Building a Small Chicken Tractor. But a little too small for 15 chickens

We are raising 15 meat chickens in the Barn. And we need to prove them out of the brooder and into the pasture. So am going to build a small chicken tractor. Basically a mobile chicken coop that is easy to move. So you can make sure the chickens are on fresh grass everyday. But the chicken tractor I build is a little too small for 15 chickens. It would be more ideal for 10 or less.
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Country View Acres
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We live in southeastern Illinois on a 41 acres homestead. We just finished building our log cabin overlooking our pond. We are trying to grow our own food and raise livestock. Follow us on our journey living the rural life and developing our property and becoming more self sufficient.
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[@JD-en6ph]

One thing I love about this channel is that it shows life as it really is,. You make something and the next time you improve on it. I do not watch channels where everything is perfect every time and nobody makes a mistake. In this day of soap operas this channel is a breath of fresh air. Thank you for a great channel

[@hobbyfarmingro8840]

J & D hello 👋 from Romania 🇷🇴 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZbEeZybaK-op5o

[@ymehair]

Don't beat yourself up, we all think you did a great job! Thanks for sharing. Love the design of it. God Bless! :)

[@sharonanspach2734]

beautiful build!! and just build another one of them :)

[@sueanderson9688]

Just add another one for next time, that way you and Rebecca can move them alone. No need to go too big.

[@anthonygarbarino3670]

Put wheels on one end to help move it around.

[@tbac2432]

like you stated Rebecca can move that one. So make another one the same size and just split the flock in half. Looks like a win to me.

[@matthewboyd3297]

I have seen the chicken tractors made with PVC pipe and they seem to work quite well and are much lighter

[@tbac2432]

@@matthewboyd3297 I have been thinking about doing that. But I do have concerns with the glue and the cleaner for that pipe. The only way I will know is by trying it I guess. Once the world get back on its access I will purchase the pipe and try it. Thank you. Stay safe.

[@debbieshepard42]

Praying for your family. Your wife working so hard to help others with the covi-19. Thank You. Thank you for taking such good care for your animals. Your puppies may get stomach aches by eating their beds. My dogs did the same thing, stomachs happened. God Bless.

[@hankfacer7098]

One big learning & growing process. Trial & error

[@yasminghani2073]

The dogs are so cute and naughty hahaha

[@margeanderson2485]

Cool! Make one more like that and split them up. 😊

[@outdoorstudios2022]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@bethstuart7448]

Great job on the tractor. I would go with multiple ones, so less weight to move. Excellent video as always.

[@cande.purehoney9620]

Nice tractor. Its almost time for Butchering.

[@davidgambler1591]

You built is well, good practice, keep making good vids, 👍

[@504carl]

It's a learning process.

[@marilynwitherell186]

Great job.

[@noregrets7469]

Hey you do your best don’t beat yourself up🙃

[@charlesmartin7347]

Pretty good job in my book. Ain't nothing better than a good effort. Blessings and more Blessings to you and your family

[@mrmordaunt1142]

Lay the hardware cloth across two planks then put a Nibbler bit on the end of your drill and walk down the planks for a straight easy cut.

[@CA-cg3uf]

My Son on my raised garden beds, unrolled the fencing and turned the curved part to ground and flatten it out and then cut it with his saw blade

[@13MoonsOverMayhem]

You just need two of them for that size batch, so they're still moveable. It looks great, not a fail at all, just build another one. I'm really impressed that you managed to salvage everything! Oh, and you might find that an angle grinder for cutting the hardware cloth and metal is handy.

[@tonyaldorsey]

I'm so happy to be a part of the chick raising community. I just got my first chicks

[@EC4400]

Nice job.

[@Yeshuaschosen]

Building two is a great idea! This still worked to get yours out of the brooder.Its perfect for pen for baby chicks!Excellent build so its definitely a win!

[@cande.purehoney9620]

Great job man.

[@markd1300]

LOL, the puppies are just being what puppies do best. Mischievous. But they get along great. You have great videos to watch and is greatly appreciated during this time. Thanks for the laugh.

