by Steve Nicolini
A chicken tractor is truly a wonderful thing. On the homestead or in the backyard, these floorless, movable chicken coops allow you to fully utilize the benefits that chickens offer.
Most movable chicken pens are built with a wooden skeleton and chicken wire walls. They usually have a small sheltered area built into one end that contains a roost (a horizontal stick that the chickens sleep on) and a nesting box (for laying eggs). Dimensions vary depending on the number of chickens, but the tractors are usually 4 to 10 feet wide and 6 to 15 feet long. Most tractors also contain a water source and a feeder.
The amount of birds in a flock will dictate the square footage of the chicken tractor. It is a ratio of 1-2 birds per 3 square feet of space. So if you live in the city with a 6 bird flock you would probably build a 4 ft. x 5ft. tractor. If you are raising a big flock of 40 meat chickens on pasture, then you are looking at a 5ft. x 12 ft. pen. I know of one farmer who keeps 70 birds in a 10 ft. x 12 ft. tractor.
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