It’s been a while since I last sat down to write a post.  Mostly homestead life (and home-school life) took over!

I belong to two local homestead Facebook pages and I’ve noticed a common thread among poultry owners this time of year, predator losses.  We had a coyote attack in the middle of the day on Halloween, I lost a juvenile rooster (he tried his best, but sadly lost the battle), two hens and had two hens injured.  One hen stayed with the flock because her injuries were easily treated with Vetrycin and BluKote, the other, however, is now referred to as “basement dweller” (her real name is Diamond).  Her injuries were very severe, and while she has finally healed, she no longer has use of her left wing.  The others in our flock recognize her weakness and attack her mercilessly.

We have since shored up our defenses, cut back on free range time and added security cameras to help protect our flock.  I thought I would take the time to share one of the tools we use to keep our “ladies” safe.

Early on, as new chicken parents, we wanted to free range as much as possible, it lowers the feed bill and provides extra nutrients to the “girls” and hence, the eggs we consume.  We also knew free ranging had it’s dangers.

I searched online for chicken tractors, they were heavy and expensive, and out of our budget.  I showed Jeff some designs and his immediate response was “I can do it lighter and cheaper” –  And he did!  For about $40 he built our first “play pen” out of pvc pipe, chicken wire and zip ties.

Three years later it is still in service, it has been used to introduce chicks to the great outdoors, integrate new, teenage chicks and ducks to the rest of the flock, and as an exercise yard for our “basement dweller”.

It is light enough that I can move it on my own, sturdy enough to be safe from Hawk attacks, and if staked into the ground with tent stakes, it can slow down (long enough for me to go running out and save the day!) a fox, coyote or the neighbor’s dog.

 

A second one, much larger, with handles and wheels was constructed, lasted about one year and eventually succumbed to it’s own weight, and it’s handle broke off. The wheels also made it just a tiny bit above ground on one end, giving small chicks room to dig and escape.  Our advice is keep it simple and keep it small!

If you are interested in dimensions, or a parts list, please message me, we would love to help!