Chicken Tractor Finished!

Last night, we finally finished the chicken tractor! All three birds are in it, and seem to be doing fine. The chickens and duck had never been introduced, so we were a little scared of putting them together. The duck is a little larger than half the size of the chickens, and things were not going well for it at first. The chickens mostly ignored the duck, and the duck kept pushing itself into a corner head-first out of fear.

Occasionally, a chicken would wander near the duck and peck at it out of curiosity. The duck would then run crazy laps around the enclosure, and the chickens would follow for a few steps. After about an hour of this, the duck started sitting in a corner facing the inside of the enclosure. Later in the evening, the duck began walking around calmly, but still on the side opposite the chickens.

Because the ground is uneven, there are some 2-3 inch gaps under the enclosure in a couple places. Scared of opossums or raccoons, we put bricks in those holes. Between our motion light and Jake, I don’t think we’ll have any opossums or raccoons, but we’d rather be overly cautious than find a dead chicken.

All three birds spent their first night in the enclosure; this morning, they all seemed fine. The chickens were lying on the ground, and the duck was walking around calmly . . . even walking right by the chickens a few times. We have not seen any of the birds go upstairs to the enclosed coop and perches, and this morning the upstairs floor was still clean. I wonder if the chickens can’t negotiate the ladder, of if they just aren’t curious enough to go exploring.

Of course, Jake has been very curious about the whole deal. Still this morning, he has been sniffing around the enclosure.

The enclosure is about 8' X 5'6", and seems to have plenty of room for the birds. It will also be very easy to drag around the yard so the chickens don't tear up any one spot too badly.

The first photo below is Alex and Jake investigating the nest box. (Hopefully) this is where the birds will lay eggs, and this is where Alex will collect them daily. The second photo is of me doing some last minute adjustments. After putting the birds in, I remembered a small task I needed to do on the underside of the enclosure . . . to do it, I either had to turn the enclosure upside down (my original plan) or turn myself upside down. Because the birds were already in, it was me that went topsy-turvy.