Right. Chicken tractor thread.

[Kiwi Pete]

Dad used to have geese out with the rams all year. Good for training a pup.
Made for and giggles when they went out, that's for sure. But the rams never needed wormed either
What do you do for drinks in a mobile setup?

 

[Kidds]

I'm planning a similar idea. Mob grazing hopefully cattle, then sheep, then chickens go on. Either meat birds or layers. Salatin leaves 3 days as he says that allows the grubs to start forming in the cow pats. Extra bonus is they get spread as well by the chickens. Wondering if I could get geese in there too. Maybe with the sheep.

Geese don't like being moved around. In fact they don't like any sort of change at all, even down to me wearing a different hat when I go to feed them. You can feed them white bread all week and then change it to brown and they just stare at it for a while and then walk off.
Loose in there all the time and they'd be happy enough.

 

[Pasty]

Dad used to have geese out with the rams all year. Good for training a pup.
Made for and giggles when they went out, that's for sure. But the rams never needed wormed either
What do you do for drinks in a mobile setup?

Some sort of trailer with an IBC on I guess. Or mole plough in loads of pipe but I guess that's a long term vision.

 

[Pasty]

Geese don't like being moved around. In fact they don't like any sort of change at all, even down to me wearing a different hat when I go to feed them. You can feed them white bread all week and then change it to brown and they just stare at it for a while and then walk off.
Loose in there all the time and they'd be happy enough.

Never had them. We were going to do some for Xmas this year but didn't happen in the end.

 

[Kidds]

My opinion is you will struggle to make anything out of them unless you sell them for £75 dressed. Not impossible but limited market.
If there is anything to be had out of them it is selling fertile eggs, that did well for me this year but I did wonder if bird flu played a part. The Bird flu bit might mean they are not such a good idea for you.
For me, I really like having them around, the eggs paid for their keep and then some and they mean I don't need to top the paddock.

 

[davieh3350]

could you do laying hens like this or is it just for meat chickens ?
Use to do the same thing with my rabbits when I was a kid LOL

I'm going to be doing similar with the pigs.
You should see the grass grow after they've been over it.

 

[Pasty]

I'm going to be doing similar with the pigs.
You should see the grass grow after they've been over it.

I thought of that but worry about too much damage. I gather Devon Blacks are good for grazing without too much rooting? Also would need sturdy troughs I guess. Plus shelter.

 

[davieh3350]

I thought of that but worry about too much damage. I gather Devon Blacks are good for grazing without too much rooting? Also would need sturdy troughs I guess. Plus shelter.

Troughs? Nah, rolls thrown about on the tufts of rashes.
Old tractor tyres with the walls cut off, cut over the top and fold them out and nail with the heavy roofing nails along a 6x2 with pieces at 90 degrees to stable it up if you need indestructible troughs.
Mine have old oil tanks with the base cut out and a door cut in the end, ring welded on top to lift with a loader tine. But usually roll them.
Old turf goes to a mess, but another couple passes when it greens up and a light harrow smooths it out nicely.

 

[Pasty]

Troughs? Nah, rolls thrown about on the tufts of rashes.
Old tractor tyres with the walls cut off, cut over the top and fold them out and nail with the heavy roofing nails along a 6x2 with pieces at 90 degrees to stable it up if you need indestructible troughs.
Mine have old oil tanks with the base cut out and a door cut in the end, ring welded on top to lift with a loader tine. But usually roll them.
Old turf goes to a mess, but another couple passes when it greens up and a light harrow smooths it out nicely.

What about water though? Guessing anything used has to be fairly sturdy.

 

[Woolgatherer]

I don't move my hens about (they move themselves), but I came across feeders on the internet that Ive started using and I can see they would be a good idea for your chicken tractors. They're basically just lengths of down pipe with a "corner" on the bottom. I cut mine at an angle to suit the birds and found an old horse supplement tub to put on the top to keep the rain out. You can have the length of pipe to suit yourself, mine are about 3 1/2 feet, any more and it would have been awkward filling. They sit on the outside of the pen with the curved bit through onto the inside. They're fastened on with cable ties. They don't sit on the ground, are weatherproof, don't get dung in them, and depending how many you use and how many hens you have, you can fill them up and not have to feed again for a few days. I fill mine 3x a week, 4 tubes between 27 hens and 3 ducks. From the tractor point of view, you'd not have to fiddle about inside the tractor, it wouldn't need lifting before you moved the tractor, and a quick glance in the top tells you if you need to refill it. There's no waste either. They took about 20 minutes to make. If I get chance I'll get a photo, but it's bucketing down just now!

 

[davieh3350]

What about water though? Guessing anything used has to be fairly sturdy.

I've only a few so I just muck about with buckets and a 100 meter hose. A tip proof trough is on the to do list.

 

[Pasty]

I don't move my hens about (they move themselves), but I came across feeders on the internet that Ive started using and I can see they would be a good idea for your chicken tractors. They're basically just lengths of down pipe with a "corner" on the bottom. I cut mine at an angle to suit the birds and found an old horse supplement tub to put on the top to keep the rain out. You can have the length of pipe to suit yourself, mine are about 3 1/2 feet, any more and it would have been awkward filling. They sit on the outside of the pen with the curved bit through onto the inside. They're fastened on with cable ties. They don't sit on the ground, are weatherproof, don't get dung in them, and depending how many you use and how many hens you have, you can fill them up and not have to feed again for a few days. I fill mine 3x a week, 4 tubes between 27 hens and 3 ducks. From the tractor point of view, you'd not have to fiddle about inside the tractor, it wouldn't need lifting before you moved the tractor, and a quick glance in the top tells you if you need to refill it. There's no waste either. They took about 20 minutes to make. If I get chance I'll get a photo, but it's bucketing down just now!

