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Why Pastured Chickens Are Happier Chickens That Produce Healthier Eggs And How We Built A-Frame Chicken Tractors To Protect Our Hens

7/3/2019

27 Comments

 
How to build a DIY a-frame chicken tractor and let the chickens mow the lawn
Getting chickens out on pasture using an A-Frame chicken coop tractor is one of the best ways to give your hens access to the absolute best food. We built these A-frame chicken coop tractors to help remedy a handful of issues we kept running into when raising our hens.

My rambunctious chickens would never fail to stray a bit too far, get on the wrong side of the fence, and into our neighbors' yards. When I would open the coop door every morning, offering them their free-range freedom, I found myself checking on them every 45 minutes. It would disrupt my day, I was constantly stressed out, and the hens would always wind up into some sort of trouble. At that point, the only alternative was to keep them cooped up (hah), forbidding them access to all the wonderful things a free range chicken would have. That's where our A-frame mobile chicken coop tractor made chicken keeping a hundred percent easier!

Why go to all the trouble of free-range chickens?

The benefits of having your chickens out on grass are numerous. Hens that are given access to pasture are able to hunt for bugs, earthworms, and frogs (yes frogs!) which in turn provides them high-quality protein. Chickens are not meant to survive solely on grain. Having the proper digestive system to qualify as omnivores, your flock’s health and robustness will skyrocket when given access to the diversity a backyard can provide. So if you are wondering why egg carton marketing goes to all the trouble to advertise eggs as “vegetarian-fed”, it beats me!
​

The nutrition quality of your eggs increases as well when chickens are given access to fresh pasture. Mother Earth News conducted a round of studies comparing their pastured eggs with store-bought supermarket eggs laid in a CAFO. The results are staggering.
“We have just completed testing eggs from four flocks raised on pasture — the results revealed that compared to supermarket eggs from hens raised in cages, our free-range eggs contained only about half as much cholesterol, were up to twice as rich in vitamin E, and were two to six times richer in beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A). For essential omega-3 fatty acids (vital for optimal heart and brain function), the free-range eggs averaged four times more than factory eggs.”
This is not the first time a study was done that focused on the nutrient superiority of eggs from chickens raised the way nature intended (outside, access to a diversity of plants, and plenty of sunlight). As early as 1974, the British Journal of Nutrition found that pastured eggs had 50 percent more folic acid and 70 percent more vitamin B12 than eggs from factory farm chickens. The next big dataset pops up in 1988. Co-author of The Omega Diet, Artemis Simopoulos, found pastured eggs in Greece contained 13 times more omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids than U.S. commercial eggs.Then in 1999, a study at Pennsylvania State University found that eggs from pastured chickens had 10 percent less fat, 34 percent less cholesterol, 40 percent more vitamin A, and four times the omega-3s versus to the standard USDA data. 

Many consumers wrongly believe that the darker the yolk, the better the chicken’s diet, the more humane the treatment, and the healthier the eggs. I wish this was the case. Many major food corporations have caught wind of this “dark orange yolk” desire and have started feeding their hens a diet that makes their eggs more orange. The diet includes anything from marigolds to sweet potatoes, and although it is more diverse, the hen is still in a caged operation. While you may see dark orange yolks from your neighbors happy hens, that visual cue doesn’t necessarily mean a hen has been raised on pasture.
A-Frame chicken tractor building plans
Now let’s add the benefit of free fertilizer that keeps your lawn green. When your chickens aren’t kept to one specific area, often called a sacrifice area, their accumulating droppings don’t turn your grass into a barren moonscape.

As chickens are allowed to roam, their manure is distributed in kind, giving you free fertilizer that you didn’t have to distribute yourself. Chicken manure is the most potent fertilizer in terms of animal manures, with the highest concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. While many caution to not apply fresh chicken manure to lawns, we’ve observed that our lawn is perfectly fine.