[@michaelbobbiharris2587]

Good video

[@marcelb4872]

very good video

[@NeilPost71]

Ha! Ll Bean makes a bed our dogs haven't torn apart and you can take the cover off and wash it. It's lasted over a year so far and looks new.

[@JG-sz8is]

It is easy to fix the small size. You can add an extension section (like L shape), and open up the wire net at the joint.

[@kennethsmith5454]

Great job on the tractor....you are very talented and I enjoy all your videos. Thanks for sharing!!!!

[@lorenmeyer5290]

Great job Evan! It will work just fine! God bless!

[@WalkerFarmFam]

Looks nice!

[@stevemartinez6757]

I do a lot of the same that you did. I try to re-purpose or use "scrap" that I have on hand before I purchase materials if/when possible (including hardware). The way that I see it, you learned from your "mistake" and shared it with others. To me that is never a "fail". I do envy your ingenuity and like I have commented many times before on your other videos, I learned something and have some ideas tucked in my head.

[@kingkong7617]

Your two pups are just that, pups and they will grow out of that puppy stage and quit tearing up stuff, but you handled that very well. The chicken tractor may be a bit small, but just build another one and half the chickens. that way either one of you can move them when you need to.

[@noocemiller6005]

Oh those puppies!!! Yeah most of us have been there! Silly little fluff heads!

[@bevnelson3678]

Love the lawn it looks nice and green and flat. All your time and effort’s not wasted Even. Awesome job well done.

[@shortwired2X]

I watch every episode and each build or rebuild is solid thnking on grand scale. It's no failure you'll put it to good use.

[@williamjenkinsiii70]

Make your own dog bed out of burlap feed sacks , fill them with cedar wood chips , if you have a local feed mill you can get the sacks from them and they can sow the end shut after you put the chips in . If they tear it up make another not a lot invested . Also the cedar will repel fleas and ticks !

[@joannak4640]

I don't think it was THAT bad. I expected it to be smaller because of how this was titled. They'll be fine for just a few weeks and like you said, you can make another one to go along with this one in the future ❤️

[@cancermonkey7334]

“Like a chicken that got caught in a tractor’s nuts.!” (Thank you Slim Pickens and Blazing Saddles)

[@TheBeerbelly007]

Yeap, those puppies are just so cute---

[@olddawgdreaming5715]

Twernt no fail Evan, they won’t be in there long. Make another one just like it for the next group and put half in each one. Made do with what was on hand, waste not want not 👍👍. Thanks for sharing with us, sure enjoy what both of you are doing around there. Fred.

[@bevnelson3678]

Great job Even chickens are going to love being out side. Man they have got so huge.

[@tammyrodems7078]

You did a fine job ....just make another tractor same size that way easy move but still enough room

[@shaniaa9287]

I think you did great Evan,👍

[@alosborne2858]

Not a fail it works

[@Smacker3801]

No I dont think its a fail, I'll give you 8 out of 10 for your construction skills, as you mention its a little small, but nobody is perfect, I like it...Trangie NSW Australia

[@kristinerickson8350]

Pups will be pups. Beautiful day!!!

[@Bex-rg8pj]

A great job 👍 your puppies are priceless 🐶💕

[@michael7423]

I think you did a great job. put three poles from side to side for roosts at night. the biggest compliment i think was the chickens seemed happy!

[@nooralli5933]

Good job I like it

[@mridg9464]

I good idea for the water situation is to get some automatic waters from tractor supply they sell suck drinking cups you just screw into a bucket

[@ronhart4166]

My Heelers could tear up CONCRETE 😂 I gave up on beds and now use cheap throw rug. Great job on the tractor 👊

[@davidpowell4601]

Oh man, the goats are gonna love that tractor!

[@jacktomberlin7976]

I have a Dewalt cordless angle grinder that makes amazingly short work of cutting any type of fence. Also great for metal panels. I paid $20 for a 4 1/2” diamond cutting blade over a year ago that is still in it and has been worth its weight in gold. I consider that grinder to be as indispensable on my farm as my impact driver. Keep up the great work!

