Joel Salatin Chicken Tractor Build using Polyface Designs for Pastured Poultry / Homestead Helper #9

[@TheModernYeoman]

Looks great! So cool to see this build; well done. Also, very cool to see Eric settling in on his property. I've really been digging this latest round of homestead helper episodes -- keep up the good work!

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thanks, Sean! Not sure what our next video will be. We chopped down a bunch of trees the other day, and after we were finished I realized I didn't record our fun. So frustrating.

[@cekfraun]

That is a big chicken tractor! But then, your friends are raising a LOT of chickens. It's nice to see someone using Joel's book. Good job, guys! That was a great idea for getting the chicks' water up out of the shavings, Nate. And Katie, you are a woman after my own heart. I LOVE Scrabble! Words are fun. :-)

[@TheKraemerLife]

10x12. Very large indeed. Words are fun for Katie. Hard for Nate. Thanks for watching, again, Cheryl!

[@JcUDE]

I just watched a new YTer PappaPepper. He just delivered a load of wood to someone he does not even know. The family had put a alert of need. I am so proud of both of y'all and the love and giving heart that this world needs now. It is so good to see there are still good people out there. God's blessings to both of you. I pray that y'all fine THE ONE so you can start your life on the new land.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thank you. I'm gonna check out PappaPepper now.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Good video. I'll watch more later on.

[@JcUDE]

@@TheKraemerLife glad it was ok for y'all.

[@cekfraun]

I've been watching Papa Pepper, too! He definitely has a giving heart. And his kids are adorable, smart, and hard working.

[@TheKraemerLife]

@@cekfraun Good people, for sure.

[@zolacrofoot4944]

See all that you are learning from working along side with others. The chicken wire works, but predators can and will tare through it, reinforce with hardware cloth. It is more expensive but so is replacing the lost chickens. We had two small mini pinchers that someone local had abandoned. They went through our barn, where the barn cats came in and out. Tore though the chicken wire and killed 25 meat birds. they did not eat them, just killed them. Animal control picked up the dogs, but the owner did not have to pay or replace them. Learn from the experienced. It is so good to see you learning.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Oh no! That's horrible. I'll let Eric know. Thanks for the heads up. -Nate

[@AB-ol5uz]

tell him to check out the lifts that Jason on Sow the Land uses for his mobile chickshaw. It;s metal and lifts the shaw off the ground when needed so you can push/pull with the help of wheels attached on the opposite side. With that size shaw, it would probably need 2 lifts.

[@AB-ol5uz]

also, where will the nesting boxes go?

[@TheKraemerLife]

This Chicken Tractor is for his meat birds, even though he has the layers in there now, temporarily. The layers are only a month or so old, so they don't need the nesting boxes right now. Eric is building a Chick-Shaw next, which will be on wheels and have nesting boxes. Thanks for keeping an eye out for us, A B!

[@phoenixdogtraininguk]

I love Scrabble too

[@TheKraemerLife]

#ScrabblersUnite

[@ingenoordam7422]

1) your dogs listened good. 2) Love your hands together. 3) great idea for the water 4) love your channel. G'D BLESS and greetings from Inge Noordam (the Netherlands/ Europe)

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thank you!

[@carolaustin123]

So wish you guys could find a place. I love watching your ideas and plans x

[@TheKraemerLife]

We will. Someday (at this rate). Thank, Carol. -Nate

[@tammysarrazin7078]

great job Nate as usual ....scrable is a great game if you know weird words lol hugssssssss

[@TheKraemerLife]

Katie is a scrabble master!! -Nate.

[@tammysarrazin7078]

@@TheKraemerLife not me but i still like the game i learn something new every time i play and being my age i try to learn some thing daily

[@GrowingLittleCountryhomestead]

Good practice for when y’all find your place.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Yep. I build a chicken tractor when I was in Oregon, for my 5 chickens. Looking forward to building my own stuff again soon.

[@GrowingLittleCountryhomestead]

@@TheKraemerLife looking forward to seeing the video's Nate

[@carolcalf2032]

Great practise for when you two get your property.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Absolutely. Thanks, Carol.

