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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

> How does the chicken scratching result in terracing?

Install two parallel poultry fences--I put mine six feet apart--on 
the contour where you want the terrace. Over time and with enough 
chickens their scratching will move the dirt on the high side to the 
low side, eventually leveling. In practice I found that the heavy 
grass growth that inevitably accumulates at the bottom of poultry 
fences contributes greatly to the terrace effect. All this is good to 
reduce erosion on sloping ground.

This reminds me of the simple and effective field level/contour 
marking tool that Lee Flier told us about some years ago. Make a 
large but manageable A-shape of one-by-twos, with a small bolt 
through the top from which hang a string with a weight attached that 
hands below the cross piece of the A. To calibrate, place the frame 
on the ground. Mark where the string touches the cross piece. Turn 
the frame so the legs sit in exactly the opposite spots. Mark where 
the string now hangs. Now make the measuring mark exactly between the 
two test marks. In use, you will have both legs on the contour, which 
is to say the level, when the string crosses the middle mark. You can 
walk the A across any piece of ground and make a line on the contour 
by putting stakes or other markers down at each point. Then later put 
your fence, wall, irrigation canal, road or whatever on those points 
and all will be level. The tool is very low cost and highly 
effective, a homesteader's ideal.