What precisely is a hen tractor?

Merely put, it’s a cellular house, very like a caravan, or trailer, which comprises all the things your hen wants in her home. It’s a cellular hen coop.

It’s going to comprise meals, water, a roosting perch, a nesting field, and a pleasant place for free-range.

This definitive information provides you with the fundamentals earlier than detailing the important thing issues it’s worthwhile to think about when constructing your individual hen coop on wheels.

Lastly, we’ve 13 of the very best hen tractor plans to swimsuit all flocks and budgets.

Chapter 1

How To Construct Hen Tractor

 

Chapter 2

13 Free DIY Hen Tractor Plans

 

Hen Tractor 101 and Advantages

The thought of the tractor is to maintain them penned to keep away from harm to the remainder of your yard or the neighbors’ property. It simply so occurs that the tractor is cellular, so you possibly can transfer them alongside to the subsequent patch of grass earlier than they destroy the realm the place they’re parked.

Anybody who has had hen rampage by way of their flower beds will inform you it is rather disheartening to have all of your work destroyed in lower than 10 minutes, to not point out the little poop patties in every single place.

The neighbors gained’t be thrilled both after they have discovered your hens have re-located the mulch, eaten the veggies, and left little presents behind to say thanks.

The second advantage of the tractor is security to your hens. An excellent sturdy tractor will deter most predators with the attainable exceptions of the bear, raccoon, and coyote.

The hens can graze in whole security from aerial predators similar to hawks and owls.

The very best motive for having a conveyable coop is free garden providers! The hens will nibble off the ideas of the grass and weeds and take away any bugs and fertilize, all totally free!

The truth is, they pay you in eggs – what may very well be higher?

If you’d like your grass to remain in affordable situation, you’ll in all probability have to maneuver the tractor no less than each different day or find yourself with bald spots and a mud bathtub crater.

Primary Parts of a Hen Tractor

You’ll be able to break down the essential construction into two separate parts: the coop and the run. Additionally it is generally known as a hen ark within the UK.

The coop itself is actually a sq. field with enough area to deal with your hens. That is the place it is very important keep in mind how a lot area your women require: giant fowl want 4sq.ft/chook, and bantams require 2sq.ft/chook.

Sure, you possibly can jam extra birds in, however it is going to encourage anti-social behaviors that shall be onerous to interrupt and will result in the harm of a number of of your women.

The ground of the Coop

The ground of the coop, in lots of instances, is non-existent. Since chickens poop the key portion of their waste at evening, the poop is deposited straight onto the bottom, which suggests you actually don’t have a lot to wash up!

Many individuals, myself included, desire a stable base to the coop for a few causes (an important being safety). A stable ‘field’ you could lock your women into at evening is extra reassuring to me than an open-plan field.

Ought to a bear or raccoon tip over the coop, they might shake the ladies, however they’ll nonetheless be safely locked up, whereas if the underside was open, they might be dinner.

The second motive is it makes it a bit simpler to maneuver the ladies whereas they’re confined.

When shifting an open backside tractor, if the hens are standing on the grime, they should get to know the shifting routine.

They’ve to know that they should transfer with the coop.

Normally, it solely takes a few strikes earlier than they get the dangle of it, however it’s simple to catch some ‘sluggish toes’ beneath the construction.

If the coop is boxed, you possibly can choose all the things up, transfer it after which allow them to out – easy.

Run/Pen Space

Your run must be giant sufficient to accommodate the variety of hens you have got within the tractor. Keep in mind these numbers once more; giant fowl want a minimal of 8sq.ft/chook, and bantams want 4sq.ft/chook in a run space. Extra room is at all times higher.

Though your hens are technically ‘free-ranging,’ they can not run, soar or expend vitality aside from strolling from one finish to the opposite, so an extended run is nice in case you have area.

The run additionally must be tall sufficient you could hang around the feeder and drinker to allow them to’t poop in it (which they’ll do if it sits on the bottom).

Constructing Your Personal Hen Tractor

There are some things it’s worthwhile to think about when you find yourself constructing your tractor. Your cellular hen coop must be sturdy and nicely constructed; this often interprets as fairly heavy to maneuver.