Chicken’s will congregate where there is a hefty amount of overhead cover from trees, shrubs, or outbuildings. Their instincts to keep out of harm's way from overhead predators such as hawks, falcons, and owls is a boon in terms of manure depositing. Their droppings are often distributed right over the deep root systems of hungry orchards, rose bushes, and ornamental shrubs.
A-Frame Chicken Tractor Information Build Plans

So how to get the best of both worlds? Safe chickens AND free-range benefits? ​

Enter the A-frame mobile chicken coop tractor! Many chicken owners know about Joel Salatin’s egg-mobile. This is a genius invention for mega egg distributors who want to do right by their birds. Here at Green Willow Homestead, our chicken plan is much smaller. We want to keep our flock size under 100. Our five acres can get swampy and is overall a bit bumpy for large egg-mobiles (nothing like the gently rolling pastures of Joel’s Polyface Farm).  We were inspired to come up with our own idea for a smaller version of the egg mobile that didn’t require the expensive addition of solar-powered electric poultry netting (about $400 in total after the cost of the egg mobile.).
Our set of goals here on the homestead were:
  1. To have something that I could move daily without help (I’m 5’3” and 135 lbs, a real SHE-HULK!).
  2. Provide the chickens shelter from the hot sun.
  3. The birds would be contained safely, but also have access to the grass so they could forage.
  4. Keep the total budget under $500 .
  5. Make them beautiful (no plastic tarps here thank you!)
  6. Build them to LAST. 
Like all great farm build ideas, this one started on some graph paper. Luckily, my guy knows his way around CAD and was able to create the perfect replica on his computer with the proper measurements. One trip to Menards and an Amazon order later, we were on our way!

Key Features

Example of the white metal roof on our A-frame chicken tractor
The white metal corrugated roofing of the A-frame coop reflects the heat of the sun so it doesn’t become an oven during the day. With two circular vents near the apex and an open-to-below roosting area, ventilation is ample.

A-Frame chicken tractor building plans
The ¼ metal hardware cloth along the bottom prevents raccoons, dogs, and other predators from grabbing a chicken through the fence. The 2”x4” galvanized fencing is just the right size to keep flapping chickens in and overhead predators out, not to mention if you get locked in then you can reach your hand through and unlock the gate from the front (don’t ask me how I know).

The best A-frame chicken tractor design ever. Get the build plans and more
The 8 ft height is perfect to walk right in and stand up inside the tractor when feeding or watering your birds. The A-frame chicken coop design works wonderfully in terms of structural soundness, AKA a triangle is stronger than a square.

Using a pulley system on a-frame chicken tractor door
There is a ramp on a special pulley system for the A-frame chicken coop we designed so the chickens can be closed up at night, preventing any digging animals or small predators like weasels from being able to slip in. It also keeps the birds shut up tight in the late evening or early morning, that way you can move the tractor without having birds in the way. This comes in very important when they are small!

a-frame chicken tractor We keep the chickens safe by using fencing underneath the roosts
The A-frame roosting area is covered in 2”x4” galvanized fencing so droppings can fall to the grass below at night, keeping cleaning to a minimum. This also prevents larger predators from getting at the birds at night while they roost. You'll have to excuse the poop on the roosts in the photo above as it's due for its spring cleaning!

The a-frame chicken tractor has tons of perks for pastured chickens.
There is a large door off the back that allows you access to the birds while they peacefully roost at night. This comes in extremely handy if you have to clip feathers, do ID tags, or administer medicine.

A-Frame Nesting boxes are accessible on our chicken tractor from the outside
Nesting boxes are accessible on our A-Frame chicken tractor from the outside
Off to one side are four nesting boxes that are accessible from a separate flip-down door. It’s super easy to flip open and grab eggs throughout the day. We installed a chain because the door is quite heavy and we don't want to stress the hinges.

