My best chicken tractor

This is my best chicken tractor so far.

It has wire fence all the way around, including the floor so it is raccoon proof. The nest boxes are wire bottomed with straw in them. This makes the entire thing super clean. Just toss out the nesting straw and move the tractor, all chicken poop stays behind.

The walls and roof are made with recycled yard signs from a political campaign. It is double layer corrugated plastic. Light, strong, insulating, easy to clean. We later painted everything.

The wheels are attached to aircraft inspired landing gear. Just raise the wooden lever and lock it with a loop of wire, then the wheels protrude almost a foot below the tractor. The wheels are near the center of mass, making the whole 200 lb thing easy to move by one person. I wanted the floor to have fencing touching the ground, so the chickens don't have to stand on fencing the whole time while still being totally coon proof.

The chicken tractor is over 6 ft tall at the peak because that is what the American Poultry Association recommends. They frown on low ceiling chicken tractors.

Also the A frame shape holds up better than a hoop shape in heavy snows and high winds.

The back of the nest boxes folds down like a shelf which you can set the egg cartons on while collecting eggs. This can be done without opening the main door and letting the chickens out if desired. The main door is human sized with a large steel bolt lock at the bottom. The bolt can lock the door closed. And the bolt can also poke into the soil when the door is open. This entirely prevents the door from flapping in the wind.

There are hanging feeders and waterers made from 5 gal buckets inside.


Only major thing I did wrong was make the nest boxes over 3' off the ground. Should have gone a little lower.