Meat bird chicken tractor ideas

[HiddenFawnHomestead]

Hi there! Looking for some chicken tractor ideas for my meat birds next year. Normally we use hoop houses & movable fencing, but I’d like to see if using a chicken tractor and moving it daily will be easier for us, help my chickens grow quicker, and help save $ on feed.
we raise freedom rangers on organic feed, and they just take so long to grow, with feed prices skyrocketing, I think it’s best to try out a method that will allow them to eat grass & bugs, while keeping them from running all over and eating way more feed...
Thanks so much

 

[All4Eggz]

I believe @aart had some ideas ??

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

A REAL chicken tractor has always been my dream, though unfortunately, I've never owned one. With my meat birds, I got a truck top, and moved that around in the yard for a coop. (Though not very predator proof. Had guinea keets in protecting the flock.)

 

[aart]

I believe @aart had some ideas ??

You could have found it in my articles
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

 

[iwltfum]

The more simple the better. I use joel salatin style chicken tractors made in the exact dimensions and details in his book Pastured Poultry Profits. I have tried several designs and the salatin is the most efficient from what I've seen. We also grow freedom rangers. About 650 of them this season in 6 pasture pens (in staggered batches - not all at the same time). 65 to 70 birds in a 10x10 pen. We have also free ranged some batches of freedom rangers and it takes them about 2x longer to reach the same weight as their chicken tractor counterparts. The chicken tractors will put out 5# freedom rangers in 9 weeks pretty consistently for us. Takes more like 16 weeks to make the same weight under full free range conditions.

 

[HiddenFawnHomestead]

A REAL chicken tractor has always been my dream, though unfortunately, I've never owned one. With my meat birds, I got a truck top, and moved that around in the yard for a coop. (Though not very predator proof. Had guinea keets in protecting the flock.)

I found one on Pinterest that seems very straight forward and easy to put together. I have heard of people using truck beds, I would think the metal gets very hot and that’s what my main concern would be

 

[HiddenFawnHomestead]

You could have found it in my articles
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-hoop-coop-chicken-tractor.72211/

This is actually the design of our first hoop house, and we built 2 more, both shorter in height to this one. Our turkeys are in the one like the one in the article, and it works well for them. I need something I can easily feed and water them with.

 

[HiddenFawnHomestead]

The more simple the better. I use joel salatin style chicken tractors made in the exact dimensions and details in his book Pastured Poultry Profits. I have tried several designs and the salatin is the most efficient from what I've seen. We also grow freedom rangers. About 650 of them this season in 6 pasture pens (in staggered batches - not all at the same time). 65 to 70 birds in a 10x10 pen. We have also free ranged some batches of freedom rangers and it takes them about 2x longer to reach the same weight as their chicken tractor counterparts. The chicken tractors will put out 5# freedom rangers in 9 weeks pretty consistently for us. Takes more like 16 weeks to make the same weight under full free range conditions.

This is what I’m seeing and why I need to switch it up. They are just taking way too long for us, even though they’re delicious and I’ll never go back to Cornish X, I need to find a way to get them done quicker....even by just a couple weeks.

 

[aart]

This is actually the design of our first hoop house, and we built 2 more, both shorter in height to this one. Our turkeys are in the one like the one in the article, and it works well for them. I need something I can easily feed and water them with.

How would changing the tractor make them easier to feed and water?

 

[Isadora]

here's the one we built