A-Frame chicken tractor examples
We hang waterers from a single metal chain down the center of the tractor run, but you can also balance them on either of the two front triangular corner joists. Whatever keeps the poop out, am I right?!

The a-frame chicken tractor has a unique wheel design
The tractor wheels have a unique design so I can move and turn the structure without needing any help or having to lift the tractor up.

We use a rope to pull our A-Frame chicken tractor along
You can either push the A-frame chicken coop tractor from behind or pull it from the front with the attached thick rope. The tractor is so easy to turn thanks to our unique wheel design.

A-Frame chicken tractor examples build plans
We ended up building a mini, medium and mega version of the A-frame chicken coop tractor so we had the flexibility to move our different sized flocks around as needed. 

We highly recommend moving your hens to fresh pasture every day. Which brings me to our daily routine with the mobile chicken tractors.

The A-Frame Mobile Chicken Coop Tractor Routine

  1. Every morning we move the tractors to a fresh patch of grass before we let the ramp down and let the chickens out.
  2. We fill their waterers and give them feed.
  3. The ramp gets let down and the chickens come out.
  4. We check for eggs.
  5. During the hot days of summer I’ll check water levels midday.
  6. At night once all the birds have gone up to roost, we close the ramp up.
A-Frame chicken tractor for backyard chicken coop
 No more worries about my chickens moseying over to the neighbors unguarded lettuce patch. No nightmares of the birds getting snatched up by a watchful hawk. No need to sacrifice the nutritional bounty of free-range eggs. Add on top of all that a gorgeous green lawn that the chickens “mow” for me.
​
Want get your hands on the build plans? We've got a downloadable PDFs for you below so keep scrolling!

The Mini Chicken Tractor Build Plans

The Mini A-frame Chicken Tractor Build Plans
  • Flock size: 4 - 6 hens
  • Nesting Boxes: 1+ (sized to fit three hens at once)
  • Dimensions: 6’W x 8’L x 5.5‘H
  • Total Materials Cost: $350 - $450
  • Build Time: 20 hours
The Mini Mobile A-Frame Chicken Tractor is perfect for the suburban chicken keeper. The small footprint of this Mini Mobile Chicken Tractor is ideal for backyards, allowing you enough space to simply park it or easily push it around your lawn. ​
Download the chicken tractor build plans

The Medium Chicken Tractor Build Plans

The Medium A-Frame Chicken Tractor Build Plans
  • Flock Size: 6 - 10 hens
  • Dimensions: 6’W x 10’L x 5.5’H​
  • Nesting Boxes: 4
  • Total Materials Cost: $400 - $500
  • Build Time: 22 hours
The Medium Mobile A-Frame Chicken Tractor is perfect for a larger suburban lot or hobby farm. Your municipal laws are less stringent, allowing for a bigger flock size of 6 - 10 hens that can feed you and your family breakfast each and every day. The mid-sized footprint of this tractor allows you to easily move it around your yard as needed.
Download the chicken tractor build plans

The Mega Chicken Tractor Build Plans

The Mega A-Frame Chicken Tractor Build Plans
  • Flock Size: 15 - 20 hens
  • Dimensions: 8’W x 10’L x 7’H
  • Nesting Boxes: 4
  • Total Materials Cost: $450 - $550
  • Build Time: 24 hours
The Mega Mobile A-Frame Chicken Tractor is ideal for small farms or homesteads that are looking to house a larger flock of 15 - 20 hens per tractor. On our farm, we built two Mega Tractors that in total house our pastured flock of 30, providing us delicious eggs for our roadside farmstand. ​
Download the mega chicken tractor build plans

The Multi Tractor Build Plan Bundle

The multi build plan bundle a-frame chicken tractor
Can't decide what size is best for you?
​

​Download all three build plans for the price of two.

​Includes the Mini, Medium, and Mega Mobile Chicken Tractor Build Plan PDFs sent immediately to your inbox.
Download the bundle build plans

To date, 800+ A-Frame Chicken Coop Tractors have been built using our plans!


