Hi there, I’m Kathy Murphy. I recently got started raising chickens on my property and wanted to share what we did when we built our own chicken coop. We have just about an acre of property – not too big. But big enough for chickens! I got the crazy idea that I could raise some chickens about a year ago. I thought it was a great idea – free eggs, free manure - pest control My husband thought I was nuts but I set my mind to it. I thought it would be a great learning experience for the kids too. I started this site because I was just so dang excited when I finally found some chicken tractor plans online after looking and looking!
I started researching how to build chicken coops. I quickly discovered that the pre-made ones are pretty expensive. Plus you have to get them shipped. So I thought my husband and I could probably manage to figure it how to build one. I also had no clue about what kind of materials I might need to build the coop or even where to put it in the yard. I searched online looking for some easy plans and finally found this great set geared toward those of us who don’t have much experience building stuff. They take you step by step through the process on what materials to get, how to cut the wood and how to assemble the tractors. And there were so many neat plans to pick from. I discovered one style of coop that is called a “chicken tractor” which fit our needs well. It is small, lightweight and holds about 4 chickens. Plus it’s easy to build. Here are a couple of sample pages from the book:
I know it’s hard to tell what is exactly inside a book like this so I also put together this short video to give you a tour around the plans.
Our tractor turned out so great! We were a little bit slow building it because of the learning curve but we finished it. Hand-built chicken tractors have a ton of character and they are much less expensive to build. My little flock of four bantams just love it. I can move it around the yard and they get fresh grass and bugs to find. I love having fresh eggs and the kids actually enjoy their “chores” of tending to the chickens. Anyway, if you are as excited as I am about keeping chickens in your yard, I just know you will love the tractor plans I found. Good luck on your backyard chicken adventure!
Keeping chickens in your backyard is quickly becoming a popular hobby. There are new websites popping up online every day devoted to how to raise chickens and how to find free chicken tractor plans. Lots of folks who are just starting out with chickens turn to the Internet looking for information on how to get started. If you think about it, there is quite a lot to learn about chickens if you have never seen one except in a petting zoo! Nonetheless, people are finding out that the benefits of raising chickens in their yard are numerous. For a very little investment, you can get a few chickens for your backyard. Your chickens will give you free eggs, pest control, fertilizer for your garden and hours of endless entertainment.
You are a good neighbor when you choose to build a tractor to house your chickens. Chicken tractors are portable chicken coops and perfect for an urban backyard or smaller homestead. Some people have never heard of a chicken tractor – you will also hear the term “chicken ark” used in the UK or Australia. Other people use generic terms like chicken coop, chicken pen, or chicken run to describe similar set ups. These days, people are interested in building their own tractors to save money. It is true that you can throw together a tractor or coop for very little money. Lots of people have been successful creating their own versions of tractors and putting their free chicken tractor plans online to share with everyone. You can usually find these free plans in discussion forums around the Internet relating to chickens or farming.
Free chicken tractor plans sound great because you can take advantage of the knowledge someone else gained while putting their tractor together. You might think that is the way to go but since the plans were created by a hobbyist, there is usually not enough detail given to help the novice carpenter. You might be given some rough measurements and incomplete diagrams that don’t tell you what to do step by step. You will end up wasting money if you have buy more lumber after incorrect cuts. Also, if the assembly is not precise, you may leave your chickens vulnerable to predators or the elements.
You also need to make sure you are using the proper materials and placing the chicken tractor in the right position in the yard. Information about the correct use of the coop is not always found with the free chicken tractor plans. It is worth it to get some professionally designed chicken tractor plans since all of the materials you need are provided in a list and every step in the process is given in detail. You will make up the cost with saved frustration and less wasted time. Check out these great designs for a chicken tractor (or chicken ark)
So you have become interested in keeping chickens either in your backyard or on your property and you have heard about something called a chicken tractor. Is it the same thing as a chicken coop, a chicken run, a chicken ark? There are a lot of names for structures to keep chickens in so read on to find out more about them.
A chicken tractor is basically a chicken coop that can be moved around the yard and has no floor in it. They are typically lightweight so that you can move it around by yourself without much effort. Sometimes people like to add wheels to one end to make it easier to move around. The most common shape for a chicken tractor is an A-frame but there many other designs that work just as well.
Chicken Tractor picture
The advantage to using a tractor is that you can get the benefits of free range chickens while still protecting them from predators and the weather. Any eggs that are laid are also protected. Within the tractor, the chickens are able to forage on the grass, weeds and bugs. Then the tractor is moved to another location in the yard. Allowing the chickens to forage this way helps decrease the amount of feed that you have to buy.
Another advantage is that you do not have to keep any floors clean. You also get lots of manure to use for your garden or compost.The whole concept of the chicken tractor mimics cycle of free ranging chickens foraging in one location at a time and moving on to another area so that the first area can recover.
Chicken tractor is the name used in the United States. It is known as a chicken ark in the United Kingdom. Both are types of chicken coops, which is the generic name for any enclosure that protects chickens. There are many kinds of chicken tractor plans available online that are geared toward do-it-yourself types.
Thanks for stopping by Chicken Tractor Plans! I hope you enjoy the information we have about chicken tractors, chicken tractor plans, and raising backyard chickens!
My husband thought I was nuts but I set my mind to it. I thought it would be a great learning experience for the kids too. I started this site because I was just so dang excited when I finally found some chicken tractor plans online after looking and looking!
Hi, I'm Kathy Murphy! Hope you enjoy learning about chicken tractors and finding chicken tractor plans. 