Moving Chickens

Saturday was moving day... for our chickens - our pullets, our roosters, and our meat birds.  We have 22 Barred Rock pullets that we have been raising in one of our chicken tractors.  We normally let them continue to grow until they begin laying eggs.  At that point we open the doors and let them out where they are free to roam at will.

Until that that point though, we need to move them into a bigger tractor.  See how they look kind of cramped?  This particular tractor is 6 feet wide by 12 feet long. This is the one that we'll need to move our meat birds into.  The meat birds are currently in the garage.  First we need to move these little ladies out.

Need some more elbow room

We moved the roosters out of this tractor.  We'll show you where we moved them tomorrow.  To make the move easier, we wheeled the two tractors close together and Benjamin and I moved chickens from one place to another.

New home for the pullets

Once we had them moved, they stretched out and got used to their new dwelling. The tractor has nesting boxes on the far left side, so that when they start to lay, they have six, hay-filled boxes in which to lay their eggs.  At that point we'll open the door on the far right side and let them roam and scratch for their food over 3 acres. For now, I'll throw rice to them to supplement the grass they eat when I push the tractor forward each day.

Move in day

Once we had freed up the small chicken tractor, Benjamin and I went about weather proofing it for the 3 week old meat birds that we'll be moving in.  More rains will be moving through this week and the birds don't fare well when they get wet.  We added heat lamps, lined the bottom with about 3 inches of hay, and Benjamin stapled feed sacks and blue tarps to the sides.

Weatherproofing the tractor

Benjamin and I transported the chicks from the brooders in the garage to their new home - at least for the next 6 weeks of their lives.  They seemed happy with more room to run around and they didn't seem to pile up on top of each other like they were doing before.  The hay that lines the bottom will keep them off the wet grass from the rains we're expecting.  They'll soil the hay and I'll need to remove it all in a few days and replace it, but the goal is that we get good, dry weather that will enable us to remove all the hay so that the birds can snack on the tender shoots of Spring grass that will be growing.

Warm and cozy spot for the meat birds

It is always nice to have the birds moved out of the garage.  The smell that 100 little birds can make in an enclosed garage is breathtaking - literally.