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How to build a mobile chicken tractor to put your backyard chickens safely on pasture

27 Comments
Lenore Bush
10/4/2018 09:44:27 am

I can't see how the wheels you have mounted will aid in turning. I've made 2 now with the same design and the wheels are Hell to turn...

Reply
Kelsey
10/4/2018 11:52:39 am

Hi Lenore, sorry that you've had trouble with your own tractor design. I can assure you that our design has had zero issues with turning. I am a 135 lb female and can turn them with ease. Are you using casters or fixed wheels?

Reply
Lenore Bush
10/4/2018 12:40:14 pm

I cancelled by mistake, sorry. Thx for responding. My small hoop coop with wood frame has training wheels for a bike on it. They help some but not for turning.

I built a larger Salatin tractor exactly as the book said but added a nesting box as I have laying hens. It's extremely heavy! I gave 15" wheels on it with the popular idea of the handle on it that lifts and lowers wheels as needed. I can move this but barely. Considering adding a second set of wheels.

I'm a 5'4", 60 yr old and overweight but strong. In my regular job I'm a Medical Massage Therapist lol. Thanks

Reply
Lauren
10/13/2018 06:48:58 am

Hi, this is such a beautiful design! I'm interested in purchasing it for our small(ish) suburban backyard. I'd like the chickens to be able to roam during the day but there are too many potential predators. By city ordinance we're only allowed up to 5 chickens. I don't anticipate we'll need something as large as this, esp for a coop - how scalable do you think the plans are? Also, any chance you can provide a list of needed tools? I assume we'll have to invest in some new ones (or seek friends' to borrow) and I'm not sure how much extra effort and cost that will involve. Thanks!

Reply
Kelsey
10/13/2018 07:23:40 am

Hi Lauren! Thank you so much for stopping by. How exciting for you to get your first flock going! The tools are fairly basic aside from a table saw - so ask your friends on that one. The plans could be scaled, it's just a matter of doing the math. I would recommend keeping the nesting boxes at their current dimensions though for your laying hens. I will say with 5 hens this coop is actually a nice size! They will have plenty of space with the 8'x10' exposure to your lawn and you may only have to move it every 3 days instead of once a day. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Reply
Carl
11/9/2018 12:17:23 pm

Hey so the bottom of the coup is open, do the hens do okay in cold weather? What's the lowest temperature they can handle?

Reply
Kelsey
11/10/2018 08:36:08 am

Hi Carl! Yes, the bottom of the coop is open so that the chickens can have access to the grass. If it gets below 20 degrees then I suggest moving them to a warmer spot. We see-saw our girls between the tractors from May - October to our barn from November - April.

Reply
Alicia
2/23/2019 11:32:38 am

Hi,
I'm looking into getting my first chickens and building a coop. I love the design of this. I don't have a super large area (I live in town and only have a smallish yard in front where I could put chickens). I'm thinking about getting three hens. How often would I need to move the tractor in order to keep the grass still grass and allow the chickens to feed?
Thanks!

Reply
Lenore R Bush
2/23/2019 01:27:53 pm

I move mine daily. 2x a day if raining so they aren't too muddy!

Reply
Kelsey
2/24/2019 06:58:22 am

Hi Alicia! Thanks for visiting my site! If you only have three chickens, you probably would need to move them once every four or five days. I recommend keeping an eye on the grass and seeing if they are tearing up the sod. The Chicken Tractor Build Plans come with more important tips and tricks for implementing the tractor so your chickens are comfortable.

Reply
Rahel link
5/1/2019 01:51:01 pm

What do you think the difference would be in price if we replaced the metal sheeting with wood? We got all this scrap wood that would look so pretty in the yard :) Also, how many hens do you keep in each tractor? Thanks!

