Ep 31: We review the Suscovich Chicken Tractor design

[@jeffkaiphas5842]

Thoroughly enjoyed you two! great to see like minded easy going folks!

[@24revealer]

I put wheels with the height adjusters from an old lawn mower on my chicken tractor. Works pretty slick and you can go as slow as you have to so you don't harm any of the birds. This way you aren't lifting one end, you just have to push.

[@andrewe6272]

Thanks for the video. Great review , I'm going to purchase the book now and build the tractor this summer. Also excellent audio!

[@cassityart7001]

Great info about the watering comparisons. Have seen this issue cause lots of problems in the past for our flocks. And access using the human door makes managing much easier especially if you have a bird loss.

[@jbaker4900]

I appreciate all of your videos and the effort you put into weekly updates. At some point, I would love to see the walk in freezer. With content being size, shelving, organization and rotation of meats. Also maximum capacity for those of interested. I'm envious! Thank you again

[@RedToolHouse]

J Baker honestly, I would like to see that myself. I am still putting the shelves in and I discovered I have some air leaks around the door. I am limited on the ability to work on it now as it is full and zero degrees. Hard to spend much time or it checking out the issues! Once I rotate my pork out of it, I will do a review and repair video.

[@buckaroobonzai8646]

LOL, Enjoyed the humor at the end almost had belly-aches it seemed. Nice video.

[@RedToolHouse]

We try to have fun!

[@trockodile]

Stumbled across your channel and this upload real late, but instant like and subscribe! A clear, honest and very fair review of both John's tractor and the use of tractors in general for your own situation. I'm looking forward to working my way through your back catalogue of content and future uploads. Thank you for sharing and keep up the good work!

[@suemcfarlane4199]

In Australia I would just use shade cloth to cover it and not a tarp some of the hotter parts of the USA would be the same

[@PrinceCbass]

we used an old piece of electrical wire for the pull rope. Very sturdy and will last forever. A little pvc pipe or old piece of hose for the handle works good too.

[@RedToolHouse]

Good ideas!

[@joshuamapel4201]

Great review. I have 3 of these tractors and the one addition that I came up with was a bungee cord attached tok the door to make it close behind you. This helps keep my kids and dogs from walking in behind me and scaring my chickens out of the tractor.

[@RedToolHouse]

Joshua Mapel that is a good addition.

[@rosetheriveter1]

Thanks so much! I'm looking to get started doing pastured poultry next spring and this was very helpful :)

[@ede2225]

Really cool how you guys talk in stereo--wearing headphones, with her voice in the left ear and yours in the right.

[@RedToolHouse]

We actually corrected that due to complaining. I have a two channel wireless mic system and now we make it dual mono. Some people said it was making them ill!

[@cschmitty75]

You guys are great apparently I watch and try to practice same folks as you. But totally adapt to my environment in way upstate NY bout an hour north of SU

[@garywylie2231]

I subscribed to your channel a few weeks ago and I enjoy the content. I've been watching the older episodes and I have several more to watch. thanks for sharing and I look forward to future videos.

[@RedToolHouse]

Gary Wylie thanks for watching!

[@leslieputnam9385]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@RedToolHouse]

Sure thing!

[@djpedromixhouston]

Enjoyed the talk 😊👍

[@RonGay58]

I just bought everything I need to build one and it came to $238.52. Of course, this is in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak so that drove the price up. And I already had the chicken wire which saved me about $45.00.

[@RedToolHouse]

That is right in line with the estimate from his book. Good luck!

[@homesteadwannabee4253]

Playing catch up on your videos, and this one has lit a fire! Thank you. Blessings ~

[@RedToolHouse]

Homestead Wannabee awesome! Now get to work!! 😁😁

[@Jonzuber]

Great advice

[@danieldowning4583]

Just recently subd ya. Great channel. This is a great chick tractor. One thing I did not hear accounted for was longevity. This tractor will last for possibly generations. So cost is drastically reduced over time. GOD Bless.

[@RedToolHouse]

Daniel Downing absolutely. Great point. The construction of this shelter will allow it to last for a very long time. Getting them up off the ground during winter time would make it last even longer. Thanks for subscribing!!