When you endure from again, neck, or different mobility issues, you’ll need to assume lengthy and onerous about what you need.

You’ll be able to, after all, construct light-weight tractors, however they don’t come with out issues. We’ll tackle these later.

Measurement

You must know what number of hens you’re going to put into your tractor. For instance, 4 giant hens will want 4sq. Ft area every so that you will want 16sq.ft of ground area. This can be a field that’s 4ft by 4ft.

This will not sound giant, however in case you are pulling (or pushing) it plus the run, will probably be fairly heavy, particularly up or down slopes.

Ease of Transferring

How simple is it going to be shifting your tractor? Virtually all tractor plans I’ve seen have wheels to assist with the shifting of the construction or could be hitched as much as a small tractor or a utility automobile.

Personally, I’d keep away from any plans that don’t embody wheels as you’ll need Herculean power to maneuver them!

Some tractors you progress just like a wheelbarrow, others look a bit like a rickshaw, and the massive ones require horsepower – actual or mechanical.

Ease of cleansing

The coop will must be cleaned the identical as a daily coop. The entry space must be giant sufficient for you really to work by way of. Some coops have a ‘raise’ facet of the coop, which is nice for cleansing and egg removing.

Design

On the backside of this text, you will see that quite a lot of hen tractor plans which you’ll construct.

Lots of the tractors I’ve seen could be discounted from a safety perspective. So many individuals use hen wire as a substitute of {hardware} material.

{Hardware} mesh is a bit expensive, however it’s higher than dropping all of your hens to a decided predator.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply the design of the tractor is intrinsically unhealthy. You’ll be able to at all times improve safety for those who discover a design you actually like.

It may be easy to construct a fundamental construction from scratch, and one thing that makes it much more enjoyable and cost-effective is utilizing recycled objects.

This might reduce down on the associated fee dramatically.

You’ll discover that most of the tractors proven beneath have used recycled objects in fairly ingenious methods!

Additionally, keep in mind for those who dwell in an space the place the summers could be brutally scorching, be sure that they have sufficient shade accessible within the coop together with air flow.

Making a Hen Tractor Safe

We briefly touched on safety earlier, however the tractor should be protected and safe to your flock.

The constructing itself must be constructed from sturdy supplies; will probably be outdoors in solar, wind, and rain, so whether it is constructed from wooden, it must be painted for cover.

This brings us to light-weight tractors.

Light-weight is most definitely the very best factor for those who have to maneuver the factor, however they’ll simply be flipped over in a wind storm or different inclement climate, scattering your flock in every single place.

In case you are adamant about having a light-weight tractor, you’ll need to have some system to anchor it into place ought to the necessity come up, particularly for those who dwell in greater elevations the place the wind could be troublesome.

Massive predators, too, may have no hassle in dismantling a tractor constructed from PVC pipe and hen wire.

Test locks and entry factors, too – are you able to get in simply? If that’s the case, different issues can too.

On the minimal, any lock ought to be capable to preserve out a 3-year-old youngster. If it fails this take a look at, a raccoon will determine it out too.

Any home windows must be lined with wire mesh or {hardware} material, not hen wire. Hen wire is designed to maintain chickens in – it won’t preserve predators out.

The run must be lined with {hardware} mesh additionally.

Hen Tractor Plans

Hen Tracters 101: Abstract

The design of your tractor is proscribed solely by your creativeness, accessible area, and funds.

There are a number of advantages to utilizing tractors to your hens and only a few downsides.

When you intend to make use of the tractor all yr spherical, be sure that it’s suitably constructed to guard the hens by way of the winter months.

Keep in mind, the larger your cellular hen coop is, the heavier it is going to probably be. When you have a using mower, you can in all probability use it to maneuver your tractor.

We hope you have got been impressed to consider a hen tractor to your women, particularly if you wish to construct one your self!

I’ll repeat myself right here – chickens don’t care if the corners aren’t sq. or the wooden is secondhand. They’re happy to have a home that gives all their wants.

So don’t be afraid of constructing your individual even for those who don’t have a lot DIY expertise!

Has anybody constructed their very own hen tractor? Please ship us your photographs and tales within the feedback part beneath…

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