Modified Joel Salatin Chicken Tractors

This video shows how to utilize our meat chicken tractors. We replaced all sheet metal with heavy duty tarps and secure them with bungees in the back. The entire back half of the chicken tractor can be removed and the front half is made of two lids that are also removable to make catching chickens for butcher much much easier. One thing I neglected to mention before the video cut off is to always have the feeder trough underneath the lid with a solid covering.

[@MrAlexkoe]

Hi, great video!!! If you don't mind me asking. how big is your area for 4 chicken tractor movements. And how often do u move them?

[@MikeBius]

Why not 75 birds per tractor like Salatin? And why move twice a day when Salatin does only once?? Thanks!

[@conan6869]

innovation... i think joe would be proud

[@timeflies2550]

Have you had any predators dig under these? If yes, How did you prevent predators? How does this tractor do in heavy winds?

[@TheFaithful1234]

Some predators can dig under buttony if there was already a hole or divot under the edge already. We have found putting up two strands of premier one poultry net fence deters any predator. We generally are able to move the birds 7 times with 5 tractors wide using this method. Winds are no problem except for the one removable lid with a tarp but even Joel Salatin's original design with metal has that problem.

[@natestandifer]

What do you do in situations like a hurricane. I live in Florida and that is a concern of mine.

[@TheFaithful1234]

Wow. Well I don't have hurricanes to contend with so my guess is not worth a lot. I would seek out other producers in Florida and along the coast and see what they do. Simply putting cinder blocks on top may prevent the tractors from blowing away but not prevent flooding. Our bigger problem is snow and hard frosts but may have the same solution: we put loose straw inside really thick when it snows. If we know heavy rains are coming a few days in advance, we try to get the tractors on a slope or on high ground. Good luck!!

[@journeyfortwo5211]

I would love to make mine lighter but concerned about blowing away. Do you get much wind where you are?

[@TheFaithful1234]

We do get the occasional 50 -60mph gusts. Generally, the tarps aren't strong enough secured with bungees to act as a sail. There is enough play almost regardless of how tight it is. Unlike securing metal to the roof and having metal sides. If wind gets in one of those, it has to go somewhere. These tarps don't go all the way to the ground on sides.

[@xyooj96]

if you use plastic pipes, would it be lighter than those wood? seems to be a lot of works than just let them on free range?

[@TheFaithful1234]

I did build one with plastic but it has a lot more structure to it and was almost 4 times the cost. Additionally, after two seasons the pipe is pretty brittle. If we don't move their cages regularly like this, their manure builds up. If they aren't in cages, they fall victim to almost every wild critter that walks or flies.

[@meganwilcox8405]

How many birds do you/can you put in one tractor? What are the overall dimensions of the tractor? I love the tarp idea VS the aluminum!

[@TheFaithful1234]

We put between 45 and 50 birds per tractor. They are originally a Salatin design meant for 75 birds i believe. They are 10 feet wide by 12 feet long and 2 feet tall. This season we learned that the back tarp needs a much taller fin in the center to prevent rain water from sagging the tarp on the back.

[@meganwilcox8405]

Semper Grazing Ranch thank you!!

[@MedicalGunsandGear]

What are the tarp sizes, and where did you get them from?

[@TheFaithful1234]

We got ours from tarpswarehouse.com. I would say looking back, the grommets are really cheap and there is some wear. Make the fin in the center of the back much much taller to keep the tarp sloped. Other than that, these things work great.

[@Idiotbait]

do you sell the chickens or keep for your own use?

[@TheFaithful1234]

We sell the meat birds. We take them to a Mennonite USDA inspected butcher about 2 hours from our farm. They are by far our most profitable enterprise and a fantastic way to fertilize the pastures.

[@Idiotbait]

@@TheFaithful1234 that's awesome. I always wondered how hard it would be to sell the chickens and who you would sell them to. Was it hard to find people to sell them to I actually have a lot of Mennonites around where I live to oddly enough. I guess they mostly live out in the country anyways

[@TheFaithful1234]

@northgadent, for clarification, my own farm, SGR, doesn't sell the meat birds. These are for Turner Farm where I work. Turner already had a large following and very active on farm market. Last year, we sold 1650 chickens worth of chicken sausage, ground chicken and all chicken parts. This year, we are raising 7 batches of 300 to be butchered every 5 weeks. We will see if we exhaust our on farm market's ability to move product. Butchering at the USDA facility, we have the option to sell to restaurants with a simple additional permit, we can raise more than 1000 birds, and we are able to sell very rare foods like sweet Italian chicken sausage or tomato basil chicken sausage or chicken bratts.

[@Idiotbait]

@@TheFaithful1234 very cool thanks for the info

[@smittys19daytona]

@@TheFaithful1234 little confused so 7 runs of 300 in one year, and you butcher at 5 weeks as possessed to 8? also curious how you get your buyers?