22 DIY Chicken Tractor Plans You Can Make Today (With Pictures)
-
- Last updated:
Keeping your own chickens at home has tons of benefits: free eggs daily, pest removal for your garden, and consistent, high-quality fertilizer. In order to keep them safe from predators and protected from the elements and for you to have easy access to their eggs, you’ll need a decent tractor for them to roam around in. So why not learn how to build a chicken tractor of your own? This is an inexpensive and easy-to-build project and can even be constructed using parts you may already have lying around your yard.
A tractor is a simple lightweight structure — usually with wheels — to house your chickens in. You need to move it to a different spot in your yard every day, so the chickens can have access to new ground to scratch around in and eat from, as well as add fertilizer to the ground behind them. Another benefit is that they’ll get organic grubs and insects to eat so you don’t need to feed them as much, so you’ll get beautiful, nutrient-rich eggs.
Chicken tractors can be as simple or complex as you like, according to your budget, skill level, and the number of chickens you need to house. There are tons of different DIY plans out there to choose from, free of charge. We’ve found many different plans to help you find the right tractor for your needs and get started building today!
The 22 DIY Chicken Tractor Plans
1. 4×10 DIY Hoop Tractor From Backyard Chickens
This 4×10 hoop tractor plan from backyardchickens.com is a simple design that is portable and easy to build. It has PVC hoops to hold the wire mesh, making it light and easy to move on your own. It also has an easily accessible coop attached to the back to provide protection from the elements, with a hinged roof for easy access to eggs.
2. Simple DIY Hoop Tractor From Fresh Eggs Daily
This simple yet functional tractor plan from fresheggsdaily.blog utilizes several items that you may already have in your backyard, like PVC hoops, thin wood beams, and plastic sheeting. With all the materials at the ready, you can easily build this function tractor in a day or less.
3. DIY Tractor and Coop With Wheels From Backyard Chickens
This tractor plan from backyardchickens.com has a built-in coop and heavy-duty wheels to make it easy to haul across rugged terrain. It’s also built from mostly reclaimed parts, so it won’t cost you much to put together.
4. Little Egg Factory From Backyard Chickens
This stylish tractor plan from backyardchickens.com has wheels and handles in the design for easy moving. It has a loft in the apex, with an incorporated ramp for the chickens to keep dry and warm in, and one side of the loft roof opens for easy access inside. This tractor is fairly complex in its construction, so it may take more time and expertise to build.
5. DIY Mobile Coop From Backyard Poultry
This mobile coop from backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com is more than just a tractor. It is a functional chicken coop on wheels, with a small ramp for entry and exit. While it provides sufficient protection from predators and weather, it will not keep your chickens confined to one area like a fenced tractor will.
6. DIY Chicken Menagerie From Backyard Chickens
This chicken menagerie plan from backyardchickens.com is a great looking and highly functional tractor plan. It has an incorporated coop section, with wheels and a strong handle to help you move it around. It also has egg baskets attached to the coop’s nests for easy egg access.
7. The “Chicksaw” From Abundant Permaculture
The “Chicksaw” plan from abundantpermaculture.com uses the premise of a rickshaw, which puts the tractor’s weight and center of gravity onto two large wheels. This design makes it easy to move massive amounts of weight on your own. It also has a hinged roof for access to the chickens and eggs and a nifty removable handle that you can use to prop up the roof lid when it’s open.
8. DIY Pallet Tractor From Instructables
Learning how to build a chicken tractor by instructables.com is cheap and easy to build, utilizing old pallets in its construction. There is an easy-to-follow video, taking you from start to finish in building an eco-friendly and functional chicken tractor.
9. Large DIY Tractor and Coop From Instructables
This large tractor and coop combination plan from instructables.com is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet high and can easily house up to 14 chickens. It is inexpensive and easy to build and includes wheels to easily haul it around on, as well as an egg basket attached to the nests for easy egg access.
10. DIY Lightweight PVC Tractor From Grit
This PVC tractor plan from grit.com is lightweight, cheap to build, and simple to assemble and disassemble. All you’ll need is PVC piping, mesh wire, and an old tarp, and you can easily make this effective tractor in a day or less.
11. “The Roadhouse” From Backyard Chickens
The “roadhouse” chicken tractor plan from backyardchickens.com is a 4×10-foot, A-frame, tractor-and-coop combination, with a cleverly designed hinged ramp that can be folded up when moving. It also has a convenient nest-box door that can be easily accessed from the top.
12. Simple DIY A-frame Tractor From Instructables
This A-frame tractor plan from instructables.com is about as simple as it gets. It uses easy-to-find and inexpensive materials, and you can build it in a day or less. The upper part of the A-frame has two nesting boxes that are accessible from the two outside ends, and it can comfortably accommodate around five chickens.
