Our Wilderness - June 2009





One of our atv trails through the woods after a heavy rain:





A creek running through our woods:





Our old driveway through the woods leading to the house:



Zelda our wolf, and Dutchess the german shepherd in the background:



another picture of the creek:


wild black berries growing in the woods - not ready yet:


wild grapes growing:



a huge "cut" in our woods - the electric company came through and made a clearing for electric poles. The road you see is our old driveway:


A piece of the paint ball trail: the guys built forts and trenches to hide out in:


our natural pond filled with minnows and lilly pads. No creek runs to this pond, it is filled from rain water and a natural spring under it. In late summers sometimes it dries up.


in the back ground you can see our "new" driveway with a bridge. We plan to build a river going under the bridge and connecting to this pond. We want to be able to fill the pond with fish that we can grow and eat :)


A picture speaks a thousand words. So here are over 140 pictures of chicken tractors I have collected! No blueprints, no descriptions, just pictures. I hope they inspire your own project. A chicken tractor is basically a bottomless cage or pen of some kind. This is so the chickens can scratch (a chicken's raison de etre) and eat off of the ground such things as grass, weeds, bugs, etc. In the U.K., chicken tractors are called chicken arks. You can drag or roll your chicken tractor around the yard if you want. They often feature wheels. Without a cage bottom, the chicken manure goes directly onto the ground and becomes fertilizer. Chicken tractors are perfect for a small number of city chickens. If you don't want to move your chicken tractor, just let the manure accumulate. Throw fresh straw or wood shavings on top of the poop to absorb any standing water. When a bunch of layers of litter and manure have accumulated, just move the tractor, rake up the poop with a hard-tined rake, and compost or throw away. I have had success even giving away my dirty chicken litter. I put an ad for "free fertilizer" in my local for-sale newsgroup and gardeners come and take it. There's a book that's been around for awhile about chicken tractors. Do you have an awesome picture of your chicken tractor? Send it in!


TheCityChicken.com table of contents:
MAIN PAGE (chickens.html)
CHICKEN TRACTOR GALLERY (tractors.html)
PICTORIAL HISTORY (pictorialhistory.html)
F.A.Q. (frequentlyasked.html)
ARTICLES (articles.html)
CHICKEN LAWS (chickenlaws.html)
BROODING CHICKS (broodchicks.html)
HEN HOUSE of the MONTH (hhotm.html)




"Dear Katy...I found your website and it was inspirational. I checked about bylaws and was told by a bylaw enforcement guy that poultry was never allowed in the city. I went online and found the bylaws and had to email him back and let him know that he was wrong...It pays to do your own research...Anyway, just wanted to say thanks; it really was as easy as you said it would be, and my son and I have so much fun with them. It's an awesome hobby, and when people say to me (as they often do) 'why chickens?' I say back, 'They eat my kitchen scraps, they keep the yard naturally bug free, they give me fertilizer and they give me eggs, I say why NOT chickens?'...Glad I could share my story. It was also your site that convinced my wife to let me get chickens, too! Now THAT'S a testimony!" ----I.G., Victoria, B.C. Canada




"Dear Katy...Thanks for your input. I appreciate it. By the way, of all the websites I've visited on chickens, I've enjoyed yours the most. In fact, your website is the one that convinced me to get chickens. I'm currently designing a tractor that will suit my needs and it's all due to your website. Thanks a lot." ----C.B.



“Dear Katy…I'm Debbie Sterling, owner of Lavender Fields Farm…What a cute and nice site you have. I would like to start recommending it to clients, mostly for the information it contains. I think your site is interesting and informative…Great job!”




"Hi Katy, Thanks so much for the gallery of chicken tractor pics and all the information on your site. My husband and I just got our first three chickens, and so far, we seem to have been well prepared. Attached is the tractor I built, mostly using ideas from your site. Thanks again!" ---Tracy, Ontario, Canada





"Dear Katy...THANK YOU very much for all the wonderful chicken tractor pictures!! I was wondering how to explain what I wanted. You solved that problem. Also, I was amazed to find so many different varieties! Thank you again for all your hard work." --Y.

“Dear Katy, I just stumbled across your website, and your wonderful collection of chicken tractors!! I'm so excited. I feel the times are really changing and we are going back to the veg patches and chickens in the back yard. I'm transforming! I really want my kids to know and appreciate that vegies and eggs don't come from the supermarket! Thank you for all your effort.” ---Rachael M., east coast of Australia




"Dear Katy, Thanks for putting up such an informative, encouraging and inspiring site. I really believe I can do this now." ----Cyndi M., Portland, Oregon




"Hi Katy, We wanted to say thanks for your website and inspiration. Your website has helped us to raise 3 city chickens. Your inspiration has motivated us to build a chicken tractor for ours to enjoy. Thanks for posting all of the chicken tractor examples." ---Rob and Jenn, Texas




"Dear Katy . . . . Thank you so much for taking such an interest in my situation. And I am absolutely loving your website. It really watered those seeds that have been laying dormant inside my soul. Thanks so much. . . . . Yeah, that's it -- I have the chicken bug. How funny." ------Jenna G., Orcutt, California USA




"Dear Katy, For you, a haiku, in appreciation: The City Chicken // emboldens, galvanizes // our inner rancher. Love your website, all of it!" ---Wendy B., eastern Idaho





“Dear Katy…Your site was so incredibly helpful as I figured out a design for my 1st chicken coop. LOVE the gallery of coops you have collected.” ---Dug N., Redwood Cty, CA



"We decided to get chickens for 4-H and 4-eggs too.... I stumbled onto your site and saw all the wonderful tractors and I couldn't build one fast enough....Thanks so much for your site. It gave me a ton of ideas to help me with my project." ---B.W., Sumner, Ilinois USA



“Hi Katy…What a wonderful site! Thank you for this web site. I have been wanting chickens in the yard for a long time but couldn't figure out how in the world to make something small enough for the few that I would need. These are some wonderful ideas; it is hard to pick a favorite…Keep up the good work! I am sharing this site with my friends and neighbors!” ----Ellie C., North Carolina



”I would like to submit my chicken tractor pic for your site. I have thoroughly enjoyed your website and it is where I did most of my research on how to design my chicken tractor… Sorry I don't have pictures of my ‘TheCityChicken.com’ sticker on the coop, but it's on there now! Thank you again for your wonderful site.” ---Kristi M., Citrus Heights, CA



TheCityChicken.com stickers are just $1. . . . . . . .The stickers are weather-proof, high quality, adhesive-backed vinyl so you can stick them on things like your car bumper, bike or even chicken coop. . . . . . . . . The sticker measures 5.5 inches by 1.42 inches. . . . . . . . . . The color is white with black printing . . . . . .Send a dollar bill to: Katy Skinner, 506 E. Twin Falls St., Yacolt WA 98675. . . . . . . . Canadian and other country customers add an extra $1 bill . . . . . . . .Please, send dollar bills only; no checks. . . . . . . . Please include a S.A.S.E. (self-addressed, stamped envelope.) . . . don't forget the stamp . . . . . . . Don't forget the S.A.S.E.! . . . . . . Thank you!

TheCityChicken.com table of contents:
MAIN PAGE (chickens.html)
CHICKEN TRACTOR GALLERY (tractors.html)
PICTORIAL HISTORY (pictorialhistory.html)
F.A.Q. (frequentlyasked.html)
ARTICLES (articles.html)
CHICKEN LAWS (chickenlaws.html)
BROODING CHICKS (broodchicks.html)
HEN HOUSE of the MONTH (hhotm.html)