Chicken Tractor

The last few days I have been constructing a 'Chicken Tractor' in the old Horse Barn. So, what is a Chicken Tractor? It is a small pen for chickens that can be easily moved along the ground. It has an open bottom so that the chickens can scratch, peck, and feed on bugs, grasses, weeds, and seeds in a natural way from the open ground. It turns out that they can get from 10% to 20% of their nutritional needs from this kind of pasturing and it is a healthy natural varied diet that provides supplemental nutritional benefit over and above the standard commercial chicken feed - which they still need. It is called a tractor because it is designed to be placed over garden beds where the chickens directly deposit their droppings as fertilizer for the garden. The Gardener/Poultry grower gives the chickens plenty of litter for bedding which they can pick through which also helps build up the organic material in the soil. The heavy load of nitrogen in the chicken droppings helps make the organic litter available for the garden as soon as the chicken tractor moves on to the next placement. It is a neat system - happy chickens, good chicken nutrition, organic fertilizer for the garden; and, eggs, broilers, and garden vegetables for me, my friends, family, and cabin renters!
This first chicken tractor is designed for 4 laying hens which I'm getting from my niece. As a result of being for laying hens, it is a little heavier with a nesting platform and nesting boxes. There is a little over 4 sq ft per bird with two nesting boxes. That is on the generous side according to all the how-to books. But it still is relatively easy to move along. The Chicken Tractor has a big door on one side that allows access for cleaning and feeding as well as egress for the birds to range outside during the day when they are in a place where they won't be destructive and they are safe from predation or disturbance. We'll see how it goes.
For awhile the chickens will be in the tractor parked in my garden shed where they will be a little more protected from the elements. I'm getting them in April 12th and it can still be pretty cold and even snowy at that time. Soon after that, though, they will be able to go to work in the garden.