We’ve done a few chook tractors since we’ve been here.
First one seemed like a good idea at the time:
The main issue with this tractor is that it’s not tractable. While we thought we did all the right things – built from recycled materials and stuff lying around the farm, sized to fit on the raised garden beds to allow the chooks to work them over, etc – it suffers from being way, way, way too heavy. I can barely move the thing by myself and Annette can’t move it at all. It would take four strong people to put it on one of the garden beds!
Bzzt. Fail…
More recently, Annette built a couple of smaller tractors to house some roosters we’ve been given:
These are light weight and easy to move, so the chooks will be on fresh grass every day.
Next project will be to build a larger tractor, based on a surplus farm gate, to house the hens. If this one works it will form the basis of the chook tractors that will go out in the paddocks to allow the chooks to follow after the cattle in the grazing rotation.
Stay tuned…