[@monteverdefarms5626]

We have six of these type tractors and two more that we will be building next month. We have been limiting the number of chickens in each tractor to around twenty and we have a mixture of breeds. We have Buff Orpingtons (mostly), Plymouth Barred Rocks, Red Rangers and Speckled Sussex. They are slower growers but beget lots of eggs and the meat is supposedly better than the Cornish Crosses which I do not care for.Because we mostly have multi-purpose birds we have made a couple of changes to the Suscovich tractors. on one side we run a two by four about 8 inches off the ground for the chickens to roost and on the other side we run another two by four with home depot orange buckets made into laying boxes. The last two tractors we made we added 6 inches to the height which makes it a heck of a lot easier to go in and out of. Check out our instagram account. finally we have white tarps that cover the tractors down to the vertical walls, they are 10x12 from amazon. This last winter we wrapped plastic around the bottoms of the tractors, except for the door and the chickens did fine over Winter. We are in VA.

[@RedToolHouse]

Monte Verde Farms excellent. I figured they would be good egg layer tractors as well. Would love to see pictures of your setup.

[@monteverdefarms5626]

We have pics on our Instagram page. We do not yet making videos because we are so darn busy but we hope to do so soon.

[@mascatrails661]

Thanks for putting this video together. I've been considering tractor designs and your review was helpful! In regards to the feeders swinging, maybe some more lines rigging it to wider points in the tractor could stabilize it... though you would then be dodging strings like a secret agent crossing a laser field. John's got a video where he talks about the tarps he uses... seems he goes for quality and durability over cheap and replaceable, always bringing them in when not in use.

[@RedToolHouse]

Next year I am going to mount the trough to one side of the tractor. The swinging trough was a fail. The tarp has held up fine so far. I may leave it on all winter just to see how long it will last.

[@muharremcamci1936]

Another nice video

[@maineiacacres]

You two are a HOOT! Subbed and "Belled".

[@RedToolHouse]

Thanks for joining us!

[@tealkerberus748]

Regards the conduit bender, if you designed the coop with an even curve over the top would your conduit bend enough without needing a special tool? I used to have a chicken dome that was entirely framed in conduit, and it wasn't too stiff to bend by hand - from memory one circle was about a 4m circumference. The stuff makes a surprisingly rigid frame when it's all put together, and extremely light - it had to be pegged down to prevent it from sailing away, but it was quite easy to move.

[@crosstimbersfarm7568]

Thanks for the great video and the humor at the end, it was great! I am planning a tractor build and torn about the design. Our tractor(s) will also be in a pasture with meat-breed goats. I can see the goats tearing the tarp to shreds in no time. On a Salatin-style tractor they will want to jump up on the top. I am contemplating the Suscovich-style tractor but using recycled tin attached to the conduit instead of a tarp. Thoughts? Too much weight using tin? Thanks in advance.

[@brich2929]

you could use tin, or as Salatin uses- Corrugated Aluminum

[@NikkiBrown4theLord]

Hi! I have a question. I did not hear you discuss rain issues. Do the chickens get too wet? Yesterday we lost 4 of our broilers that are 6 weeks old due to the heavy rain with the Polyface style chicken tractor. Nursed 3 more back to health. When the weather got cool and with the sideways rain bullets we had yesterday here in ohio the mostly smaller "Featherless" chickens couldn't handle it. My son usually puts straw down for them to get up on but I was home with my girls and didn't know to go do that, besides the fact that we are now out of straw. How does this coop design handle heavy rain and cooler temperatures? God Bless you!

[@ubetchya78]

I watched a video, and I wish I could remember who posted it, where they put another 2x4 inside the length of the tractor so the birds could roost, I think he raised turkeys in his tractors, too. In one video (I think it was John Suscovich) said that the chicken nipples sometimes leak then they start working properly after a few days. One guy also had a problem with the chicken nipples getting clogged and his chickens weren't getting water for a day, luckily he noticed their bucket water not decreasing level - so a person definitely needs to keep track for properly working nipples. There are also the cups, those seem like they'd be an easier yet still cheap alternative, as you can easily see if there is water getting into the cups or not. I think you missed the biggest "pro" for the chicken tractor in being that the chickens themselves feel less cramped in, giving them a better quality of life. Thank you for the informative video!

[@RedToolHouse]

ubetchya78 we have done another video where we move my son’s egg laying chickens into the tractor. We put in a roost bar and a bell waterer. The nipples can be a bit contrary

[@RusticByNature]

Nicely done video. Just subbed you.

[@RedToolHouse]

Thanks for joining us!

[@danveneski726]

You could always have your feed trough fixed along one of the walls so it's still elevated but they can't jump on it

[@PrattTyler]

I'm really interested in this design for laying hens. Obviously it should be an easy adaptation to add a small nest box, but it requires straying from the design and adding a fair amount of weight. Any thoughts? Also, curious what the true pasture pros think (other than Suscovich). I don't like the look/feel of Salatin's (too short) but I imagine he came across that design (and abandoned the domed roof) for a good reason. Any thoughts on this?