[@fernandobrown7386]

We have one of these chicken tractor our is alittle bigger but your still work man great job love the dogs as well can't wait to see the next video

[@rspryngfarmcountry4487]

We can't learn if we don't fail, but honestly it's a great chicken tractor! You do quality work and we are all about repurposing what we have lying around. Also you brought back memories of when our Australian shepherd was a puppy...oh the shoes we lost and she was a sock destroyer lol too cute!

[@wileycoyotesr8623]

You did well with what materials were on hand. Nice construction.

[@geoffh1173]

Evan....Sir James Dyson, British inventor and founder of the Dyson company, is a firm believer in failure. In fact, he sees it as an essential part of his success -- a step toward a truly innovative solution. When Dyson invented his first Dual Cyclone vacuum cleaner, which hit stores in 1993, he spent 15 years creating 5,126 versions that failed before he made one that worked. The payoff was a multi-billion dollar company known for its creativity and forward-thinking designs. Keep going...Excellent channel.

[@bulldogcottone5595]

Your pup's are so cute and adorable even when they're being bad LOL... I have a few suggestions that might make some sense. First of all if you got some burlap sacks and filled them with cedar chips and just sewed the end shut with some twine they make great dog beds. A cutting disc will cut right through that wire and that Roofing with ease. Your little feed troughs in the chicken tractor are going to get full of poop that's why all those feeders have spitting bars over the top of them so that the chickens can't Roost on their feeders. Sorry if it sounds like I'm a know-it-all these are just things I noticed and I guess I'm living vicariously through you at this point LOL. Thanks for sharing parts of your life with us. You could mount a milk crate on the end that you have closed in on the outside and put a 5 gallon bucket in the crate.. run the hose to a nipple and wherever you want to put the nipple because you can just run as much hose as you need.

[@johnzink3309]

Thx

[@workhardlivefree3818]

Was a great effort Evan... My first Chickatractor was so heavy I needed my loader tractor to move it... Reckon I may just try the Ructic Rangers next year, they pasture so much better... the downfall is they're a 12 week to slaughter bird. Y'all going to have to build them pups a couple of wooden beds covered in hot sauce... keep em from chewin on em

[@rt3box6tx74]

Not a fail Evan, it's your starter pen for when the chx are tiny. Then they graduate to a bigger tractor as they grow.

[@131dyana]

I love that small critter wire. We use it to keep the hornets out of our rafters in our covered patio, We over lapped the wire and made it too small for the hornets. and we sprayed also. Some one tried to get into our built in laundry room. I covered the window on the inside of the window and nailed it in. TaDa, No more try because you cannot cut that wire with a knife or regular scissors. You can keep the Grand Kids out of the strawberries and keep the birds out of the grapes. Love that wire. Glad you have that. It also keeps out snakes and foxes from your chickens.

[@patwanner1781]

Getting a big snow storm here in Wyoming....hope you guys are safe and sound.🐓🐓🐓

[@inglis7086]

it's not a fail - just make two then you have options - layer chickens when they are babies, and turkeys babies and meat chickens and Rebecca can move the smaller ones which I am sure she will want to be involved with when she is not working

[@thomasdecastro8166]

That would make a great rabbit tractor

[@marytucker9404]

You should add tires at one end if you're going to make it bigger. But, I like it.

[@michael7423]

can your dogs till my garden please LOL, i wish i could have been your extra pair of hands!

[@millerurbanhomesteading8632]

great vid.... i have built several 4 x 8 chicken tractors and sold them on craigslist for 125 dollars each....couldnt keep up with demand....also built several goat milking stands , nest boxes and rabbit cages....all sold.... it was a nice little extra income thing ....

[@ivanmkennedy]

I use a grinder with a cutoff wheel to cut my hardware cloth.

[@thebear5454]

Not a FAIL....you just need to make another one & only put 8 birds in each. Easy Peezy. :)

[@flvince]

Just build a second one, looks damn good!!

[@dakota3206]

easy way to cut that wire is using an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. fast and easy

[@douglasthompson2740]

Make them modular with cross doors. Wing nuts and quick bolts. Separate them when you have to move them any distance or install wheels that make contact when you lift the opposite end. Will that steel bake them in the summer sun?

