A chicken tractor is a floorless, mobile enclosure designed to house poultry while allowing them to forage on fresh pasture. Unlike a stationary coop, this structure is regularly moved across a field or lawn, giving chickens continuous access to new grass, seeds, and insects. The system is named a “tractor” because the birds mimic farming equipment, working the land as they move. This controlled grazing integrates the benefits of free-ranging with the security of a contained environment.
Defining the Chicken Tractor’s Function
By providing a fresh patch of ground daily or every few days, the system allows chickens to forage actively, supplementing their diet with greens and protein-rich insects. This access to diverse forage contributes to healthier birds and, for laying hens, can increase the nutritional quality of their eggs.
As the flock scratches and pecks at the ground, they perform a gentle form of tillage and soil aeration, breaking up compacted earth and incorporating organic matter. This scratching action is often sufficient to remove weeds and prepare a garden bed for planting, essentially acting as a natural cultivator.
The system facilitates a natural and even distribution of fertilizer. As the chickens graze, they deposit manure directly onto the pasture, which is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—nutrients essential for plant growth. Moving the enclosure frequently prevents the concentration of manure in one spot, avoiding nutrient burn that can damage grass and ensuring the pasture is uniformly fertilized.
The chicken tractor is also an effective tool for pest management. Chickens are omnivorous foragers and eagerly consume common garden and pasture pests, including grasshoppers, beetles, slugs, and fly larvae. Using the tractor in an orchard or garden after a harvest can help break the life cycles of problematic insects, such as codling moth and apple maggot larvae, by exposing and consuming them from the soil.
Key Design Elements and Mobility
Lightweight construction is paramount, with materials like wood, PVC piping, or aluminum used for the frame to ensure it can be easily moved by hand. The enclosure must be floorless, allowing the chickens direct access to the ground for foraging, fertilizing, and scratching.
Predator-proofing requires completely enclosing the sides and top with sturdy material, such as wire mesh or hardware cloth, secured to the frame. The design must also incorporate an integrated shelter, often a roofed area for roosting and nesting boxes, providing protection from weather and a secure place to lay eggs. Accessibility features, such as wheels, skids, or handles, facilitate movement.
The enclosure is typically moved daily, or at least every few days, to provide a fresh foraging area and prevent the chickens from overgrazing any single spot. This movement is crucial to avoid creating bare patches of dirt and to maintain healthy pasture growth.
The frequency of movement is determined by the flock’s density and the condition of the forage. A larger tractor or a lower density of birds may only require movement every two to three days, while a high-density setup needs to be repositioned daily. Monitoring the area involves observing the grass height and the amount of forage remaining before moving the structure to the next patch.
Common Styles and Sizes
The A-frame design is a common choice for smaller flocks and backyard enthusiasts due to its structural simplicity and lightness. This style typically uses a triangular roof that slopes steeply to the ground, offering a good balance of shelter and foraging space while remaining easy for one person to drag.
Rectangular or hoop house designs are frequently used for commercial or larger-scale pastured poultry operations. These structures are often wider and taller, sometimes requiring a small mechanical tractor or vehicle to move them, and can house dozens or even hundreds of birds. The hoop house style, characterized by its rounded metal or PVC frame and often covered with a tarp, is popular for its low-cost construction and ease of assembly.
Flock size is the primary factor dictating the necessary tractor footprint. A general guideline is to allocate approximately four square feet per bird for egg-laying hens and two square feet per bird for meat birds when they are confined inside the tractor all day. For example, a tractor measuring ten by twelve feet, offering 120 square feet, would be suitable for around 30 laying hens or 60 meat birds.
Smaller, more lightweight tractors are easier to move but require more frequent repositioning to keep the birds on fresh grass. Larger tractors allow for a lower bird density, offering more space per animal, which means they can remain in one spot for a slightly longer duration before needing to be moved. Ultimately, the style and size selected should reflect the number of chickens and the physical ability of the person responsible for moving the structure.