Chicken Tractors

[growingthings]

Hubby and I have been keen on keeping Chickens for a while now.
We are allowed to keep them down on the allotment, but I don't like the idea of having them overnight where I can't keep an eye or ear out for them. We live rurally so foxes etc do take an interest in them.

We live nextdoor to a piece of wasteland, that belongs to the landlords of the nextdoor pub (we've been trying to persuade them to sell or rent it to us but thats another story!)

So the point that I am actually trying to make is, is it feasible to allow the chickens to run out on the field during the day and then tuck them up in the tractor at night and trundle them into the yard in the evenings where I know they'll be safe from predators?

Some recommended first time reading would be much appreciated too.

Cheers in advance

Lorna x

[Annpan]

Not sure if I get this right but... is the field right beside your yard?

My chickens come when I call them (especially when they are looking for food) SO calling them over and rounding them up into their pen in the early evening is pretty easy - ours free range all day now but I shut them into their covered (relatively foxproof) run at about 6pm.

They are also relativley easy to pick up if they are used to it, so can be scooped up and plopped where you want them.

A chook tractor is a movable run that is designed so that the chooks do the work of turning a veg bed over, or eating a patch of grass... then you move them on.... Not sure if that is what you meant???

I personally wouldn't fancy pushing around a house with chooks in it might get a bit wobbly for them?

[Thomzo]

Quite a few chicken tractors are on wheels and can be moved around. You can always change its position during the day while the chooks are out playing.

Just make sure that the tractor is fox proof. I lost 4 chickens in one night because the run they were in wasn't quite sturdy enough and the fox dug under the wire.

It sounds quite feasible to me. I used to have a day run and walk the chickens through the veg patch to it each day and back again at night. They are quite easy to train like that.

Zoe

[Farmer gra]

I think most animals will get used to a routine after a while. So if your tractor is visable from the field or in a position they can relate to, and are fed at the tractor every night I am sure they will come running!
Farmer gra

[growingthings]

The field is just over two small gardens, and can be seen from ours, so they are not far away,

as the field is disused i.e. NOT OURS! We wanted to bring then in a night as it were so that it reducing the chances of someone having something to say about it.

Needless to say we'll be making the thing ourselves so anybody got any good designs?