Monday, May 12, 2008

Tractor done!

Forgive me if I gloat, but I'm so chuffed with my finished project. It took me months to construct but it's finally ready for chickens!


Whulla!



Positioned on the edge of the retaining wall.



Nice cosy nest.



And it wouldn't be complete without a working ramp and latches!




Today was move-in day for the new residents too. This little girl was the last to go into the tractor, and left a little deposit in the nesting box before flying out. Of the 6 black pekins we put straight into the nesting box, none used the ramp. They chose to fly down instead.

There are 3 adults and 3 of their chicks who are almost at point of lay. We named the three pullets: Cherry, Blossom and Kiwi...the daddy rooster is called Mr Sheen, and there's mummy Juju Juciy (named by Sarah) and the other mummy hen, Sweety Pie - also named by Sarah.

They all went to roost this evening which I was happy to see, although Mr Sheen couldn't fit on the roost. He was prepared to sleep underneath to be near his girls, but I felt safer with him in the raised nesting box on the opposite side. So I climbed in the tractor, picked him up and put him in the nest. I don't think he was too impressed with that, but last time I checked he had nestled in the wood shavings.

Next project has to be fencing, so I can have them free-range during the day. I hope they like it in their new home.

2 comments:

  1. Will be checking this out for reference later too. You are great at all that building and creating stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Had my fair share of projects that went wrong too, but it's always fun seeing what you can do. If it works, I'm happy!

    Here's a link to a site I like to be inspired by when looking for chook tractor ideas:

    http://home.centurytel.net/thecitychicken/tractors.html

    You may have already seen it around, but there's plenty of ideas in it to get inspired by.

    Looking forward to seeing your creations in future.

    ReplyDelete

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