“To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.”

Mahatma Gandhi

 

Jane's Delicious Garden
P O Box 288
Auckland Park 2006
South Africa

ph: 011 482 2052
fax: 011 482 2096
alt: 082 898 6953

info@janesdeliciousgarden.com

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The Chicken Tractor

I first heard about a chicken tractor from one of my American magazines ten years ago or so. It was a review of a book a homesteader had written about using chickens to till and fertilise the land. I wanted one. And now (finally!!) I have a chicken tractor with four happy hens installed in my garden.

It is all thanks to Keith who hammered and sawed the thing together (with a tiny bit of ‘hold this’ and ‘pull that’ help from me) We decided to make it using as much recycled material as possible.

 

This is the wood from an old fence that we took down a few years ago. It was more difficult to work with than purchased wood as it is quite uneven, making it harder to fit all the bits together.

After looking at plenty of designs we decided on an A Frame with the shelter on one side at the top of the A. This would maximise the amount of ground space the chooks would have.





  • The sides of the A being made:Power tools help! (You can see it is still winter – the creeper on the house is not green yet . . .)One side with reinforced edgesJoys of recycling – having to gouge out bits from uneven wood to make everything fit.A man with a plan!A frame taking shape:Cross beams added for support.Securing the top . . . It was cold when we were working on it and we’d read that chickens don’t like being cold so Keith pulled out some polystyrene boards that had been used on some film shoot and used them as insulation. Lucky chooks!Recycled roof.A door so we can clean and feed.The tractor finished and the chickens just arrived. Not sure who is more fascinated!And the chooks settling in . . .under Tilu’s watchful eye!Tosca having a sniff.By the next morning the fascination had not worn off.I was worried about the dogs munching them - but they all happily co-exist. When the hens are let out, the first thing they do is check the dogs' bowls for a snack. And if a dog nose comes a little too close for comfort - it gets pecked.


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Jane's Delicious Garden
P O Box 288
Auckland Park 2006
South Africa

ph: 011 482 2052
fax: 011 482 2096
alt: 082 898 6953

info@janesdeliciousgarden.com

Follow me:TwitterFacebook