Interesting channel name, but what sold me was the socks in flip flops routine during construction.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Those are my safety sandals and safety socks.

@legacygroup2012

3 жыл бұрын

Amen

@johnmoyer5515

3 жыл бұрын

If you ever had a nail go through your foot you wouldnt wear sandals yes its about safety

@TheMab144000

3 жыл бұрын

😂😂😂😒

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

I've had one nail go through my foot before, but now I know not to step on nails.

I love how down to earth you guys are and honest

I'm locally grown and raised, I see these when I head to town. They look really good and it's awesome to see raising pastured chickens taking flight. We need much more of this in the area and I think there is a sail wind bringing it in.

Thanks for taking the time to share, video, and explain 🤙👍

Great tweaks on the 'original' Salatin design :) We made one following his plans this year, already plan to make the next one a bit more like yours. Nice job!!!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I’m glad I could help.

Lord I'm 45 in a couple days , all i want is good health and the drive a guy like this has in this video 😁

wow, amazing I've never seen anything like this before.

1,000 watched this?! That's insane! You guys rock.

@hooversoutdoors

3 жыл бұрын

65k!

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

It's crazy. I can hardly believe it.

@rasolaqfa5051

3 жыл бұрын

120k Well done!

@lepsaniiriders6592

2 жыл бұрын

175k

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

211,000 people watched this? That’s insane. One year flew by so fast

Awesome chicken tractors. These looks great. Wish I would have build a bigger tractor for our chickens

Thank you for the video!! and great fashion statement with your slippers 😜

Brilliant!

For the water you can get a container with a cap at the top and a tap at the bottom, you close the tap at the bottom and fill the container with water, then you close the cap at the top so no air can get in, you place the container on top of the cage and run a piece of hose from the tap to a cup on the floor, open the tap and the cap gets water for the chickens to drink and stop, as the water gets consumed air will go up the hose and some water will fall in the cup, it will be automatic water feeding, all you got to do refill the container.

Very cool!

Absolutely fabulous

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

It takes more acreage but I love raising chickens like this! Super easy and it's a lot cheaper to start if you already have the acreage. I use this type tractor in the cooler months and the Suscovich model tractor in the warmer months

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

For sure. After raising chickens this way, I would never raise them in a barn.

@homermcclain4599

2 жыл бұрын

What is the social watch cage system look like and how many chickens

Enjoyed it. It's great watching a farm boy video, just plain and simple and funny. Wanting to do this type of deal soon. Them Amish sell cheap wood. I should know being a Yoder myself 😆

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

Big respect for u no matter what who say

I’ve made 3 of these now. Kept working on the design to refine it. Got it down to a few ripped 2x6s for the bottom and ripped deck boards for the top. Ripped 2x4s for all uprights. No diagonal bracing. Used hardware clothe like you did. Very light and doesn’t sag.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

I would cut back on material for sure if I were to do it over again. After I pulled them for two summers, I decided they are heavier than I would like.

@JoeGraves24

2 жыл бұрын

As Joel Salatin says: they’re not pigs or cows, they don’t need heavy a built structure. You’re just keeping lightweight predators out. If you look at what he uses they look like they might fall apart at any moment lol

I just bought the books... looking to make the move. Great vid

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Love the water system.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Pat Burgard They worked ok for this summer, but they started falling apart near the end of our third batch of birds. We'll be doing a different watering system for next year.

@patburgard2115

3 жыл бұрын

I will keep watching and see what you come up with 👍

awesome men, your work is inspiring!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Interesting build, good idea

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you, and thanks for watching.

@4:11 "ill edit out all the bad parts" hilarious

I love what you guys do, keep up the good videos.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Matthew Craft thank you!

very informative and helpful

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

I’m glad you think so!

New sub! Love the content! 🙏🏻

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for watching!

Nice work 😎👍

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Love the work shoes

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

I like to live life on the edge 🤓

perfect

When we have the rains here in southeast Texas that really stands, we shove hay or straw under the tractor wall, then move the tractor forward about halfway, and the chickens immediately crawl up on the hay out of the water. Works for us.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

That’s doesn’t sound fun.

