Just picked up seven two week old chicks. Weather will soon be warm and would like to get them outdoors as soon as I can. They will be too young for quite a while to be around the few older chickens. Also, they must be protected from our cats as well as other predators.

Can anyone recommend a practical small chicken tractor for these young ones to be in during the day (when weather is nice & warm) until they can be introduced to other chickens in a couple of months?

Would appreciate any ideas you have or any websites to visit.

-- HV (veggie@ourplace.com), March 20, 2002

Answers

HV, Last year we built a very simple temporary shelter from a few bales of straw, some t-posts, chicken wire and a board.

We laid the bales in a u-shape and put the board on top, drove the t- posts in and put the wire around it all.

-- Lav, Maryland` (lavenderbluedilly@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

I'm guessing that you are talking about young chickens that have already feathered out. I use a pen made from PVC pipe and chicken wire. I glued the frame together and used hog rings to attach the chicken wire on to it. It's light weight and easy to move. I have wheels on one end of it to move it around the yard. I have used it for a variety of animals, baby ducks, geese, puppies, lambs. It's been pretty handy. Hope this helps!

-- cowgirlone in oK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

cowgirlone,

How did you glue the pvc together? What product I mean. The nose ring idea is one I hadn't thought of. I'd like to make a pvc chicken tractor.

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

Anne, I used regular PVC glue, they carry it at the lumber yard where I get the PVC. I'm sold on PVC, it is so light weight and easy to work with. Hope this helps!

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

I should mention too that I have one pvc/chicken wire pen consisting of 4 panels wired together in a 10ft. x 12ft. rectangle. It is easy to take apart and store flat when not needed.

-- cowgirlone in OK (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

Cowgirlone is right with the panels easy to store and assemble, my sections are 8 ft. with 1 ft. overhang on each end to slip into larger pvc and pin them together. On corners you use the connection you feel confortable with. Mary

-- Mary (marwel@microserve.net), March 20, 2002.

Chicken wire is good for keeping the birds IN, but lousy for keeping predators OUT. Dogs and coyotes go thru it like it's hot butter. And what about the predator that digs under? Nevertheless, here's some tractor plans:

One

Two

Three

Four

-- ~Rogo (rogo2222@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002.

That last link is very interesting because of the heated water bucket with drinking nipples for the chickens (Water is added outside the tractor).

I wonder how you'd teach them to drink from it--you would have to push their heads through that hole and hold it under the nipple to learn how to use it --no?

But boy, would that be an ideal setup!

Anyone with experience with outdoor watering systems?

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 21, 2002.