[@RedToolHouse]

We ran egg layers in ours for a while. With no more than 30 birds in the tractor, you need 7 nesting boxes. We zip tied milk crates to the back so they could be suspended off the ground. We only had 15 chickens in this one so we just had 3 nesting boxes. If you put them in the back, it keeps the weight close to the fulcrum of the wheels. I think it would be very doable. If you wanted to keep from having to walk in for eggs, you could make an access door on the back to reach in for eggs. Salatin's design has been around for decades. I think he has always had the lower tractors.

[@PrattTyler]

Thanks for your thoughts! I really appreciate what you guys are doing!! Keep up the good work!

[@carolinacurrea7094]

Hi. Any chance kreg can be used for connecting 2x4? Would that be strong enough?

[@RedToolHouse]

I think those would work fine. It would be a bit more labor and the cost of the pocket screws

[@RobinDemey]

What about wind? Does it not flip over in stormy weather?

[@RedToolHouse]

No, not yet. We are in a protected valley, however. If I was on prairie, then I would be a little more concerned.

[@wezproducts2782]

What size conduit are you using?

[@RedToolHouse]

half inch

[@dennismott9183]

You could make yourself a2x4 jig which we do all the time in our electrical business

[@sansomspressurecleaningpoo9519]

I noticed you don’t have a fence around your chicken tractor do you ever have a problem with animals trying to dig underneath the chicken tractor if so what do you do?

[@RedToolHouse]

I have not had any issues with that. I have a fox that shows up every once and a while, but he hasn't tried to dig under.

[@mr.skeptical3071]

Did you chicken wire the entire top? I know the design says not to, but it's not a good idea as predators can get in

[@xyooj96]

how much feed is ration to a bird? what's the weight of the mobile unit?

[@PyroDanUK]

Don't focus too much on having to buy a conduit bending tool... instead just buy one and instead think about all the other things you could use conduit for around the homestead and take advantage of it as a cheap material.

[@julianramirez7563]

Which is the best chicken breed to get i want meat n egg layer

[@IslandExoticsHomestead]

Enjoyed your review. Thanks for the video you two! :)

[@nenefred]

hi nice video

[@thesavorylife7707]

FLASH BACK for sure

[@909busa]

You want your heavy water load as far back and close to the wheels as possible so you are pulling the weight not lifting it.

[@RedToolHouse]

Agreed. We now have our bucket suspended from the inside of the back wall that gravity feeds a bell waterer. That gets it as close to the wheels without being outside. We also move the tractor first in the morning and then refill the waterer for the day.

[@YoderConcreteTV]

I purchased John's book on line 2 months ago and never received it, so I purchased the download version 2 weeks ago so I could start building my chicken tractor but never received it. I'm out $24 and been fooled twice.

[@RedToolHouse]

from Amazon or John' site? Send him an email. He will make it right

[@seamonsdoug5141]

So how heavy is this? And can a man move this or do you need a ATV?

[@seamonsdoug5141]

Guess I should of listened to the whole video before I asked, the wife answered my question as I was writing the comment

[@superma74]

as a solution to the feed trough for the freedom ranger why not leave it out and just dump the feed on the ground? they are eating all the spillage so they won't waste it and they are grazing the grass and bugs so there is no sanity issue, since they are standing in the trough crapping in it.we just throw a scoop full of feed to our layers and they have no issues with it at all.

[@RedToolHouse]

That would work, I guess. I'm sure my initial shock at that idea is purely psychological as if there is something evil about throwing feed on the ground :) It takes them half the day to eat the ration we put out but with the tarp cover the feed would wash away if it was raining...

[@superma74]

sometimes our predispositions get in the way of practical solutions.

[@Firstfalconfree]

I also toss my feed on the ground. My chickens enjoy working for their feed by pecking it off the ground, and I don't have to try to keep a feeder clean. It doesn't work so well if you keep them in one place for long periods of time, but if you are moving them around in a tractor, it works very well. Doesn't work well for all animals, but it works for chickens.