@morganewing304

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo any concern about uneven ground or holes in the ground creating access points for predators to get in under the walls?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

For sure. I keep some wood scraps on the shelters to shiv in any divots, but our pasture is quite level. I rarely have to patch a hole with scrap wood. It I was in an area where there were weak points every day, I might enclose the shelters with electric netting for extra protection.

@morganewing304

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo thanks for sharing your video 👍

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Huh. Interesting build, although after referencing Joel Salatin's design in the title I was hoping you would talk more about what changes you made and why. Also whether or not you made the dolly to move those tractors and whether or not one person can move them with the heavier wood. I also didn't notice any mention of where you're located, but I did recognize wood sorrel in the grass, which reminds me of my youth in Maine. Anyway, guess I'll have to check out the next video, and see if I can find answers to my questions there.

Love those construction boots, lmao comfort 1st, I would have started with saw-horses :-)

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Haha, I like to live life on the edge!

I can hear my daddy now, “cover them toes up before you lose them!” A friend of mine made a really similar coop out of an old truck bed cover.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Ha! Those are my safety sandles.

Chinesium, Kungflu, darn I cannot think of the third one right now. I love those. I noticed some differences I believe on your build. But like he says. He’s not telling you how to do it. Do what works for you.

it would be awesome to get plans and a cut list if you got em! this looks better than most versions of this tractor. id love to try it.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

I'll hopefully make plans for it when I have the time. Thanks for watching!

@n.s.7223

3 жыл бұрын

@Phoenix Bear - Gravy Boat is this book also for a small farmer who doesnt have so many chickens?

I would highly recommend swapping the steel for aluminum. Steel will retain heat from the sun as aluminum will dissipate much faster. Which in turn will not over heat you birds to death

@majinvipergaming

2 жыл бұрын

Well done!

@kwhatten

2 жыл бұрын

Joel Salatin concurs.

@JoeSenger

2 жыл бұрын

Where does a farmer find aluminum siding these days? Here in Montana, it's impossible to find. Are you aware of a national source?

@forcesightknight

2 жыл бұрын

@@JoeSenger check with a gutter supply/installer, they get aluminum on rolls and make their own products from stock with a bar break table. There is also a product that is much more durable called poly core aluminum face sheeting (or something) , used for signs. It is awsome, light, and very stout. Good luck sir.

@TitanIapetus

2 жыл бұрын

I'm having problems with finding the aluminum. Would the white PVC corrugated roofing panels work you think? I live in Eastern Washington state and we do get some 100+ degree weather from time to time. Although, 90 degrees through July/August is much more common. I'd hate to cook my birds prematurely. ;)

Those would also make awesome rabbit tractors.

Lovely

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

Nice work ! Just subscribed. Who would downvote this ? I always want to meet these people and smack them. Looks great guys. really nice.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

We’ve tried both and my wife and I lean more heavily towards the A -frame style. These are nice because you can hold more, but we found them a little more difficult to move around. Good video though!

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Celtic Roots Farm They are more difficult to move, that can be true, but a good dolly or cart makes a world of difference. These shelters would be difficult for a child to move, or even a person smaller than I am.

@CelticRootsFarm

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo Yes, we found a dolly definitely helps. It's not bad, as long as you are going in a straight line. Which is why we put wheels on two sides of the tractor, so we could move it in either direction.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

@@CelticRootsFarm If I were raising birds for just myself, I would probably go with a Suscovich style tractor. They seem to be lighter, and easier to get into if you want to see all of your birds at once.

@CelticRootsFarm

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo Yes, we agree. Although it doesn’t hold quite as many birds, we still prefer it because of the things you mentioned. 👍

Nice work. I hate carpentry because I suck at it. I would pay someone to make me a couple of these this nice.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Well thanks! We made it up as we went. I had a picture of what I wanted in my head, and it came together really well.

Nice safety sandals

Yeah sandals & socks guy must be from Poland ha ha ha ha:-) we nów that cubots are not just sandals this is the way of live👍 pretty coop easy made wwooowww!!

yeah, you always wanna make sure it’s a nice, neat hole

Здорово!

