Raising your own meat birds in your backyard to process in eight weeks means you will need some sort of protection for them. In this post, you will learn how to build the chicken tractor we have decided works best for our backyard meat chickens.
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What is a chicken tractor?
A chicken tractor is defined as a portable enclosure with no bottom used for raising and moving poultry around pasture or your own yard. For us this is generally less than a half an acre in our backyard.
Some may refer to a meat bird tractor as a meat chicken coop. Same thing. “Tractor” refers to it being mobile which you want for meat birds. They need fresh grass often!
Feel free to read more on how we raised 68 meat birds on less than half an acre HERE.
Why do I need to raise meat birds in a chicken tractor?
Technically you don’t “need” a chicken tractor to raise your own meat birds or even laying hens but if you value pasture raised meats and laying hens, then this may be a way to do it.
Chicken tractors are designed to be easily moved to new pasture frequently to encourage your poultry to forage for bugs and grass. This is being “pasture raised”.
One of the most important reasons to build a chicken tractor is to keep your flock of meat birds SAFE while outside.
Safe from predators of the night and the sky such as raccoons, opossum, eagles, hawks, coyotes, fox, maybe snakes, or just neighborhood roaming dogs if you live out in the country like we do where leash laws need not apply.
Are chicken tractors predator proof?
What proof are we looking here? 80 proof, 100 proof? I kid, I kid!
But honestly, I’m not sure there is a design made YET that can be 100% entirely predator proof from ALL predators but allow birds access to pasture. Maybe I am wrong but I feel where there is a will, there is a way when it comes to creatures of the night!
Generally speaking, when the proper materials are used to create a chicken tractor, your flock can safely forage new pasture.
Here is the design and build we have used along with all the materials that have, so far, kept 3 flocks of meat birds safe in our backyard.
2026 Update: We have been using these same tractors since 2023 and have yet to have a predator problem. We do inspect each tractor well before eat new batch of meat chickens for broken wire, detached hardware cloth, etc.
Note:
While we do own a dog who is garage-kept at night, we do not have livestock guardian dogs who protect the perimeter of our property.
Johnson Home NC’s interpretation of a chicken tractor: HOW-TO
Disclaimer to this how-to:
We understand that not everyone will have access to this tools listed below. My husband is a hobby carpenter who has spent the last 15 years collecting tools by way of budgeting and finding deals from other carpenters upgrading or retiring.
In the homesteading world, learn to be friendly with your neighbors. Ask to borrow their tools in exchange for helping them with some build or project. Be sure to take the BEST care of their property while it is in your hands. Return it better than you found it, if able.
Some of these items like hardware cloth, galvanized staples, lashing wire, and scrap wood are from previous projects. Homesteaders are good at learning to repurpose and reuse and get creative with what’s lying around our property.
This how-to is copy and pasted from the directions my husband emailed me specifically for this blog post. As of the April 2024 publishing of this post, this design was last made September 2023. He has constructed 2 tractors himself and a friend 1 tractor just simply by seeing this design in person and following it. Should you have questions about this design, feel free to comment below or email us at [email protected]
Materials:
- 3 EA – 2x4x8 (pressure treated)
- Screws (outdoor safe)
- 1 EA – 16’ cattle panel (found at Tractor Supply store, can be folded over for transport in bed of a truck.)
- Galvanized staples
- Stainless steel staple gun staples
- 1 EA – tarp (6’x8’, 5 mil is best, 3 mil will get you maybe 1 year)
- 1 EA – roll of 1/2” hardware cloth (100′ roll will get a lot of use around the homestead! Do NOT substitute for chicken wire, it is NOT durable or safe enough!)
- Note: if you choose chicken wire, it’s best to have an alternative predator protection such as a livestock guardian dog or electric fencing.)
- Lashing wire (lots of uses for this roll too)
- Hinges (outdoor safe material)
- Hook & eye
- Rope (strong enough for pulling the tractor)
- If no scrap wood available for door, maybe another pressure treated 2×4
- Optional – 4” pvc for skids
- NOTE: if opting to add wheels instead of skids, consider a design that allows the wheels to lift tractor to move, then lower when sitting. The wheels will create space between bottom of tractor and the ground that will allow predators a space to dig.
Tools:
- Wood Saw
- Drill
- Drill bits
- Hammer
- Tape Measure
- Pencil
- Pliers
- Staple gun
- Something to cut metal (hand saw, reciprocating saw, or grinder)
- Tin snips (arguably one of the BEST tools on a homestead!)
- Gloves (hardware cloth can scratch skin while handling and cutting it)
Steps: Construct the Shell
- Cut one of the 2×4’s in half (approx. 48”)
- Assemble base with screws. Connect two 2x4x8 with the two half pieces that were just cut, forming an 8’ x 4’ rectangle.
- Drill two holes on one end of the base to put rope through. Tie knots on the inside of tractor base to secure rope.
- Cut the cattle panel in half. Creating two pieces approximately 8’ long.
- Next, bend one piece of the cattle panel so that it fits between the two 8’ pieces of the base (creating a dome shape). Attach the cattle panel piece to the base on each side using galvanized staples and a hammer. Repeat with the other cut cattle panel. Will likely need a partner to help hold the cattle panel, or utilize clamps.
- Using 2-3 inch lashing wire pieces, you will connect the two cattle panels together every other square for adding structural support.
Steps: Closing in Tractor
- Cut out pieces of hardware cloth to cover all the cattle panel, leaving enough hardware cloth to attach it to the wood base using staple gun staples. Attach hardware cloth to cattle panel with lashing wire every 6 inches.
