My raised bed chicken tractor

I got this idea from www.gardengirltv.com. I built a chicken tractor that fits on top of my raised beds. This is a small one. 4x4'. I have 4 small raised beds and four 14 week old pullets that my older flock barely tolerates so I am giving the little girls their own place. For this first raised bed tractor I used all recycled materials. Wood from an a wooden swing set we used to have, wood from my sons wooden bed that broke, 2x4s scraps from some home improvements, an extra bit of wooden dowel that was used for our closet.

I still need to put cut the hardware cloth and install doors. There will be 2 doors. I also need to cover the top. Right now I just have some scraps of plexi green house roofing stuff on it.

This shows the outside of it.

Laura

This shows the recycled perch inside. The girls love it!

And this is the small bar I put in to hang the feeder from. It looks big in the picture but it is only about 6" wide and it is close to the roof so no one will try to perch above the food.

Oh, Laura, that's beautiful! I'd be tempted to make something like that if I ever get around to making raised beds - LOL.
No, really, I'm learning from so many folks around here how to build things and yet spend next to no money by using scraps. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures!

That's so cool and pretty much all recycled is even cooler.
That's the kind of thing I would think about and never attempt, I'm impressed.
How long until they fill the raised bed with yummy chicken poop? (not yummy as in mmm that tastes good, but yummy as in ooo so good for the garden)

Love
Mom

PS
It's early and I my math brain isn't awake yet... did you say 14 babies...and then older hens... and how many chickens do you have in your city backyard?

LOL, well do you mean how many do I have right now? This minute? I have 4 babies (teenages actually, they should be laying soon) and 10 big girl hens.

I have 15 coming but those are meat birds and won't be around long.

Then I *might* have ordered 14 bantams but but but about half (or more) will probably end up roosters so we will butcher those also. So for a bit we will have 43 in our city backyard but only temporarily. I already told my neighbors though and they didn't seem bothered by it.

When it is all said and done I will have my 14 full sized birds and maybe 7 or 8 bantams but the bantams are 1/3 to 1/5 the size of a full sized chicken so really that is like having 2 or 3 more chickens ;-)

Then there are the angora rabbits....

Laura

you have a rabbit... or RABBITS?

No, I was just messing with you. As cool as it would be to shear, spin and then knit fabulous creations I don't have the time and I think an angora rabbit would die in our heat.

L

I though angora came from sheep?

http://www.all-animals.com/images/bun1.jpg

There are angora bunnies and angora goats.

Doesn't the bunny look like a big stuffed animal?

Laura

43 Chickens at one time wow - making me hungry for some buffalo chicken wings... make mine extra spicy.... Laura I am truly impressed with your carpentry talents and your ability to recycle materials... Bravo Zulu. Thats Navy talk for "A Job Well Done!"