"KUNG-FLU", "Sweet-N-Sour-SICKEN" you guys kill me🤣 great video!

lol great build!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks

Great job guys How long will it take you to get them to my homestead?

You should put the steal on an angle and add a gutter that fills a water reservoir 👌

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

There’s an idea.

I’m gonna build the same exact chicken tractor, video is super helpful, thanks man! It’s a year later from when you made it, is there anything you would have done differently?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, for sure. I would have used aluminum instead of steel. We got the stew for free, and we couldn’t find aluminum where we were, so we used steel. It’s much heavier than aluminum. You want to make it as light as you can. That’s pretty much it though. That, and a good cart or dolley design to put under the back edge that lifts the back off the ground when you pull it. That is a must.

Kung Flue and Sweet and Sour Sickening .......... I love it !!! LOL

Que bien felicidades

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Gracias!

Dude ! Your video is flying 😳

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

And I have no idea how. For some reason, the mystical algorithm looks favorably upon that video.

the main thing that surprises me the most is that these cheap flip flops can handle so much weight :O

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Lol

Great video, I might make a few and try this in Tanzania. Nice channel name btw; are your ancestors Dutch? Question: how much feed, you reckon, you save by raising chickens this way?

Bro, I used the same exact flip flops and impact!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

It’s a trade secret

Just once I'd like to see someone video moving one of the behemoth chicken boxes on day 3 or 4 of a week of heavy rain and still think it's a good idea.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Jerry Roberts the ground we had them on was sloped and drained very well. It's really important to put the shelters in an area that drains well. And is slightly sloped, preferably. We had a few weeks where we got 4 or 5 inches of rain or so and our ground was not spongy at all.

@jerryroberts631

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo I could see where well drained land would be a God send, lol. I've seen these things sunk halfway in mud. The smaller ones with the skinny tires are no match for saturated soil either. Yours look to be well built and wishing you guys success with your chickens.

New subscriber. Good job on the build! You would have loved to have Joel's new book on all his builds! Would have saved you a bunch of trips to town 😉

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

It would have been nice. I have it now, so I'm better prepared for future projects. Laying hens and turkeys are in our future.

@thedelightfulcottage343

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo lucky you 😊 we are still waiting!

I notice that you're using the wire mesh on the sides, so that cats and other predators are not going to be able to reach through and grab the poultry. GOOD IDEA. :)

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, and thanks for watching!

Excellent work!! Is there any danger/precautions to take in the case that predictors dig from the sides to get under and in the tractor? Thanks and keep up the good work.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard that puting an electrical wire six or so inches tall, all around the shelters keeps them away, but you have to keep the grass low under it so it doesn’t short. We have yet to have anything dig underneath them, and we have been doing it for 2 years. Some people put fold down flaps on the side of their shelters that fall flat outside the shelter for a few feet. That way, anything that wants to dig has to dig several feet in one night.

@bbtruth2161

2 жыл бұрын

Took all of maybe a month or so with this style before mink dug under and killed most of my chickens. Back to the fortified coop and run with mine.

@alextownsend6662

Жыл бұрын

These are meant to be moved daily, most predators can’t dig through in one try.

did you mention the size this is? great stuff, we are starting our 10x10 joel salatin tractor soon!

@hdezoo

Жыл бұрын

These are 12x12x2

Do you guys put screen wire underneath your metal??? Or is just the metal over the areas covered good enough? Thank you!

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

We put wire on all sides of the shelters before we put steel on, because we were planning on having the sides hinge up just like the back, but we ended up just screwing the side steel on because we were low on time. The steel would be fine on its own.

LMAO no sweet & sour sick'em in it! Y'all kill me

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

A few people have though that that is what I said, but I actually said "sweet and sour sicken". But I'm glad there are still people with a sense of humor.

@amandaguidry4242

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo either way, it was great lol. I feel the same way, it's good to know some people can still laugh at the absurdity of our world. I'm glad to have found your channel!

Hey thanks for the video. Just wondering where yall live? We are in Texas and my aon says we will need misters to keep them cool here. Have yall had issues with the heat?

