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Chicken Tractor

August 29, 2011 By RDG

After ordering our chickens straight run from the hatchery, I needed a place to keep the extra roosters until they grew to a delicious size. Commercial chickens only live a couple of months. My roosters would live several months in the summer and into the fall. I decided to build them a moveable pen, called a chicken tractor. The chicken tractor has the following benefits.

Benefits of a Chicken Tractor

  • Allows birds to have fresh air and sunshine.
  • Provides access to pasture.
  • Moveable so that birds don’t destroy the pasture by over grazing.
  • Keeps the chickens safe from predators.

Construction Details

I have written up a material list for this chicken tractor.

Chicken tractor made from half inch (1/2 in.) electrical conduit and pressure treated lumber.
The roosters enjoy their chicken tractor.

The chicken tractor I built was inspired by the working wings chicken tractor. It is made from 2×6 pressure treated lumber for the frame. The frame is 12 feet by 4 feet. Half inch (1/2 in.) EMT metal electrical conduit is used for the hoops. Chicken wire is used to enclose the structure. The ends are made from half inch (1/2 in.) pressure treated plywood. I have hung a feeder and automatic watering bucket from the conduit. I used the only 4 foot tarp I could find to keep rain off the broilers. The tarp is designed to cover a stack of firewood. When it wears out I plan to replace it with camouflage tarp.

Chicken tractor handles made of rope.
Rope handles are used to move the chicken tractor.

There were two details that I didn’t see when I originally viewed the working wings page. The first was the handles. How did they move their tractor around? Which leads to the second detail, did they use wheels? I decided to use rope for the handles of the chicken tractor. The rope is connected to the frame with 1/2 inch EMT conduit straps.

Chicken tractor wheels
The wheels make it easier to move the chicken tractor.

I also decided to add wheels. I used rigid wheels that I found at Farm and Fleet. They are connected to the frame with lag screws.

Update: These roosters have been harvested.

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Related Pages

  • Chicken Tractor Material List
  • Harvesting The Roosters
  • Chicken Coop 2.0
  • Backyard Chickens

Please share any feedback on this chicken tractor or web page in the comments below.

 

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Filed Under: chickens Tagged With: chicken tractor, chickens

Comments

  1. chris says

    June 1, 2012 at 2:05 pm

    How heavy is it? I’m curious how difficult it is to move…

    • RDG says

      June 1, 2012 at 5:50 pm

      chris,

      I won’t be able to answer your question exactly. The heaviest components are the 2x6s and the sheet of plywood. But the weight is spread out. If I build another one, I will try 2x4s for the base.

      I found that this chicken tractor was easy enough to move. I sized the rope handles so that when gripping the handles and standing up, one side of the tractor would be off the ground. Then I would walk backwards dragging it about 12 feet at a time. The wheels on the back definitely helped. I got good at lifting it just high enough that the wheels would roll but that the roosters wouldn’t get out.

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