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I've had free-range chooks before. I've even allowed ducks to roam through my vegie patches but I'm not at all impressed with the idea.
They rip my seedlings to bits in an effort to find a worm. They take great delight in stomping through my carrot patch and wouldn't think twice about pooping on my ripening strawberries. In fact, I think I'd rather keep the snails than let ducks and chickens forage in my garden.
But, I don't want my chickens cooped up in a pen all day either.
But this little Aussie invention might just be an alternative that keeps the best of both worlds. Free-range chickens in a cage. Odd, but simple.
They can be maneouvred effortlessly without having to engage the whole family in a chicken stalkout. Plus, they get to forage from wherever they're placed without getting into your prized vegetables. Ingenious.
At the moment, they're only available in Australia through the manufacturer McCallum Made. However, they do have an email address on their page if you want to start pestering them to export to your country.
Source: Treehugger
Comments
I don't know how much of an Aussie invention the Chicken Tractor is; they were quite common in the US when I was a small child and there are several web sites with photos of them.
And they're super easy to build yourself.
PS: I wasn't able to use Typekey to verify.
Posted by: Ayse | July 9, 2007 9:26 AM
Too be honest Ayse, you're lucky we're not claiming that we invented the chickens...lol. Though we might have had a hand in the egg - hence, which came first?
You're right - I'm wrong. My bad. I've slapped the back of my hands already.
What I should have said was that there are items of the chicken tractor that have Patents Pending on them - hence the Aussie ingenuity. Though, as you have quite correctly stated, this is not a new idea.
Posted by: Stuart | July 9, 2007 3:13 PM
We used to have ducks and they DO make a mess. But are very endearing, lay huge eggs, and...taste delicious. I don't know if this cage would have kept them under control.
Now that someone has brought this up, can I mention that Typekey refuses to remember my personal info, no matter how many times I tick the box? It USED to work.
Posted by: Val | July 9, 2007 7:35 PM
Val, we once had ducks has well and I much prefer them over chickens (more personality). But they can decimate your garden if you don't keep them under control.
Re: TypeKey Identity. I hear y'all and I've been trying to get it to work but have failed thus far. I shall try again with my next template update or I will remove it completely. It's been very annoying.
Posted by: Stuart | July 10, 2007 5:58 AM