Moving the Chicks Onto Grass

This week, my focus was primarily on the new chicks that we are getting ready to integrate into our egg mobile. They were starting to get a little too big for the brooder, and it was time to get them out onto pasture.  The chicks are being hardened off and gradually introduced to the pasture system before joining the egg mobile.

I kicked around a couple of ideas for a chicken tractor, but the design shown in the picture here and below is about as simple as it gets. You can find versions of this design on all kinds of farming and homesteading websites. It is basically a rectangular box with a lid on top, enclosed with quarter-inch hardware cloth.

One thing I did differently was leave about an inch and a half of excess hardware cloth along the bottom edge. That allows me to push it down against the ground to help discourage snakes or other small predators from getting underneath.

I could have made the tractor a little bigger, but I wanted to keep it practical. The finished size is about 22 inches wide, 24 inches high, and 8 feet long. That size makes it easier to store in the equipment barn when it is not in use. Anything much bigger would probably become more difficult to move around and put away.

The 8-foot length also gives the chicks enough room for their feed tray and waterer without making the space too tight. They still have room to move around, scratch, and get some exercise while getting used to life outside the brooder.

Another possible use for this tractor may come later this year, or maybe next year, if we decide to raise a small batch of Cornish Cross meat birds on pasture. Since we would not be selling them retail, they would just be for our own freezer. I would probably only raise about ten at a time, and I think this chicken tractor would handle that number pretty well until butcher time.

Of course, a little water still has to go under the bridge before then. I would need to decide whether it makes sense to purchase a chicken plucker and a scalder that we could use as family tools here on the farm.

I do not plan to make a full construction post about this chicken tractor, mainly because the design is so simple. There are plenty of plans and examples available online for anyone who wants to build something similar. For our purposes, this little tractor should do exactly what we need: get the chicks safely out on grass, give them room to grow, and help them make the transition into the egg mobile.