Chicken Tractor Raised Bed Combo
I know I promised a pepper growing guide for you today, but it’s not quite done. So I thought I’d share a few snaps of the coolest chicken tractors I’ve seen. They belong to Cheri Van Hoover and her husband Rocky, who garden in a to-die-for spot near Port Townsend, Washington.
The couple’s lovely vegetable garden overlooks a wetland area and orchard and is framed in on all sides by an adorable white picket fence. Cheri’s daughter designed the chicken tractors to fit right over the garden’s raised beds, so the chickens can dig for insect larave, leave little deposits of nitrogen, and aerate the soil. I took these photos when I stopped by their garden in January and was excited to see that Cheri and Rocky raise Buff Orpingtons, too! I’m hoping to get an invite to visit again this summer so I can share photos of the garden when it is full of vegetables.
That is so cool!! I want one!
May 27th, 2009 at 3:57 pmThe John Deere chicken tractor fits right on the raised bed. How cool is that!
May 27th, 2009 at 7:19 pmwhat’s the pvc pipe thingy for?
May 27th, 2009 at 9:01 pmThis is the #1 coolest chicken tractor I’ve ever seen!
May 27th, 2009 at 9:24 pmKim, I think the PVC pipe is water for the bed when there’s veggies or whatever growing in it.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:03 amWhen I saw the title, I thought there was going to be a chicken tractor with a planting bed on top of it — like a green roof for the birdies. Still, this is cool too!
May 28th, 2009 at 8:05 amReally cool. Once I get chickens, this is what I want too. Does the Chicken Tractor have a wire mesh floor? Or is it completely open on the bottom? I was wondering how that worked to allow chickens access to the bugs and larvae in the planters.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:10 amKim–I’m not sure what the PCV pipe is for. It wasn’t attached the coop. I bet it’s for watering or securing a hoop house over the beds.
Andres–The tractors are open on the floor so the chickens can scratch to their hearts content.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:15 pmre pvc pipe: yep, on closer look i see that it is not attached to the coop. so yours and lisas answer are good options.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pmThanks for this info, Willi! I am new to chicken arcana, and I will totally be employing the chicken tractor concept in my veg garden this winter!
June 2nd, 2009 at 6:17 pmI am very curious about where the chickens go when things are growing- they would eat the vegetables, so the raised beds must be off limits! ???
May 1st, 2011 at 7:33 amElizabeth–I think they have a coop, too, if I recall. And the tractor can also be moved around on the lawn.
May 1st, 2011 at 11:24 amThis is perfect! We are new to chickens as of this Spring and have a terrific coop we built in the middle of our raised bed veggie garden. During the day I let them out into the rest of the yard (the veggie garden is fenced)but in the winter when the gardens are empty this will be perfect…….another project for my husband ha!
August 8th, 2011 at 8:04 pm