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Chook tractors
The simplest way to house chickens is a fully enclosed
and movable house with attached pen. These enclosures are called “chook
tractors” because they can be moved step by step across your yard. We have
four chook tractors on our property. They all measure about three metres in
length by one metre in width and are 1.5m high; half of the length is
covered with weatherproof sides and a roof while the remainder is covered in
13mm mesh and is open to the elements. Many chook tractors are built as
A-frames and have two sloping sides rather than two vertical sides and a
roof. We prefer our design. Our chook tractors have a proper roost for the
night and the covered section is large enough for the chickens to find
protection in bad weather. A-frames provide much less room for the same
footprint. Our chook tractors could permanently house
three fully-grown chickens, provided they are let out to free-range part of
the day. The chickens have access to the grass in the enclosure. Once
they have picked the grass and scratched it up the chook tractor needs to be
moved to a new spot.
We use our chook tractors for little chickens that
hatched in the incubator after they have outgrown their heated hatchling
boxes. We also use them for broody hens and later
to house them with their hatchlings and as quarantine accommodation for sick
chickens. When we buy a new chook we separate it in a chook tractor
for a couple of weeks to make sure we do not introduce anything nasty into
our flock. Chook tractors are the most versatile chicken housing and you can
never have too many of them!
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