Yea well.. I didn't really get it either.. I kept calling it a Chicken Trailer . A Chicken TRACTOR is a portable chicken coop that allows the chickens to forge in a new spot daily, helps to protect them from predators and also allows then to fertilize the ground as they are moved forward. This Tractor was made for 50 MEAT Birds.

Here’s How we built ours - - follow the steps & YouTube Video ( we aren’t the best teachers … so bare with us!)

Supplies Needed:

12 2x4’ Treated Boards
Torx Screws
Hardware Cloth (24inch 1/2in spacing) - or Chicken Wire- you want to make sure the spacing is small!!! So that nothing with little paws can reach in to snag your birds
Tin / Metal (we used old some old galvanized tin from a hog nursery we took down a while back)
Staples

Step 1: Framing the Tractor - - Take 8 2x4s that are 10ft long to create your ‘box’ - Jason explained it like this “were making a dirt floor house without a peak” - -

Step 2: Bracing the Tractor - Jason then worked no bracing and making the tractor more sturdy. Really inforcing the frame .

Step 3: Protecting the Birds - - Next we added the Hardware cloth ( this is what ours is …. ) its 24inch and has 1/2in spacing - we didn’t want to chance a raccoon or a fox or even a dog getting it paws inside the tractor to snag a bird… Jason then stapled the wire to the boards and across the top - we then used old galvanized sheet metal from a hog nursery we took down a few years back (because farming is all about SAVING money .. and being more resourceful ) :

Step 4: Creating The Door - - We are using a Tin Make shift door at the moment - Jason is wanting to put ours on a hinge to make it easier for the kids to lift the door - - Some Tractors have a more “removable” style door where you lift it up and move it over to feed and water the birds / add & take out the birds at the end.

Visit the Farms YouTube “DIY: chicken tractor” Vlog

Step 5: Making the Tractor Portable - - You can do this many different ways. We chose to install I-bolts with a small link chain to be able to pull the front of the tractor forward easily with my in-laws Honda Pioneer… once the chicks have done it a few days they understand just like our cow calf pairs do. Better grass awaits — they will learn to move the ten feet span easily.