[@elizebethparker5412]

I, too, bought the book. When the snow melts we will build the broiler shelter with plastic roofing panels. Thank you for the great video.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Great luck to you. The one difficult thing about the book, is the cuts of lumber are for "nominal sizes", which you'd get by milling the boards yourself (or from the Amish, etc). The lumber we have access is "actual size" (from lowes, etc). For example, a 2x4 is not really 2 inches by 4 inches, but more like 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Makes some of the cuts and fitting together more difficult. Let us know how it turns out! I know you'll do great! --Nate

[@TheKraemerLife]

My last comment wasn't meant to sound demeaning. I hope it didn't come across that way -Nate

[@elizebethparker5412]

@@TheKraemerLife no offense taken. It is great to see someone else adapting the plans to fit available resources. We can't find aluminum roofing panels either. This episode is very encouraging. Keep up the good work!

[@laurelb1962]

It is really great to see y'all helping this family out and the fact that you met him at Justin's is even better. Just think of all the people Justin has brought together in a short period of time. Btw, that chicken tractor turned out real nice, I think that even if, you have to tweak the measurements a bit to make everything work out, it's just what you gotta do. Always enjoy your adventures, I sure do hope you two find your dream property soon, 🤞 it'll be fun to see where/what you end up with. Good luck 💗😁

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thanks, Laurel. We are looking forward to working on our own place...once we find it.

[@alisonwhitlock5987]

Great to see the build straight from the book (I also bought). And the assistant in the walker was priceless. And if you want to come look at farmland in Amish country, central PA (and help a single former Portlandian!), you’re welcome to come park on my wee homestead!

[@TheKraemerLife]

send us an email - [e-mail]. Thanks, Alison.

[@margaretbedwell58]

Nice build guys. That book is perfect for everyone whether your a newbie or if you have been farming all your life. Thanks for sharing your time on these projects. Eric really has a beautiful property. Y'all have a Blessed day.

[@TheKraemerLife]

You as well, Margaret. Thanks for watching.

[@jillyd2807]

Good job guys!👏👏👏👏

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thank you, Jill.

[@grannianni6229]

I'm still watching, but I sure do miss running all over the country, looking at property with y'all! That last search we went on, Nate you did a good job saying creek which rhymes with speak. Katie, honey you still need a little practice, cause it ain't crick, that's what you will get in your neck from laying the wrong way! LOL Keep on trying and Blessings

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thanks for continuing to watch. We will be resuming our property searches early March. -- On the Creek vs Crick thing... Katie adnd I were chatting with Eric, talking about his search for property. He said "I wanted a crick, but it wasn't a must have" -- Katie and I both laughed. We told him why. He's from the North Eastern parts of the US. So, it's a thing. Just depends on where you're from. Oh, I get a kink in my neck (from Oregon). HA! Loving it! Thanks, Anni. -Nate

[@CassieDavis613]

GA, both are correct

[@angelacross2216]

Growing up we children played in what we called Dandy Brook. Our father would correct us and insist it was the River Lostock. I have no idea where we got the name from but we never stopped calling it Dandy Brook.

[@grannianni6229]

@@CassieDavis613 not where I live in Tn it's a creek or a ditch.

[@grannianni6229]

@@angelacross2216 I have never heard that before, but it's very interesting to hear! The only time I have heard about a Brook, it would be in a book that was set in England.

[@michelewhitt7545]

Looks great guys! ❤️👍🏼

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thank you, Michele.

[@Root_and_Fleurish_Farm]

Smart man, Nate! Love the chick watering trick! I bought Polyface Designs too. Love watching you guys customize it to your needs. Looks good 👌🏼

[@TheKraemerLife]

Very kind. Thank you!

[@angelacross2216]

Richard Perkins, of Ridgedale Farm, put old bicycle wheels on his Saladin-style chicken tractor for ease of moving. You might want to check it out.

[@TheKraemerLife]

I think Eric will be doing that on his chick-shaw. Thanks for the suggestion, Angela.

[@rebeccaoliver7977]

You guys accomplished a lot; must be really nice for him to have someone giving him a hand so early in his game. You leave with greater clarity regarding how you'll build yours when the day comes. Have you visited any Georgia properties?

[@TheKraemerLife]

No GA properties at this point. I'm glad to be able to help Eric. If you can believe it, he has 3x more energy than I do. -Nate

[@CelticRootsFarm]

We recently bought the Polyface design book and really are excited to build some stuff. My husband tried to surprise me with it but I had already ordered it lol. So we will be giving one away to our subscribers.