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

joel c we had a week or two when the highs were around 85-95 and very humid. Our shelters are designed so the back can open completely, which helped a ton, and I would spray water on the roofs in the heat of the afternoon once a day, and because the roofs were concave a bit and the shelters were on level ground (total luck) the water would evaporate over half an hour or so and cool the roof. When the birds are small, the can stand the heat very well. When they get about four or five weeks old, heat is an issue. But even in that heat, we only averaged a 3.3% mortality rate for the summer overall.

Bagus

How many can you put in each cage. Also how big are the cages. Great work!

Haven I like your videos

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

Nice job! Those tractors look good. Chineseum, haha 😂 Thanks for sharing! How old are the birds now ? How much feed are you giving each bird , each day ?

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Conrad Homestead those birds are in the freezer now actually. I'm way behind on editing. I have a lot of footage I have to edit. We fed free choice 24/7, and 300 birds ate 2,500 lbs of feed to get to 8 weeks old, and average 5.6 lbs dressed. We actually processed 150 from the batch after the one in the video, today. We are about to package them. And we are doing the other 150 tomorrow. EDIT: sorry, not 2500 lbs, 2.5 tons, so 5000lbs

Do you have issues with algae in the clear tubing that you use for the waterers?

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

We did a little. It didn't seem to gunk up the drinkers we had too bad. We would have used black tubing, but we couldn't find any online or at the hardware.

how do you stop foxes from digging under I made one of these in austraila and the fox burrowed under took 12 chickens I was thinking of just putting weld mesh around the outside 30cm (1 foot) long

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

I’ve heard people who have done that and have it work for them. Some guys put an electric wire a few inches high (6-8 inches or so) around the shelters.

Great Video Gents!!!! Keep it coming!!! Perhaps a rough estimate of the cost per tractor? Thanks again!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

When we built them, about 250 or so

@ThisThatLittleFarm

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo Thank you much friend!

So, what I am gathering here is A Stationary Chicken Coop is soon to be an antique. Very good guys, I am very impressed with your craftiness. Is the Coop Mobile on wheels? Or just scraping the ground when it is moved. Please help out this City Slicker, all I grow is sweet Potatoes.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

We have a small cart with wheels that I slide under the rear of the shelter. It keeps the back edge about 2-3 inches off the ground so the chickens feet don't get caught under it. I pull it from the front, and the wheels make a huge difference.

Wonder whether these tractors could be used with other fowl (ducks, guineas, turkeys) if the ceiling height were greater?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

They could be very versatile, although if I added much more material to the shelters, they would be a bit too heavy to move comfortably.

You can make transport cages out of wire mesh

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

jesus Alvarez that would work well on a smaller scale, but sturdy crates are great if you want to stack loaded crates on top of one another

i aways wonder with the chicken tractors do predatoers not just easy dig under it to get inside ?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

We are about to start our third year growing chickens here in Michigan this way and we have yet to have anything dig under the shelters. We have coyote, fox, possum, and racoon, but none have dug underneath. I’ve heard some people say that because they are moved every day, it throws the predators off, but I don’t know. It could happen, but it hasn’t yet.

Güzel

Yeah them 2x2 get pretty wonky without loads of support for sure

I subscribed after you said, "These were ordered before the kung flu." haha!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for subscribing!

My cousin has tractors this big, and, lawd. If it takes two people to drag one and I still end up injured, I'm not sure you can really call it a "tractor." More like big-ass box-on-the-ground.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

You’re not wrong. I use a cart that is placed under the back wall to make it roll easier. A roller thingy is a must.

I want switch to milwaukee now

Very nice!!!!! What type grass do y’all have growing in pasture?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

We have a lot of clover, but I’m not sure what species the grass is.

@arfarms5711

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo gotcha. It looks awesome

What size boards did you use to build the chicken tractor? I would like to build one just like it. I would need all measurements, thanks

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Kimberly Laney we cut a lot of boards in half the long way. We didn't have any plans, we just made it up as we went along. I'll make a video in the future that has a materials list for the tractors we built.

@richardstevens3461

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo polyfacedesigns.com/. Polyface Designs, a new book has everything you need to build this.

