In a really perfect world, we might let our chickens free-range all 12 months spherical, and we’re positive they might respect us for this. Nonetheless, what do you do throughout the winter, when predators equivalent to foxes are determined and danger an assault throughout the daytime? The reply is rooster tractors.
You could possibly 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 rooster tractor, and the women rewarded us by growing their egg-laying!
Word: Learn How A lot Room Do Chickens Want in case you are making your pen and must work out how massive it must be.
Not heard of a rooster tractor earlier than or questioned 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 rooster tractor earlier than, you most likely marvel what precisely a rooster tractor is?
A rooster tractor is a transportable pen that you would be able to transfer round your backyard to offer your chickens with a continuing contemporary grass provide.
Rooster tractors are normally simply dragged throughout the backyard; nonetheless, you will get ‘fancier’ tractors which have wheels to make them simpler to tug!
At this level, you’re most likely questioning how that is any totally different from my common rooster pen.
Rooster Tractor Vs. Rooster Pen
Probably the most vital distinction between a rooster tractor and a rooster pen is {that a} rooster pen isn’t moveable – a pen is hooked up to the facet of your rooster coop.
A pen tends to be safer as a result of it’s a everlasting construction, and you may bury the rooster wire down into the bottom to cease predators from digging beneath the pen.
Nonetheless, 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.
Until you present your chickens with a big pen this can at all times occur, and for many yard rooster keepers, we don’t have the house to increase the pen.
That is the place the rooster tractor is available in. As a result of rooster tractors are very cellular, it means you possibly can transfer them round when your ladies have cleared a patch of land.
This implies they get entry to contemporary grass and totally different areas of your backyard, stopping them from overgrazing any explicit part of your backyard.
It additionally stops them from consuming issues they aren’t purported to. i.e., seeds you’ve planted, greens, and flowers!
Experimenting A Cellular Rooster Coop
So let’s now speak about how utilizing rooster tractors made our chickens lay extra eggs.
We nonetheless bear in mind fencing off their pen after we bought our chickens at round 18 weeks outdated.
We began with six chickens, they usually had a pen roughly 15×8 toes.
All through the summer time, our ladies free-ranged within the backyard.
Nonetheless, we saved them in pen throughout the winter as a result of we have been apprehensive about foxes attacking them (they get determined and can assault in daylight if needed).
The summer time was incredible, and our ladies have been mendacity effectively; then winter was coming round, so it was time to put the women again of their pen.
Inside a month, our ladies had completely worn out the grass, and it was turning right into a mud tub in the course of December!
Hmmm.
Not supreme.
We prolonged the pen by one other 15×8 foot, and once more by the top of January, their total 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, however it was actually off the spectrum.
We expect the issue was as a result of they’d eaten all of the grass, they solely had dust to scratch round in, they usually didn’t like this, and it unsettled them.
If we had used a rooster tractor again, we might have moved our chickens across the varied patches of grass.
This is able to have allowed the brand new grass to recuperate and develop again.
We had a dilemma, we’re blissful for our chickens to roam wherever within the backyard, however throughout the winter, they must be safe as a result of danger of them getting attacked.
We will’t place rooster wire across the fringe of our total backyard (it might seem like 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 rooster tractor.
We deliberate to maintain the women of their coop in a single day to roost, after which we might put them within the tractor throughout the day.
The tractor can be moved every week- to cease them overgrazing any explicit space.
One sudden facet impact was that though their egg manufacturing slowed down throughout the winter, they nonetheless laid much more eggs than the earlier winter!
Nonetheless, 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 mates came to visit and needed to know the way we used the tractor, so we wrote them a listing 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 observed our eggs change when our hens had entry to the grass below the tractor year-round. The yolks turned darker and tasted higher!
As a result of grass meets our hens’ protein necessities, their manufacturing spiked! A rooster’s each day nutrient requirement is one-quarter of the way in which fulfilled by consuming grass. To not point out the nutritional vitamins and minerals additionally they get from consuming the greens (E, C, and Iron).
Implementing the rooster tractors in our poultry-raising routine allowed our hens to eat a extra pure food regimen 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 protected throughout the winter.
Hold the Coop: Within the night, we push the tractor again over to their coop, they usually roost in there at night time.
Make Certain You Rotate It: Every week, we transfer the tractor to a brand new place within the backyard.
Shield Towards Flooding: If sure areas of your backyard are liable to flooding, be sure to place the tractor on larger floor.
At all times transfer the tractor if the bottom beneath it’s naked.
You Want Flat Floor: Ensure you solely use the tractor on flat floor. The bumpy floor just isn’t supreme for tractors as a result of it may well go away gaps which the chickens would possibly escape from.
Shut It on Snow Days: We maintain the women of their coop/pen on concise winter days. We expect it might be too chilly for them to be out within the snow.
Test for Eggs: Though we’ve got a small nesting field at one finish of the rooster tractor, some ladies 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 trying to find any hidden eggs, make certain there aren’t any pellets or different meals on the ground as a result of this can appeal to pests equivalent to mice.
Right here is a superb video I discovered exhibiting what can occur to your grass with no rooster tractor!
Do I would like a coop/pen with my rooster tractor?
When most individuals hear about rooster tractors, I feel one of many first questions is- does this imply I don’t want a rooster coop anymore?
This is determined by the local weather you reside in and the bread of your chickens.
For those who stay in a heat local weather all 12 months spherical, you possibly can maintain your ladies of their tractors (however we wouldn’t suggest it).
Nonetheless, 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 saved in tractors all 12 months. Laying chickens want a considerable nesting field.
We desire to maintain our ladies 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 rooster tractor now? Tell us about your experiences within the feedback beneath.
Need To Share This…