13. DIY Barn Tractor From Backyard Chickens
This barn tractor plan from backyardchickens.com is a great-looking tractor-and-coop combination. It has panels that can access the inside of the coop from behind and from inside the run itself. It is a large tractor that may be difficult to move on your own, and it may require a few days to construct.
14. Simple DIY Chicken Tractor From Simply Resourceful
This is a simple tractor plan from simplyresourceful.blogspot.com that will take you less than a day to construct. It has a hatch at the back for easy egg access and attached handles to help you haul it around. It is the perfect tractor if you only have a few hens to keep and limited space in your yard.
15. DIY Hen Hideout From Backyard Chickens
The Hen Hideout plan from backyardchickens.com has four heavy-duty wheels, which make it easy to move around on your own. It uses PVC piping, which makes it lightweight and easy to construct. It will give you enough space for up to five hens.
16. DIY Bicycle Chicken Tractor From Grit
This unique tractor plan from grit.com uses old bicycles to lift it and help you easily move it around. It is simple to build and fairly lightweight, and it will put to use any old or unused bicycles you may have hanging around!
17. Reclaimed DIY Chicken Coop From Backyard Chickens
This coop-and-tractor combination from backyardchickens.com uses reclaimed wood and fencing that can be found lying around your yard or cheaply purchased. It consists of three different levels: a coop at the top for nesting, a roosting area in the center, and a scratching and foraging section on the bottom.
18. Portable DIY Poultry Pen from PVC Plans
This is a PVC coop plan and for those who didn’t know, it’s pretty easy to assemble anything that requires PVC pipes as the prime material as opposed to wood—you’ll never feel limited by your carpentry skills.
Are the instructions easy to understand? Yes. They even included a diagram for easy reference, in case you need visuals. Moreover, this tractor’s chicken coop features a sturdy roof and more than sufficient space for the birds to roam around.
19. DIY $30 Tractor Plan from Fluty Lick Homestead
You don’t have to break the bank to build an effective chicken tractor. For $30 or less, you can easily procure all the raw materials required to construct a small but utilitarian tractor for your chickens.
To execute this plan, you’ll need some vintage wagon wheels, scrap wood, chicken wire, iron sheets, and a few other common items to act as makeshift materials. A tiny section of the roof will be cut to facilitate ventilation, while simultaneously serving as the door.
20. All-Terrain DIY Chicken Tractor from Perma Pastures Farm
We are aware that space utilization is the number one priority for many chicken tractor plans. But unfortunately, most of them are only applicable on flat surfaces, as they cannot handle the challenges that come with rough terrain.
The guys working at Perma Pastures Farm knew this, and that’s why they came up with a tractor plan that wasn’t just limited to even surfaces. This build is very similar to a rickshaw, as it’s designed to function as a transport vehicle while providing shelter to the chickens.
It also comes with a handle that the user can comfortably hold while dragging it along and a box-shaped coop for the birds.
21. DIY Chicken Tractor Egg Mobile Plan from Sow the Land
This has to be one of the simplest designs on our list, as it only takes a day to set everything up. We like to call it the “no-frill” design plan because it lacks most of the essential features typically found in a chicken tractor. They had to eliminate them to make more room for egg-laying chickens. A child could even easily drag this tractor if they wanted to since it’s relatively lightweight.
For the materials, you’ll need a tarp, corrugated polypropylene, some mesh, and framing lumber. You’ll need corrugated polypropylene since you want the tractor to be able to withstand extreme environmental elements. Attach carabiner clips to the rope handle, and you’ll be able to lock the door.
22. Hoop Coop DIY Tractor from Sixth Day Ranch Texas
If you’ve been looking for a plan that will help you build something unique, this has to be it. The structure is dome-shaped, but the chicken coop inside will take on the shape of a hoop.
To a novice, it will look like a complex design plan that requires a vast wealth of experience to execute. However, once you start working on it, you’ll realize that it’s nothing more than some tarp, mesh, and framing wood, simply put together.
This build will be lightweight and extraordinarily spacious. Anyone who is of average height will be able to roam around inside its coop while standing.
Summary
There are a variety of creative ways to construct a chicken tractor. From the most basic of structures to an elegant chicken menagerie, there are designs here to suit every budget. Hopefully, we’ve helped you find the one to suit your unique needs, so you can get started building today!
You might also be interested in: 11 Free DIY Chicken Feeder Plans You Can Make Today
Featured Image Credit: reijotelaranta, Pixabay
Contents