[@TheKraemerLife]

I did see your video on our giveaway. I hope you two sign it before you gift it away! -Nate

[@tammysarrazin7078]

well done on helping someone else in learning how to live well

[@CelticRootsFarm]

@@TheKraemerLife Oh thanks! We appreciate you watching! Well, we are not going to sign it... (didn’t feel it was really our place, because it’s not our book) but Joel Salatin signed it. 👍

[@CelticRootsFarm]

@@tammysarrazin7078 Thanks so much! We really hope a homesteader or someone that can really use the book will win it.

[@tammysarrazin7078]

@@CelticRootsFarm this channel is new and im sure they would love it The Modern Yeoman they are trying their hand at doing a lot of things

[@billisherenc]

The book he purchased, can you give the full name of it, would like to purchase it. Just for info, if you are buying apple trees and you have a lot of cedar around, you need the ones that are Cedar-apple rust-resistant. Love the property and what y'll have done so far!

[@TheKraemerLife]

abundantpermaculture.lpages.co/polyface-designs/

[@TheKraemerLife]

I'll let Eric know about the cedar tree apple tree thing. I've never heard of this. I'll read up on it for my future needs too. -Nate

[@billisherenc]

@@TheKraemerLife Thank you for the information.

[@mikemegadeth]

Great video! How well did the plastic roofing hold up 2 years later? Any problems with water pooling on top?

[@debbie2663]

Is this your friend in Georgia? 😃🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

[@TheKraemerLife]

Yes. Met him last Oct at Justn's Chicken Processing workshop.

[@helenhelps9619]

👍👍💕

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thanks

[@islandgardener158]

👍

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thank you.

[@Eatmorebeef-g4k]

Can predators dig under the chicken tractor?

[@memecats5698]

Instead of wood at the bottom dragging it through the grass you should get a smooth hard coated steel bottom shaped like a J, 2 to 3 inch wide, maybe 6-8 inch long and maybe a 1/4 inch thick and curved up front like short sleigh rails (3 up front, 3 in back) to make sliding on grass easier.

[@TheKraemerLife]

That would certainly make it easier to move. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll fwd it to Eric. -Nate

[@cekfraun]

@@TheKraemerLife All the people suggesting wheels and ways to move the chicken tractor have probably never seen Joel's ingenious dolly for lifting up the end and how he can move one in 60 seconds, and move 5,000 meat birds in an hour. :-) kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipe3ZWydls6eqsk

[@cekfraun]

@@TheKraemerLife Also a great video that Mike, the Fit Farmer, did when he visited Polyface Farm: Starting at the 3:58 mark. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6CwfZiEaJyGgLc

[@TheKraemerLife]

@@cekfraun Thank you for the link.

[@TheKraemerLife]

@@cekfraun Crazy how easy he makes it!

[@conniewilson5531]

Perhaps securing the blocks of wood to the chicken wire would be a good idea.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Yes. This will be incorporated into my next build. Good idea.

[@Newtown-Orchard]

You guys troubleshoot building the same way we do!

[@TheKraemerLife]

By the seat of our pants? --Nate :)

[@kristiemorgan8555]

What is the name of the book?

[@zaviahopethomas-woundedsou9848]

Keeping the chicken's feet dry is important, it helps prevent bumblefoot!

[@TheKraemerLife]

This is true. I think there are a few places the chickens can perch on this structure. I'll mention to this to Eric so he can modify if needed. Thanks, Zavia. -Nate

[@zaviahopethomas-woundedsou9848]

@@TheKraemerLife You are welcome.

[@CecilliaDB]

They have absolutely 0 predator problems right? We built a very similar tractor. 3 dogs tore the chicken wire and destroyed about 20 full size meat chickens. I’ll never do chicken wire again for anything. Hardware cloth and other welded wire type is worth it.

[@TheKraemerLife]

They most likely do. I've let Eric know about the hardware cloth option. He will likely upgrade. Thanks! -Nate

[@irksome100]

Need to cut the extraneous material from the video. Tractor looks good.

[@TheKraemerLife]

Thanks for the tip