Besides being movable, the other key element of a chicken tractor design is that it is floorless. That is, the chickens have direct access to fresh grass and ground. The tractor is enclosed so that it provides protection from predators, typically being a wooden, PVC or metal frame that is covered in woven wire. The chickens can scratch the ground, graze, eat bugs and grass, and so forth. Food and water is provided inside the tractor. Often one side will provide shade and protection from rain. If the hens are layers, nest boxes can be included inside the tractor.
A chicken tractor wouldn’t be good winter quarters for laying hens, unless you live in a very temperate climate. But for spring, summer and fall, it can provide you with the ability to free-range your hens without having them tear up your garden, get chased by the dog, or get eaten by a hawk or weasel.
The benefit of a chicken tractor being movable is this: without actually letting your chickens have free run of the land, you can move them to fresh ground as soon as they’ve exhausted the grass and bugs underneath the tractor. And, their fertilizing, nitrogen-rich poop gets left behind to enrich the soil where the tractor was. To top it off, you don’t have to clean up their poop or change out bedding or deal with things getting stinky. Just move the tractor and everything’s fresh and new again.
One of the biggest questions to answer when considering your own chicken tractor design is this: how will you move the chicken tractor? If you build it small and light, you will have to move it daily, and may need many of them depending on your flock size, but you will be able to move it yourself. If you build it bigger (whether that means you want to move it less often, or you want to have fewer tractors overall for a larger flock), will you use a tractor or ATV to move it? How will it hitch up? Will it withstand being pulled by machinery repeatedly or will it come apart?
ost chicken tractors have wheels on one end, so that the front end can be picked up while the back drags. They’re also often built on skids so that they’re easier to move. One thing to consider is whether chickens can escape during the move or if they will get caught under the back edge and hurt. Keeping chickens safe during a chicken tractor move is key.
Chicken tractors are a great way to go if you’re interested in pasturing and all the benefits it provides.
Chickens eat grass, bugs, and weeds instead of just layer mash
Chickens can till garden beds
Chickens leave fertilizing poop where the tractor was
Chicken tractors are easier to maintain than a chicken coop
Protects chickens from predators while they free-range
Protects garden plants and flowers from chicken destruction
Chicken tractors are often more affordable to build than a chicken coop