- Then cover one end of the tractor with hardware cloth. Use staple gun to secure hardware cloth to the wood base of the tractor. You will want to overlap hardware cloths and connect with lashing wire.
- Construct a door on the other end (door itself measures 40″ wide by 72.5″ tall to fit a 3 gallon waterer through the door. No, the top of the door is not connected to anything. Side supports are very helpful, see pictures. Door frame will be larger and leaving a small gap for door to swing open and closed.) Cover all openings on this end with hardware cloth.
- Now attach the tarp to one half of the tractor with lashing wire. Choose the end with the door for easy access to waterer and feeder and to keep feeder dry.
- Cut pvc pipe in half and attach to bottom of the base for skids and finally, use scrap wood pieces to create door supports as seen in the photos.
Where do feeders and waterers go in this chicken tractor?
We found that in order to move this tractor effectively and with less work, you will want to use some lashing wire to fashion a hoop about 12 inches long to hang from the cattle panel. You will thread the wires through the cattle panel THEN twist the two ends to close it, forming your loop.
Test your loop hanging space by holding your waterer from the loop to make sure it has space to hang freely.
Using carabiner hooks, hang the feeder and waterer within arms reach inside the door from the lashing wire hoop. This allows chickens to access their food and water without pooping in it. It also allows these containers to move with the tractor.
We use 3 gallon plastic waterers and 10 pound feeders.
How many meat birds can this chicken tractor hold?
At fully grown, this size and design hold about 15-20 meat birds comfortably. They have plenty of space to move about freely, forage the fresh pasture and get to the feeder and waterer.
With that said, I am able to be home all day most days and can move the tractors 2-4 times a day. Always each morning and night before bedtime at a minimum.
2026 Update: We have successfully raised 24 in this tractor design with plenty of space for each bird. This Spring 2026, we will try to raise 30 in each tractor. The main issue we have found over the seasons is feeding. This spring we will try a long metal trough style brooder feeder instead of hanging a 10 lb feeder. Feeding time can be a wild frenzy.
Morning feeding frenzy and how I deal with it
Because I use one 10 lb feeder per tractor of 15-20 birds, there can be a feeding frenzy each morning.
To help with this craziness, I will first, move the tractor to fresh pasture. Then I offer a handful of feed thrown or sprinkled from the opened side through the hardware cloth top into the grass to divert attention away from the door. Next I will remove the feeder and fill it then clip it back. Feeding frenzy still happens but several birds will continue to forage for feed from the ground at the opposite end of the tractor.
Additionally, you could hang two feeders in this tractor. However, I find it a little hard to reach the feeders with hunger-crazed birds when placed further back inside the tractor to allow space between each feeder. Also, we want to encourage our backyard birds to forage as much as possible for the added benefits to their diet as well as the exercise.
2026 Update: in the evenings with the last move of the day, I remove the feeders so I can refill them and have them waiting for me in the morning. This is because we choose not to free feed all day. A hot debate in the meat chicken world but you get to decide how big you want your birds and how often you feed them!
Inclement weather alert!
Keep an eye on the weather all 8-9 weeks you are growing out meat birds.
In the event of severe weather, relocate the tractors somewhere with some wind protection such as the side of the house or workshop.
If there is a rain coming, use additional tarps and bricks to cover up and hold the opened top and side of the chicken tractor.
If the birds are feathered out but there is a cold snap coming for some nights, close up the opened top and side. Use a heat lamp inside the tractor, hung with carabiners, to give them added warmth.
Can this chicken tractor be used as a brooder?
Yes! We raise our meat birds for about 2-3 days in our unheated workshop inside of a 64 gallon tote on wheels. Using wood shavings for bedding and scrap wood pieces for lifting waterer and feeder up some to limit the poop in them. Then we set up a heat lamp for warmth. We also use a greenhouse thermometer to keep an eye on how warm it is for the baby birds.
On super cold days, we repurposed plastic shower curtains clipped to the edges to cover the top of the tote. I will leave an opening in the curtains for the lamp to shine in and for ventilation.
We raise meat birds in the spring, usually March through May. A second batch each year in the fall, usually September through November. We live in northeast North Carolina so there is weird weather every season. Sometimes it’s cold when it should be warm and vice versa.
After 3 or 4 days in the tote:
This spring we added heat lamps at two different levels of height clipped into the cattle panel top. Then I run the cords through a chipped out hole in the door’s frame.
This tractor was set outside under our lean-to from the workshop on top of tarps and plastic. Tarp floor is lined with a thick covering of wood shavings (about 1 bag of flakes). Feeder and waterer set up on thick wood blocks (could use bricks) within biddies’ reach.
To make it as warm as possible on those 40 degree nights and early mornings, we used multiple tarps to cover the entire chicken tractor. Then we used old bed sheets to cover the front door area for easy pushing up and away to access the birds each day. Using a greenhouse thermometer, I was able to keep an eye on how warm it was inside the tractor to adjust coverings and heat lamps as needed.
This method worked out really well. It kept the biddies warm and dry and their stinky smell out of our workshop.
More on Raising Chickens
How we raised 68 cornish cross meat birds on less than 1/2 acre backyard
How to water glass eggs for a winter supply
A yummy warm winter treat for your chickens
DIY killing cone for processing day made under $5
Zero waste from one whole chicken!
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If you try this design, come back and leave a comment or share a picture on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest so we can see it! If you have specific questions, please feel free to comment here or email us at [email protected]
