For those who are interested in participating the Essex Counties Poultry Meeting this Friday. Here is the information about the tractors they will be making. Please note, you are welcome to come just watch adn learn and NOT have to make one.
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Take a look around and see what you have that you can substitute. I think if you buy everything new it would be about $30 ( with extra left over for future additions) You could make yours to be Permanently held together. I wanted something that could be broken down and stored.
That's why I used the panel design. Each panel is 3 feet by 2 feet except the ends which are 2 ft X 2ft. (top and 2 sides plus 2 end pieces).
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FOWL PLAYERS March 2010 Meeting
CHICK TRACTORETTE SUPPLY LIST
What is this? This is a miniature version of a chicken tractor. Chicken tractors can be of any size or shape that works for you and your flock.
Chicken Tractors are used to move a number of poultry around to fresh “pasture” each day by nibbling grasses & bugs and scratching through lawn thatch 9 (dead brown grass from previous growing seasons) to aerate the soil. The manure the chickens leave behind breaks down and fertilizes the soil. The tractor also keeps the poultry safe from predators and out of spaces you don’t want them to peck and scratch in.
You will be surprised how lush & green an area will become after chickens have passed through.
Our tractors will be very small scale. Good for a dozen small chicks / ducklings/ guinea keets & and up to 2-3 full grown specimens. They are lightweight and will be individual panels that can be taken apart and stored flat when not in use. If you would like you can build additional panels to attach as your birds grow. There is no bottom on this tractorette as the birds are in contact with the ground directly.
They can be used on chicks transitioning out of the brooder or introducing new birds into your flock, exercising your show poultry, and even for isolating an ill bird. A board or something with weight would need to be used for unprotected outdoor use to prevent unwanted animals, wind, etc. from possibly knocking the tractorette over.
SUPPLIES
5 PVC pipes ¾ inch – I used 10- foot length pipe to cut to fit but you’ll need 46 feet total – Note: If you use a different size pipe make sure the connectors match the diameter you are using.
6- 3’ foot lengths
14- 2’ foot lengths
*We will make 3- 3 foot by 2 foot sections (3”x 3’) and 2 – 2 foot by 2 foot (2’x2’) 20 PVC 90 degree elbow connector (I did not use PVC adhesive but you may want to) Hacksaw Zip ties Gloves Wire cutters
2 foot wide Poultry Wire (13 feet is minimum needed but 14-15 feet is better for “extra” to wrap around) the smaller the diameter holes the smaller the bird that can use it, Poultry can’t get out and “things”
can’t get in.
**Reuse & Recycle! If you would like to come see and watch what we are doing and then recreate your own version at home, that’s OK. This is just my version and by no means the ONLY way to make something similar.
Please look around your farm/home and see if you can omit or substitute some of these items – perhaps 1”x2” wood, nails, hammer
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