Gallery of chicken tractors

I begged for some photos of chicken coops and tractors and several of our readers complied.  Here are some of our favorite tractor designs, starting with the simple and moving up to the complex.

Neil Brooks built the four foot by eight foot chicken tractor above based on Joel Salatin's model.  The 2"X2" construction, low profile, and open sides give a lot of chicken living area for very little weight.  Judicious cross-bracing will allow you to build even larger tractors while still using thin, light lumber.

RDG from WeekendHomestead.net built a simple chicken tractor to house his extra roosters while they were growing up to broiler size.  He wrote, "The chicken tractor I built is made from 2X6 pressure treated lumber for the frame.  The frame is 12 feet by 4 feet.  Half inch EMT metal electrical conduit is used for the hoops.  Chicken wire is used to enclose the structure.  The ends are made from half inch (1/2 in.) pressure treated plywood.  I have hung a feeder and automatic watering bucket from the conduit.  I used the only 4 foot tarp I could find to keep rain off the broilers."  RDG's design could be made with lighter framing components (a 2X4 bottom and PVC pipe hoops) for an easier to pull tractor that's just as simple to build.

Brian Cooper's chicken tractor would fit into any neighborhood, no matter how nice.  He built his tractor using the Catawba coop plans available online.  The tractor is an A-frame structure, with an open-bottomed "downstairs" and a wood-floored upstairs.  Chickens hang out on the ground, but head up a ramp to lay eggs or roost for the night.

Finally, I thought I'd throw in a photo of our first chicken tractor, built for next to no money from mostly found materials.  It was light, lasted about three years before the found wood rotted out, and provided hours of entertainment for our cat.

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