Eric Briggs

Concept:
self-powered chicken tractor that automatically provides continuous fresh pasture while delivering water & supplemental feed and monitoring & ensuring chicken health.

Movement:
Slapping wheels and a motor on a chicken tractor has been done before. With the addition of a controller and software, the tractor can follow a preset path or dynamically pathfind within a defined boundary. Add wireless access and multiple tractors can communicate with each other and a base station and refer to historic tractor movement to optimize pasture use. It can detect when something is in the way and send an alert and reroute. The farmer-programmer can use a computer to view planned paths and correct or optimize tractor pathing. Can anyone say FULLY AUTONOMOUS TERRESTRIAL CHICKEN DRONES.

Power:
A PV panel atop each tractor and a battery should provide more than enough juice for the motors, computers, equipment, and defensive weaponry. Power and battery quality can be reported to the central computer and the farmer-programmer alerted to any problems.

Sustenance:
The tractor can store several days' food and water, and monitor & report their levels and utilization. When either is low, the tractor either returns to a restocking station or queues a visit from the snack and beverage drone, which performs the same function.

Safety:
The tractor can have an electric fence to keep away raccoons, feral dogs, and curious cyclists. The rear half of the tractor should have a solid surface for the chickens to stand on when they want to rest or whatnot. When the tractor moves a light and/or a sound should come on to indicate to the chickens that they should get on the surface. The ability of the tractor to move autonomously permits slow movement that should reduce chicken injury, but the tractor should also be able to detect if a chicken is not getting the picture and stop accordingly. Maybe a partition can move from front to back to trap the chickens onto the surface during rapid tractor movement. An internal camera that streams to the farmer-programmer's computer of choice would give a 360 degree view of the chickens. A more sophisticated computer that diagnoses chicken behavior could help monitor chicken health & behavior and identify pasture locations that provide less food, which can be used to optimize the map of the pasture. A thermometer would read the temperature and provide spot heating for younger birds or return to the barn in bad weather. The tractor could be able to determine if the surface is too uneven to safely traverse or enclose the chickens. Microphones could stream the sounds of each tractor and make for interesting internet radio.

Communication:
Computery stuff would be everywhere. I would like to see software that maps the pastures both spatially and temporally, looking at feeding pattern data from the past and the number of tractors to dynamically optimize tractor pathing. Walking up to a tractor and waving a smartphone should provide information from that tractor. Walking across the pasture and tapping a button on the smartphone should be able to prioritize areas for feeding or to identify temporary obstacles to avoid. Injured, angry, or listless chickens should trigger notifications to the farmer-programmer. Self-diagnosed equipment problems should cause alerts.

Almost all of this (with the exception of behavior-recognition software) should be able to be done with off-the-shelf hardware and software. Would it be more expensive than hauling a tractor around yourself? Sure! But it permits massive scaling of operation. And 80% of the value could be done by just putting on a GPS, a predetermined path, and really slow wheels.

How can this be changed and improved?

Okay, these are all very good ideas.  I am going to do this thing, and I will let you know how it turns out!

Thanks for all your thoughts and advice.

Wow!  Those are some seriously nice photos.

Here's the thing: I'm building this as a surprise for a friend's family.  They are out of town for a little over a month, and their budget is really tight, so I wanted to make them something where they could grow a lot of their own food.  As such, I want lots of area for fairly few dollars.


I'll look into the hardware cloth.  If it is cost effective, I may do it.  But if the chicken wire rots after two years, maybe I should just try to build a nice layer of stones to prevent gopher intrusion.

Nice wood being fairly expensive, what can I use for siding as an alternative to chicken wire?

Hello!

I am planning to construct a raised planter box and I am looking for the most effective/economical way of doing so.  The planter will be used for edibles and I expect to use some variation of the square foot gardening method.

Here's what I am thinking so far:

Construction: raised bed (about a foot), rectangular (4' by 8'), with stakes to define each corner.  The stakes also support crossbars with bird netting to reduce predation.  Not being a particularly wealthy dude, I am leaning towards walls and floors of chicken wire to deter gophers and lined on the sides with that omnipresent black plastic to retain soil.

Contents: I saw a video somewhere (thought I bookmarked it, but didn't) where a woman filled a planter box with layers of logs, then straw, and maybe sand, sawdust, and cardboard, and perhaps ashes.  It seemed to be quite fertile.  I have access to logs and straw as well as sandy soil and lots of clay soil.  I can of course purchase potting mixes and whatnot from gardening suppliers, but I would prefer to do things on the free where possible.

Any advice on how to cut costs while still making a durable structure that performs well and does not look overly ghetto?

Thanks, folks!  I may just take your advice.

It makes sense that blackberries would prefer a little shade...they are climbing plants, and they would tend to climb on trees.  I wonder how many other plants we grow in the wrong environment just because of monoculture habits?  Not everything belongs in full sun.

I want to plant the rows far enough apart to plant annuals (or maybe small perennials) between them.  Any suggestions for good guilds?  Rubarb, carrots, potatoes, what should I look for in a guild?

I should probably have a more permanent shade/windbreak provider than coyotebrush, so that should be considered...hmm...think think think.  Avocados?  Oranges?

duane wrote:
(snip)

If you try to eliminate a toxin
within the same kingdom,
the system will degenerate

(snip)

If you try to kill a virus
within the same kingdom,
the system will degenerate

(snip)

If species from less than
five kingdoms interact,
the system degenerates
according to the
2nd law of thermodynamics

What do you mean by eliminate a toxin / kill a virus "within the same kingdom?"  I don't get it.

Also, don't...er...most things degenerate according to the 2nd law of thermo?

My family's farm (we grow...oh, dirt and coyotebrush and invasive species and such) is composed mostly of clay soil and tends to have a spazzy low --- or not so low -- wind.  We get a decent amount of rain each year, but no-one could mistake us for the British Isles.  Growing stuff seems to be hard.

I am interested in putting in some blackberry rows, but they seem to be rather thirsty plants and there is no way that I am going to put irrigation out for these guys.  I want to make a water solution that will ensure moisture throughout the year.

I have a sheltered watershed that is slightly damper throughout the year than the rest of the property, and the coyotebrush is up to ten feet tall there, providing a windbreak of sorts.

Hugulkutur is new to me, but the principle seems sound.  However, since I am going to be staking and training these berries, the use of 'hug' seems inadvisable -- the ground would settle and throw everything off.  Plus, I'm not convinced that the berry roots would penetrate deep enough.

Would the use of 'hug' just uphill of the berries provide sufficient moisture?

What solutions have other people found for similar problems?

Thanks in advance.