Yeah, that's an issue I need to sort. I have seen similar and plan to include that concept into my brooding houses next year. I guess it would work for the tractors too. Not having to get in there is a big time saver. I wonder if you could use soil pipe for more capacity? You can certainly get a waterproof cap for that. Perhaps at the bottom you could just let it sit just inside a plastic container of a larger diameter if you can't get the bend type bit?

In my big pens I use treadle type feeders which open when the hens step on the plate. Get mine from Mole Valley, I think now Stockshop branded. Very, very good and has cured our rat problem as they can't get at the grub. But not really suited to the tractor as it needs a full weight bird to open it.

 

[Dead Rabbits]

There is a guy down in this area that has been growing pastured poultry since '96 or so. He started with those salatin style pens but quit when all his kids threatened to run away. He made his own hoop houses that he pulls with a tractor and does batches of several hundred at a time. Also he called the salatin pens "easy bake ovens" in our climate.

Kind of a common theme I have seen is that people either come up with a more efficient way of raising a pastured bird or they quit.

I spoke to him this spring and I think he is around 15000 per season now. Processes every bird on site in a homemade facility. Very ingenious guy, I'll go visit sometime and take pics.

 

[York]

Troughs? Nah, rolls thrown about on the tufts of rashes.
Old tractor tyres with the walls cut off, cut over the top and fold them out and nail with the heavy roofing nails along a 6x2 with pieces at 90 degrees to stable it up if you need indestructible troughs.
Mine have old oil tanks with the base cut out and a door cut in the end, ring welded on top to lift with a loader tine. But usually roll them.
Old turf goes to a mess, but another couple passes when it greens up and a light harrow smooths it out nicely.

do you mind making pictures of your tire design?
York-Th.

 

[davieh3350]

do you mind making pictures of your tire design?
York-Th.

That's a coach bolt at the end for a bit strength. Leave it in from the end and it'll curl up and stop the feed falling out

 

[Henarar]

why is it called a tractor ?

 

[Pasty]

why is it called a tractor ?

Don't know really. It's a US term I think so not sure how they came up with it. I think they used to call them 'foldaways' here. I know they used them 100 years ago in Dartington. Mainly over stubble I believe to clean up the weeds and add some fert back in.

 

[The Ruminant]

@Pasty Where do you buy your meat chickens from?

 

[Pasty]

@Pasty Where do you buy your meat chickens from?

Sorry, missed this. I don't do dedicated meat chickens at the mo. I raise pure breeds and eat the spare cockerels. Part of that for me is trying to breed back to a dual use bird ie. a cockerel that is worth raising. I'm having some success with things like Orpingtons and Barred Rocks, getting some seriously meaty birds out of them.

Salatin and others raise pure broiler birds (Cornish cross / Ross / Cobb) in them but it's not a market I have looked into, being more focused on getting what I am doing bang on first. I am convinced the idea is a good one but I have also raised birds in semi indoor pens on straw with much success. That said, the 'tractor' ones develop better and seem hardier. The effect on the ground is also amazing and no clearing out at the end of the cycle and their muck is deposited exactly where it's needed in exactly the qty you want. But of course there is work in moving them, getting water and feed to them etc. You can't put a ton of feed in a 'tractor' and hope to be able to pull it along. Similar with water.

When I sit at home and consider, everything comes down on indoor raising being more sensible. But, once I have moved a tractor and see clean and healthy birds on fresh pasture, tucking into all manner of goodies, including thistles, I change my mind. Either way I need to make a decision for next year as to which way I am going as I have dabbled in both systems and both are bodge jobs so I need to commit and get building some decent infrastructure.

 

[Marj]

Sorry, missed this. I don't do dedicated meat chickens at the mo. I raise pure breeds and eat the spare cockerels. Part of that for me is trying to breed back to a dual use bird ie. a cockerel that is worth raising. I'm having some success with things like Orpingtons and Barred Rocks, getting some seriously meaty birds out of them.

Salatin and others raise pure broiler birds (Cornish cross / Ross / Cobb) in them but it's not a market I have looked into, being more focused on getting what I am doing bang on first. I am convinced the idea is a good one but I have also raised birds in semi indoor pens on straw with much success. That said, the 'tractor' ones develop better and seem hardier. The effect on the ground is also amazing and no clearing out at the end of the cycle and their muck is deposited exactly where it's needed in exactly the qty you want. But of course there is work in moving them, getting water and feed to them etc. You can't put a ton of feed in a 'tractor' and hope to be able to pull it along. Similar with water.

When I sit at home and consider, everything comes down on indoor raising being more sensible. But, once I have moved a tractor and see clean and healthy birds on fresh pasture, tucking into all manner of goodies, including thistles, I change my mind. Either way I need to make a decision for next year as to which way I am going as I have dabbled in both systems and both are bodge jobs so I need to commit and get building some decent infrastructure.

Hi there, just wondered how your approaches have changed (or stayed the same of course) over the last few years, if you wouldn't mind sharing about this? My partner and I are hoping to do pastured broilers/ layers in the nearish future (need to sort land first which is a tat expensive in Devon....).