Reply
Kelsey
5/2/2019 10:30:10 am

Hi! I think that wood could be problematic with water exposure, unless you painted the whole thing with the eco-stain I link in the guide. With all wood, I would worry about mold and dampness for the hens at night. We keep no more than 15 regular or 20 bantam per tractor if they are confined to the tractor all day. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Reply
Derek
8/6/2019 12:17:24 pm

Hey Kelsey, the plans don't say anything about pretreated or non-treated lumber. Does it matter? And if so, which is preferred? I assumed pretreated because it will be outside but I didn't know if its like a raised bed and you don't want to use pretreated lumber because of the chemicals. Thanks!

Reply
Kelsey
8/6/2019 02:46:33 pm

Hi Derek! The plans do include information on the eco-stain we use and recommend (with links). We definitely do not recommend treated lumber! Purchase untreated and then stain it with the eco stain we list in the plans.

Reply
Ashley
2/26/2020 12:57:37 pm

Is there a gap at the bottom? I ask because we live in Florida and have had snakes in the coop after eggs.

Reply
Kelsey
2/26/2020 02:59:34 pm

Hi Ashley! Our customers who deal with egg-eating snakes have added an additional strip of hardware cloth (1/4" or 1/2" works best) along the bottoms of the tractors to deal with this. They've told me it works!

Reply
Jamie Kraus
3/25/2020 08:02:58 pm

Hi, I love your design. Just wondering if you have ever dealt with bears in your neck of the woods?

Reply
Kelsey
3/26/2020 10:14:44 am

Hi Jamie - we have not dealt with bears in Milwaukee. My suggestion is to understand the bears in your area and their predatory nature (ask neighbors). Do they typically go after chickens? What time of day are they the most active? Do you have dogs that could scare them away? There are many factors to consider if you want to understand if a chicken tractor would be right for your area and its predators.

Reply
Justin Clarke
3/28/2020 05:57:17 am

Hi,

We are looking for a structure like this to expand our flock in Newfoundland, Canada. Is there room for insulation in the interior walls for Insulation, as the coldest we can have in Winter here is - 20s Celsius. We would be looking at a way to have a removal floor to have in place during the winter as well. Do you think these things are feasible with this design?

Reply
Kelsey
4/12/2020 08:35:02 am

Hi Justin - my apologies for not seeing this comment sooner! Please head over to the FAQ section on our Chicken Tractor page on our website to read our answer about winterizing.

https://www.greenwillowhomestead.com/mobile-chicken-tractor-build-plans.html

Reply
Diana
4/11/2020 02:19:17 pm

Hello! Just got our first 6 chicks and we will be building this tractor soon. Just curious what you use for a waterer/feeder?

Reply
Kelsey
4/12/2020 08:36:23 am

Hi Diana,

Yay for chicks! If you look at the pictures we provide here on this page you can see hang a metal chain down the center and attach a waterer there. Then we feed out of a simple metal oil feed pan.

Reply
Joy Brunner
4/23/2020 08:20:41 pm

When winterizing the chicken coops, will the insulation need to be removed for summer.

Reply
Kelsey
4/24/2020 08:57:53 am

Yes I recommend removing the mylar insulation during the summer months. Luckily it can take a lot of wear and tear and you should be able to use the insulation for many winters!

Reply
Sam
6/2/2020 03:30:43 pm

I looked for pictures of the inside but didn’t find many. Are there roosts inside the box area?

Reply
Kelsey
6/2/2020 05:42:33 pm

Hi Sam! If you look about 1/3 of the way down the post there is a photo inside the roosting area (the next photo is a shot of the tractor from behind). To answer your question, yes! There are roosts inside the "box."

Reply
Alison
12/26/2020 02:42:47 pm

Hello,

We are looking to increase our flock and make our coop mobile so this coop design looks great! Can you help us on one planning question? We currently have 6 hens in confinement and they are on chicken feed with a small amount of treats. If we had hens using your design here in Minnesota, how much supplemental feed does it require? Thanks

Reply



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