Do the chickens drive the tractor?
That’s just one of the questions that we’ve been asked about our “chicken tractors” that led us to write this post and describe them a bit more.
A chicken tractor is a mobile chicken coupe. It is made from wood and chicken wire to provide protection from predators to our chickens and turkeys.
Across the top and sides, it has a tarp to provide protection from the sun, rain, and excessive wind. It has wheels on side and a rope on the other side so that it can be pulled by hand and moved 10′ forward each day.
The chicken tractors allow our poultry to get a free-range experience while providing protection from predators (we have coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and hawks in our area, and everyone loves to eat chicken). Our birds are able to graze on a new area of lush, chemical-free pasture each day. They are able to scratch at the ground, to take dust baths, and to eat bugs like nature intended. They are able to enjoy the sunshine and the outdoors and live a great life.
In return, the chickens leave manure on the land and they aerate the soil. They pick at dead grass and thatch. By moving the birds across our pasture, we are able to add organic matter to the soil and fertilize the pasture in a natural way without the use of any chemicals.
So why do we do this? It’s certainly more work and manual labor than just letting the chickens hang out in a regular chicken coupe. We believe that allowing our chickens and turkeys to live in a more natural way has a direct result on the overall quality of the meat. Our birds enjoy a stress-free life where they can move around freely. They get vitamins and minerals from the earth and that translates into nutrient-dense meat for our customers. We’re sure that after you taste our beyond-organic poultry, you’ll agree that Our Way is better.