[@kaymax7031]

Failing is learning.

[@bocco49]

Hi Even so I just watched your video on building a chicken tractor that is small If you go to Lumnah acres on KZbin Al has a video on building a chicken tractor for around $30 and it is very spacious and easy to move I enjoy your channel Thanks for sharing

[@2012nowornever]

Build another one just like it and bolt it to one side of the other one. Leave the matching sides open. If it is too heavy to move attach four wheels.

[@marlenecampbell6212]

NICE SIZE TRACTOR JUST BUILD ONE MORE JUST LIKE THIS ONE.

[@wendy833]

I like your chicken tractor. Build another next to it and have a tunnel that opens between them.

[@masonbaylorbears]

Chewy sell beds thats affordable but its like a raised mesh that they cant chew up. We have that and put some blankets on it.

[@masonbaylorbears]

www.chewy.com/kh-pet-products-elevated-dog-bed-gray/dp/128051 here is one.

[@jbraeslamb]

You forgot the roosts Evan. When you build the bigger chicken tractor you can put wheels on it to make it easier to move.

[@jasoncorreal8810]

Meet chickens dont roost. They actually have trouble walking sometimes because they weigh so much compared to their bone structure

[@peterhowarth5136]

Try making it with PVC pipe, a lot lighter. Stoney Ridge Farmer has a video of how to build it. Maybe a lot more expensive but will last forever.

[@csnanny1882]

I was surprised you don’t have a kennel for the puppies. My pups loved to be put up when no one was home and a thunder storm came. They were scared but feel safe in their kennel. They got mad at me because I didn’t put them up while I ran to the store and emptying all my waste baskets.

[@janfrench4691]

Have you got enough materials on hand to make another one. Then divide the flock. between the two.

[@francelvaneeden6033]

this was perfect the upside is the less they move the less energy they use ie more wheight gain. This is what I do and raise about 2000 chickens per week

[@TheUserid82]

Looks like you need to put some support arms on the wall of the barn for a place to store lumber. Why bend down to look at a pile when you can spread it out going up a wall where you can sort sizes and types of lumber. Remember the value of old bikes you see in peoples trash. Bike wheels on one side of the tractor will let you move it much easier.

[@CountryViewAcres]

Yes, I am hoping to do that sometime.

[@Michyhauser]

MAGGIE !!!!!!!!

[@monirep5359]

😍😍😍

[@sueanderson9688]

My dogs, I got two together as puppies, they were so bad as puppies. Still didn't buy more beds for them. They went through everything including my king size bed foam top. Now 4 years later they still egg each other on to do bad things but now its manageable..... some times lol good luck stay safe

[@Proud_White_Conservative1980]

Check out Josh's ( Stoney Ridge Farm's ) chicken tractor. Its pvc and bigger but probably way lighter.

[@murielmartin6533]

Build a second one or more esp. if this is easy to move. Hopefully they will not get stunted by not having enough room to move around. Anyhow I like watching your building and gardening projects

[@Bass2010]

My heeler did the same thing twice can’t get mad they are just puppy’s 🙂

[@toddcaskey9984]

Use it this year and then U can use it for a chicken to hatch out eggs by her self or when a chicken is sick , for rabbits to get grass .

[@MrBigblueford]

Add a perch inside if the chicken tractor that will allow the chickens to go up in the air which will give them more space on the ground.

[@imhere9745Elaine]

Wheels are the best way to go .save your backs. Think wheelbarrow. You can get the wheel at any hardware. Store goog luck .

[@garylollman5339]

If you are happy with the amount of chicken get for harvest. Just build a second one same size and split your batch between the two. You will give chickens more room and the Mrs will be able to move the tractors around by herself.

[@davidgourdie3691]

Check out stony ridge farm for their chicken tractor.Made using pvc tube ,light and large.

[@backwoodsbaby9729]

This is exactly what I was thinking to build. But better. Lol Thanks for letting me do it better. (And not get 20 chick's for in there lol) I want a 3ft wide one so I can eventually run it thru my berry rows. So I can't do a typical 10x12 (also how do they fetch those birds?)