👌👌👌

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

I built an 8x5 and it is solid and easy to move. Will make the next one 10x5. The Salatin design seems way too big to me.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

If I was just raising broilers for myself, I would make the shelter smaller as well. I think we will swap out the steel roofing for pvc roof sheeting this spring to make them lighter as well. I also want to make a different cart/dolly to make moving easier.

How many chickens in each one, I know Joe has 75. Seems a lot to me . Excellently built guys !

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, we do 75 in each. I wanted to move them twice a day the last week, but we didn't have enough room at the end of the pasture. The pens do get a bit grimy in 24 hours if they only get moved once a day.

@Pepper-rn4hh

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, 75 sounds like a lot to me too. Especally as the grow. I was thinking 50 per tractor. IDK.

@deanlewis1650

3 жыл бұрын

@@Pepper-rn4hh I have 10 X 12 tractor and move one a day while little but last few weeks I move twice a day. I buy 50 each time I usually loose about 4 or 5 before processing. Works good for me.

@Pepper-rn4hh

3 жыл бұрын

@@deanlewis1650 sounds good. Thank you. Our area we have bear, coyote, mountain lions, and of course raccoons etc. What do you do about predators?

@deanlewis1650

3 жыл бұрын

@@Pepper-rn4hh we have different critters,hawks coyotes a raccoon every now and then. It's usually not a problem. Only on our free range birds. We lost 12 in one day once😢. I believe that it was a air strike on my hens but not sure. No issues with our hogs at all. Keep in mind that I am in upstate SC.

Awesome build. Two questions if you have the time: 1. What is the size/location of the hose you used for the waterer? 2. What kind of wire cage is that? Looks rectangular instead of square like 1/2” hardware cloth would be.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

1: my brothers house and we’ll is about a quarter-mile down the road from the pasture. There are heifers in a few barns over at his place so there are water lines underground. We tied into those water lines with 1.5 inch waterline, and trenched it to the edge of the pasture with a backhoe and have a frost free hydrant there. From that hydrant, we have garden hoses running on top of the ground to wherever the chickens are at. 2: the mesh is 1/2inch by 1 inch hardware cloth on the top. We used it because we had bought every roll of 1/2 inch hardware cloth within 30 miles of us, and that was the next best thing.

@colebarnett199

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo so cool. I loved the little racks with water cups so I’m thinking of integrating into a couple of hoop coops I’m making for my laying hens. Rock on!

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

After a yeah of using those drinking cups, I wouldn’t recommend them. They get busted when the chickens get older and they get leaky with age. I recommend the bell-style waterers. They are pretty pricy brand new, but, but chicken houses sometimes rotate out older ones and you can get a good price on a used one sometimes.

@colebarnett199

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo awesome intel!

Hello! If there are long periods of rain, for example 4-5 days, and the pasture is soaked, how do we keep the chickens from getting wet and sick while in the chicken tractor? If we don't have a dry shed built nearby, is there a solution related to the construction of the chicken tractor?

i live in the rainforest of peru with strong winds sometimes in storms. does such an enclosure fly away? What can I do to prevent this from happening?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

If you had winds much stronger than 30 miles an hour, I might consider tethering the shelters down with something, maybe a three foot or so pole with a loop at the end, driven into the ground, with a ratchet strap over the top of the tractor to synch it down?

I am making one for only 15 chickens. Laying boxes? Roosting rails?

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

These are for meat chickens, so there are no roosts or laying boxes.

Ahhhh you also know of the chinesium

How do you keep pests out? We have raccoons that would easily take out our chickens unless locked up at night.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

The only way for the raccoons to get in would be to dig underneath the shelters, which they have not done the two years we have grown them this way. The hardware cloth is 1/2 inch, so raccoons cannot get their paws through it to grab any chickens.

I really like the way you built the back panel. Does having that wide open like that help mitigate any extra heat you may be absorbing from the steel? Also, how's the weight? You guys seemed to be handling it alright. Aluminum panels are a bitch to find.