[@CarolReidCA]

Hi! VERY helpful information! Good to find your channel! I've been thinking of getting a few chickens for eggs. You've given me much to think about! Types of waterers (I wondered about the open nipples clogging, or perhaps worse, dripping & draining the water source! I saw somewhere that they only take 1-5psi, so house water here would kikely have a problem, as I'm at 90psi! High, but I live near the mountains, so with others higher that I in elevation, the pressure has to be higher for them to get water), joints for building anything (I'm a huge fan of dove-tailing!), tube benders (buy, rent, or buy pre-bent tubing, OR use something totally different, like tomato cage wiring dipped in that plastic tool hanndle coating or painted, which would be far lighter, or heat-bend PVC or other plastics for the ribs.) It would seen to me that I'd want to hang a perch where your feeder is, then use a pass-through feeder and watering system... perhaps make a slot & re-enforce with wood or plastic edging for a gravity feeder for food, and I've wondered why not use ball bearing type waterers, like are used for hamsters, rabbits, etc. They don't clog much at all, you can hand them just about anywhere, AND you can better gauge the amount of water the chickens are drinking, AND less spilling, so it seems the ground woild stay drier. Also, there are the nipple-style watering nozzles with a cup under them, so the birds can just hit the cup & perhaps not cause a mess??? I have seen them for sale, but haven't seen anyone on KZbin or elseehere using them yet, so I'm not sure exactly how they work or weather they get clogged, leak or are just fine??? Any ideas? As for tarps & coverings, I would use different covers for different weather/climate. I've seen people use clear when there's snow on the ground, and light colored reflecting tarps in white or silver in hot areas. I live in an area where we have had 119° F temperatures in the shade for a few days the last 3 summers, so I have to think about extreme heat here, an issue I haven't seen addressed much at all, and a big reason I haven't already gotten any chicks yet. I want to have a solution for this BEFORE i even get started. Some locals bring their birds into their home or barn, others cull them when it starts getting that hot, and have chicken for dinner. Some say they put out watermelon and other fruit. I believe the hend do best with some sunshine, and convert vitamin D, amongst other thing, from having sun every day. As for wheels, why not use old training wheels off the children's or grandchildren's bicycles when they are done with them, or get some from a thrift store? Those are generally good quality wheels/tires that we trust our children's safety to while they are learning to ride a bicycle. I DO wonder about the wood being directly on the ground! If we want these to last for a very long time, I would think using those recycled, UV-resistant plastic "boards", often use for fencing material and especially decking??? I mean to use the plastic "boards" for at least the boards on the bottom, or perhaps metal pipes for the framework. That would also be lighter weight to move, yet heavy enough to stay down in most wind. If you have hardware cloth in the bottom of the tractor, you can put some bricks, diving weights, gym weights, etc. I have been designing coups, etc. since i was in junior high, and I'm retired now. I think I need to write a book, or perhaps go into making the "Ultimate" chicken tractors! IMHO, any chicken tractor needs to be ultimate for the chickens, BUT also for the humans caring for them, and needs to be easily customizable! TY for the informative video! It gave me a lot to think about. I've subbed.

[@billgarlock2554]

check out luhnam acres chicken tractor

[@ladyduffield]

Chicken nipples!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Great video. Love your channel! :D

[@RedToolHouse]

I find those things everywhere! Thanks for watching!

[@justme-dee6888]

👍

[@shannonswyatt]

I had to use a conduit bender, made my bends and returned it. It was in use for no more than 5 minutes.

[@3Sphere]

Great discussion! I like that Polyface T-shirt! You're lucky to be close to Joel Salatin. But he has so many books that I feel like I know him personally. Many books require discipline to finish, but not Salatins'. I love the way he thinks! Ran across another very interesting tractor design recently. It's more like a simple machine than a contraption and is a very elegant design in that one could build it to balance out so that even a very heavy and/or large tractor could be moved by a single metrosexual from San Francisco... :) Check it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZW4Z2Z7hMmDf6c Don't know the guy but he's obviously very creative and good at design and execution.

[@RedToolHouse]

I will check it out. I enjoy going to Polyface. It definitely is very motivating.

[@LifeOnBeagleRoad]

Great review. We have been using a variation of this guy for a bit and are fairly happy. We have a channel ( goo.gl/W6hRMp ), but we did not film the building of ours...ugh. Life! Any how, great channel, great content and love the editing. Good for you mate. You have a new sub.

[@RedToolHouse]

Thanks for subbing. Feel free to drop your channel link here in the comments. I won't block it.

[@LifeOnBeagleRoad]

Hey, thanks! I added it to the original comment. Appreciate the support.

[@ardeth75]

Thanks for sharing your modifications and review of the tractor. I've only ever used hoop coops but this may be a better use of time and effort for usable chicken space. (Please! Do not suck your teeth at the end of your sentences. You produce terrific videos save that one thing.)

[@RedToolHouse]

We have corrected that issue this year!

[@suemcfarlane4199]

Being able to stand up in the tractor has to be good in any average size persons book unless you have a lot of able kids to work in tight places for you it gets old really quickly bending over all the time

[@VAkid703]

People on Facebook market are trying to sell these for $500 LOL

[@RedToolHouse]

That is a little on the expensive side!

[@IslandZsurvivor]

#chickennipples ftw!