Is It Great to Use a Chicken Tractor or Not?

Keeping backyard chickens is becoming increasingly popular. Enjoying fresh eggs straight from your backyard can be both enjoyable and convenient.

Since your feathered friends are providing you with quality eggs, it is only natural for you to also provide their most basic needs such as shelter. If you are using chicken coops to house your chickens, then you might consider providing them with a practical home such as a chicken tractor.

What are chicken tractors?

Chicken tractors are a type of chicken coop that is designed to be moved. They are usually a lighter weight structure made from timber or metal with wheels for easy mobility. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes and could be triangular, square, or rectangular.

This type of chicken housing is usually built with a skeleton frame surrounded by wire walls. At one end, there is often an enclosed area where the chickens can lay their eggs. Most chicken tractors are also equipped with chicken coop necessities such as nest boxes and roosting poles.

What’s special about these chicken houses is that they are portable. Chicken owners are free to move their tractors to any part of their yard, allowing chickens to scratch and graze new areas within the safe confines of their coop.

Advantages of Using Chicken Tractors

You might be wondering how a chicken tractor is better than a chicken coop.

Although a chicken coop has its own perks, chicken tractors are also unique in their own way. Here are some of the reasons why you might consider investing in a chicken tractor:

It Completes Their Diet

If you think that a chicken’s diet is all about pellets and grains, then think again. Chickens need a diet with a wide variety of nutrients, especially for egg laying chickens.

When chickens are allowed to graze in a free-range environment, they often look for bugs and plants to eat. Bugs and insects are rich in protein, antioxidants, and vital vitamins and minerals. If your chickens are only kept inside chicken coops, they won’t be able to get all the nutrition they need.

It Protects Them From Predators

Some chicken owners like to let their chicken’s free range in their yard to provide exercise and allow them to forage for insects and plants.

However, there is a risk that your chickens and chicks would be preyed upon by common predators such as foxes, dogs, goannas, and snakes. But with a chicken tractor with an open floor; they can still find bugs and plants to eat without having to leave the safety of their coop.

It Benefits Your Lawn

When regularly moving your chicken tractor, not only are you offering your chooks new ground to forage, but you are also fertilising your lawn naturally.

Chicken manure serves as a great lawn fertiliser as it contains a high amount of nitrogen and phosphorus that supports a plant’s root development.

Aside from providing natural fertiliser, chickens also offer the bonus of eating common insect pests like slugs, spiders, and caterpillars found in your lawn.

Regularly moving your chicken tractor around also helps minimise damage to one area of your lawn which is a common issue with stationary coops.

Your Garden Plants Remain Safe

Chickens love to scratch dirt and when they do, they usually do it in your garden. If you have vegetable or garden beds, you risk having your chickens cause unwanted damage to them when scratching around.

A portable chicken tractor provides a way for them to graze only in the desired areas.

Jordan’s Wrap

Housing your flock in a portable chicken tractor offers a range of benefits for both you and your chickens.

From aiding in pest control, fertilising your lawn, and providing a variety of new areas for your chooks to forage, the benefits of this type of chicken coop are a valuable addition to your backyard, improving the wellbeing of your chooks and their environment.

Ready to give your chickens a portable home? Explore the versatile Holly chicken tractor today!