1943 Chicken (Fold) Tractor

Post by **thejonesboy** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:13 am

This is a re-post. I posted it on PSO in 2014 and thought it deserved to be seen again. I figured out how the moving gear works, if anyone is interested.

Modern Farming; Agriculture in Britain, 1943. Edward Raines, poultryman on a Hampshire farm, moves a poultry fold into line with the others in the field. Each of these chicken ‘sheds’ contains 25 birds. They are moved their length every day, providing fresh ground for the hens to feed on and also making sure that the chicken manure is spread across the whole field. According to the original caption: “the folds are portable and, with the aid of simple, wheeled moving-gear, are easily moved”. Photo: Ministry of Information Second World War Official Collection.

Post by **Home Grown Poultry** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:17 am

I should make some of those for growing out chicks. I have the perfect field for them! so do tell about this gear...

Ontario Chick · Post by **Ontario Chick** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 10:43 am

Fabulous, Thanks for posting Andy!
Yet again we are rediscovering the wheel :)
If I had a flat piece of ground I would be all over that. :)

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:11 am

Hhmmm... Gotta check my book collection...

ross · Post by **ross** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 11:37 am

Large family dairy farm down road do meat birds like that but the top is flat , then keep some forself & sell rest as organic .

Post by **thejonesboy** » Sat Feb 13, 2016 12:41 pm

thegawd wrote:QR_BBPOST I should make some of those for growing out chicks. I have the perfect field for them! so do tell about this gear...

baronrenfrew · Post by **baronrenfrew** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 10:05 am

Looking at this again: i think the "holding board" item 3 in the top pic is on a hinge so that it can be mounted lower locking the wheels up so one person can move it easily.

This design would also limit the outside view so birds aren't alarmed by overhead birds and land predators: especially foxes (or in my case; pugs).
This would also be suitable in a wet environment like Britain so birds (and the land they are standing on) stay dry. It might also work well 12 months per year. And given that they are heavy windy storms wouldn't knock them over.

Army · Post by **Army** » Mon Apr 17, 2017 4:57 pm

ross wrote:QR_BBPOST Large family dairy farm down road do meat birds like that but the top is flat , then keep some forself & sell rest as organic .

baronrenfrew wrote:QR_BBPOST Looking at this again: i think the "holding board" item 3 in the top pic is on a hinge so that it can be mounted lower locking the wheels up so one person can move it easily.

This design would also limit the outside view so birds aren't alarmed by overhead birds and land predators: especially foxes (or in my case; pugs).
This would also be suitable in a wet environment like Britain so birds (and the land they are standing on) stay dry. It might also work well 12 months per year. And given that they are heavy windy storms wouldn't knock them over.

I was looking at this and I think a large portion of the "top" is actually flat and they would be able to see overhead birds.
It's only the enclosed section at the right hand side that's peaked and not flat.
It would be easy to add panels - maybe sliding - to the flat part of the roof. Close for rain. Open for sun?

Either way, it's a terrific design and shows that this idea has been around for at least 70 years.

Dutch lady · Post by **Dutch lady** » Wed Oct 25, 2017 10:20 am

This is a really cool contraption. I have used a smaller creation that I move with handles one side then the other. I find that the birds are healthiest when they have fresh grass frequently.

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