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, we could not find any aluminum sheeting when we built these. The reason we made the back like we did is because we had to use steel. We heard that steel is a lot hotter, so I wanted to be able to vent the shelter very well. We haven’t had any issues with birds overheating in these shelters. We’ve been very diligent to make sure they don’t run out of water, and if it gets above 90 or so I will come out at about 2 o’clock and get them damp with the garden hose to keep them cool until evening.

@TitanIapetus

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo Thanks! I saw your video about this after I had asked the question.. I think I'm going to end up using PVC. My main concern is durability but we'll see. I never expected aluminum to be that difficult to find! 🤷‍♂️

Would you provide the link for the watering cups? Thank you!

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

I would, but they really suck. I would not suggest them after using them all summer. They started failing the last few weeks. They are on Amazon, from several different places depending on who's selling them. They all vary a bit as well which is why we won't use them again.

@loosegear4345

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo So...what do you recommend?

Hey, I'm just wondering, what happens when it rains heavily, the entire ground gets muddy right, so is that ok for chickens hygiene-wise?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

The ground we have them on is pretty sandy, and drains very well. It is also on a knoll, so the water cannot pool around the shelters. Also, to my knowledge, it has never been cultivated, the grass sod is very thick and holds the soil together very well. It’s for all these reasons we decided to choose it as our chicken pasture. If we were to seed a low lying crop field to pasture, and started running broilers in this system on that ground, we would probably have a lot of issues with water, but the ground we have them on is very well drained.

@hiteshreddy4510

2 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo That clarifies it, thanks for the response man, looking for more interesting content on homestead and self-sufficiency.

Where did you guys get the cups you used for this?

@hdezoo

Жыл бұрын

We bought them off Amazon. I do not suggest them at all. They are very flimsy after a summer in the sun. May become brittle, and break if they are nudged by a full grown broiler. We now have Plasson poultry waterers, also called Bell waterers. These are extremely sturdy, and fell way less often than the old ones we used. They cost about $80 apiece when we bought them, but they are worth every penny. water is the most important thing when it comes to chickens.

when they are all done and built, how much do they weigh?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

I’m not quite sure. I’ll get an exact number later this spring, but they are probably around 200 pounds or so. Probably a bit less.

I couldn’t help but here you say that you used steel for your roof. I’m at a bit of a dead end because I cannot find aluminum. Are your broilers to hot with the steel? Thanks for the great vid.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

We were in the same boat when we were building these. We couldn't find aluminum sheeting anywhere so we used steel. Where we are, in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan, the birds did well all summer, and there were a few weeks where it was 85-95 highs for the day. From what I can tell, we didn't loose any birds due to heat exhaustion. We only lost 26 or 28 birds out of the 900 we raised last summer. If you use steel, make sure to design your shelter with more ventilation than the Salatin shelter, and I'm thinking about suspending shade cloth 6inches or so above the steel roofing to keep the sum from heating up the steel.

@aaustin962

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo thanks for the response! Very helpful for us. We are in central VT. Have you explored the idea of painting the steel white to reflect heat? Thanks.

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

We thought about it, but did not do it because we were on a time crunch to get them built. I ordered a laser pointer thermometer, and I'll be doing a few comparisons to see how we can keep the steel cool. Painting it may be easier.

@aaustin962

3 жыл бұрын

@@hdezoo thanks again. Very helpful advice!

@bruceswabb7145

2 жыл бұрын

I used the white plastic roofing from home depot. Very light but you can’t cut it too well. Has worked well for me. About $18 per 8 ft panel.

How many cycles do these tractors last for?

@hdezoo

3 жыл бұрын

We're not quite sure. If we treat them well, I think they could last maybe ten years? All of the lumber that touches the ground is pressure treated, so it won't rot, and I move them by hand, so they don't get torn like they could if they were pulled by a vehicle. We did three runs with them this summer and they still look brand new.

My field is not very flat, so I'm not sure how safe this would be keeping out predators. Any suggestions?

@hdezoo

2 жыл бұрын

You could have an electric fence around the shelter.

@mandiegarrett1706

Жыл бұрын

Yep, I was thinking about our land has LOTS of rocks of all sizes including big ones so it's hilly, rocky, bumpy, etc.... Great build but definitely we need to put in security fence before bringing in animals.