In a great world, we might let our chickens free-range all yr spherical, and we’re positive they might admire us for this. Nevertheless, what do you do throughout the winter, when predators corresponding to foxes are determined and threat an assault throughout the daytime? The reply is hen tractors.
You would maintain your chickens in a coop and pen throughout winter, however we discovered this impacts their egg-laying massively.
Because of this we determined to make use of a hen tractor, and the ladies rewarded us by growing their egg-laying!
Notice: Learn How A lot Room Do Chickens Want if you’re taking a look at making your pen and have to work out how huge it must be.
Not heard of a hen tractor earlier than or puzzled the way to use one? Let’s get straight into this week’s article.
A Rooster Tractor: What Is It?
Initially, for these of you who haven’t heard of a hen tractor earlier than, you most likely surprise what precisely a hen tractor is?
A hen tractor is a transportable pen that you would be able to transfer round your backyard to offer your chickens with a relentless recent grass provide.
Rooster tractors are often simply dragged throughout the backyard; nevertheless, you will get ‘fancier’ tractors which have wheels to make them simpler to drag!
At this level, you’re most likely questioning how that is any completely different from my common hen pen.
Rooster Tractor Vs. Rooster Pen
Essentially the most important distinction between a hen tractor and a hen pen is {that a} hen pen isn’t transportable – a pen is connected to the facet of your hen coop.
A pen tends to be safer as a result of it’s a everlasting construction, and you may bury the hen wire down into the bottom to cease predators from digging beneath the pen.
Nevertheless, the pen’s draw back is that as a result of it’s a everlasting construction, you’ll most likely discover your chickens eat all of the grass of their pen and go away it simply dust.
Except you present your chickens with a big pen it will at all times occur, and for many yard hen keepers, we don’t have the area to increase the pen.
That is the place the hen tractor is available in. As a result of hen tractors are very cell, it means you may transfer them round when your women have cleared a patch of land.
This implies they get entry to recent grass and completely different areas of your backyard, stopping them from overgrazing any specific part of your backyard.
It additionally stops them from consuming issues they aren’t alleged to. i.e., seeds you’ve planted, greens, and flowers!
Experimenting A Cell Rooster Coop
So let’s now speak about how utilizing hen tractors made our chickens lay extra eggs.
We nonetheless keep in mind fencing off their pen after we received our chickens at round 18 weeks outdated.
We began with six chickens, and so they had a pen roughly 15×8 ft.
All through the summer season, our women free-ranged within the backyard.
Nevertheless, we stored them in pen throughout the winter as a result of we have been frightened about foxes attacking them (they get determined and can assault in daylight if vital).
The summer season was implausible, and our women have been mendacity properly; then winter was coming round, so it was time to position the ladies again of their pen.
Inside a month, our women had totally worn out the grass, and it was turning right into a mud tub in the course of December!
Hmmm.
Not preferrred.
We prolonged the pen by one other 15×8 foot, and once more by the tip of January, their whole pen was simply dust – and worse but, the grass didn’t even get time to recuperate as a result of the chickens have been at all times there.
Throughout this winter, their egg-laying plummeted- granted, the variety of eggs they laid ought to scale back anyway throughout the winter, but it surely was actually off the spectrum.
We expect the issue was as a result of that they had eaten all of the grass, they solely had dust to scratch round in, and so they didn’t like this, and it unsettled them.
If we had used a hen tractor again, we may have moved our chickens across the numerous patches of grass.
This is able to have allowed the brand new grass to recuperate and develop again.
We had a dilemma, we’re completely happy for our chickens to roam wherever within the backyard, however throughout the winter, they must be safe as a result of threat of them getting attacked.
We will’t place hen wire across the fringe of our whole backyard (it will appear to be a jail!), and the scale of their present pen wasn’t sufficiently big as a result of they turned it right into a mud tub!
So the next winter, we determined to strive as an alternative and use a hen tractor.
We deliberate to maintain the ladies of their coop in a single day to roost, after which we might put them within the tractor throughout the day.
The tractor could be moved every week- to cease them overgrazing any specific space.
One surprising facet impact was that though their egg manufacturing slowed down throughout the winter, they nonetheless laid much more eggs than the earlier winter!
Nevertheless, the eggs have been barely dirty- to not fear as a result of we simply adopted the information How To Retailer Your Chickens’ Freshly Laid Eggs.
Since then, we’ve been utilizing the tractor for a number of winters and seen nice issues occur. A few of our pals came to visit and wished to know the way we used the tractor, so we wrote them an inventory of issues we do- so we thought we’d share them with you too!
Chickens Lay Extra Eggs When They Eat Healthily
The grass is appropriate for chickens. So utilizing a tractor naturally advantages our laying hens of their manufacturing departments.
We seen our eggs change when our hens had entry to the grass underneath the tractor year-round. The yolks grew to become darker and tasted higher!
As a result of grass meets our hens’ protein necessities, their manufacturing spiked! A hen’s every day nutrient requirement is one-quarter of the way in which fulfilled by consuming grass. To not point out the nutritional vitamins and minerals in addition they get from consuming the greens (E, C, and Iron).
Implementing the hen tractors in our poultry-raising routine allowed our hens to eat a extra pure weight loss program consisting of high-value greens.
How We Use a Rooster Tractor
Winter Use: The very first thing to recollect is that we solely use the tractor to maintain them secure throughout the winter.
Hold the Coop: Within the night, we push the tractor again over to their coop, and so they roost in there at evening.
Make Positive You Rotate It: Every week, we transfer the tractor to a brand new place within the backyard.
Shield In opposition to Flooding: If sure areas of your backyard are liable to flooding, ensure you place the tractor on increased floor.
At all times transfer the tractor if the bottom beneath it’s naked.
You Want Flat Floor: Be sure to solely use the tractor on flat floor. The bumpy floor isn’t preferrred for tractors as a result of it will probably go away gaps which the chickens would possibly escape from.
Shut It on Snow Days: We maintain the ladies of their coop/pen on concise winter days. We expect it will be too chilly for them to be out within the snow.
Verify for Eggs: Though we now have a small nesting field at one finish of the hen tractor, some women don’t like utilizing it. So when you’ve moved the tractor, test the grass to verify there aren’t any hidden eggs!
Clear Up The Meals: Whereas looking for any hidden eggs, be sure that there aren’t any pellets or different meals on the ground as a result of it will entice pests corresponding to mice.
Right here is a superb video I discovered displaying what can occur to your grass with out a hen tractor!
Do I would like a coop/pen with my hen tractor?
When most individuals hear about hen tractors, I believe one of many first questions is- does this imply I don’t want a hen coop anymore?
This is determined by the local weather you reside in and the bread of your chickens.
In case you reside in a heat local weather all yr spherical, you can maintain your women of their tractors (however we wouldn’t advocate it).
Nevertheless, chickens want the coop to remain heat throughout harsh winters in colder climates.
Additionally, as a rule of thumb, solely chickens grown for meat are stored in tractors all yr. Laying chickens want a considerable nesting field.
We desire to maintain our women of their coop and, like we beforehand talked about, solely use the tractor throughout the winter as a necessity.
So, are you going to try to use a hen tractor now? Tell us about your experiences within the feedback under.
Need To Share This…
