What is a Chicken Tractor?

Have you become interested in keeping chickens? Lots of folks who are just starting off like to build a chicken tractor. What the heck is that? Is it the same thing as a chicken coop, a chicken run, or a chicken ark? There are a lot of names for structures to keep chickens in so read on to find out more about them.

A chicken tractor is basically a chicken coop that can be moved around the yard and has no floor in it. They are typically lightweight so that you can move it around by yourself without much effort. Sometimes people like to add wheels to one end to make it easier to move around. The most common shape for a chicken tractor is an A-frame but there many other designs that work just as well.

The advantage to using a tractor is that you can get the benefits of free range chickens while still protecting them from predators and the weather. Any eggs that are laid are also protected. Within the tractor, the chickens are able to forage on the grass, weeds and bugs. Then the tractor is moved to another location in the yard. Allowing the chickens to forage this way helps decrease the amount of feed that you have to buy.

Another advantage is that you do not have to keep any floors clean. You also get lots of manure to use for your garden or compost.The whole concept of the chicken tractor mimics cycle of free ranging chickens foraging in one location at a time and moving on to another area so that the first area can recover.

Chicken tractor is the name used in the United States. It is known as a chicken ark in the United Kingdom. Both are types of chicken coops, which is the generic name for any enclosure that protects chickens. There are many kinds of chicken tractor plans available online that are geared toward do-it-yourself types who want to build a chicken tractor.