Pastured Poultry

Eggs From happy, healthy hens raised on pasture have yolks that are dark yellow, orange, packed with vitamins and minerals and rich in flavor. We rotate our hens through our pasture using egg wagons and electric netting. The electric netting gives the hens about a 1/4 acre circle of protected area from predators. Depending on pasture conditions, they are moved to fresh forage away from their manure, at least two times weekly. The wagons are used by the hens to lay their eggs, seek shelter from bad weather and roost in at night. On our farm, the hens follow the cows. In about four days time fly larvae are ready to hatch from cow patties. By striving to move the hens three days behind the cows, they are able to search out the fly larvae before it hatches, helping to stop the fly cycle and providing the hens with much needed protein. By rotating the hens pasture area they sanitize our paddocks, they have access to fresh forage, and are never in constant contact with their manure. The nitrogen load on any one area is just enough to be utilized by the grass as a natural fertilizer.

Stewing hens We keep our laying hens for two full laying cycles. At the end of their productive life they are retired to the stew pot. This meat is most flavorful and the broth is unsurpassed with its deep amber color and nutritional value, but must be cooked slow and long to achieve maximum tenderness. Chicken soup, stock and chicken and dumplings are traditional fare for the spent laying hen.

Broilers Our broilers are raised in floorless hoop structures that contain 50-75 broilers each. Moved forward daily, on fresh pasture that has been mowed by the cows, our birds receive fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. They are offered a carefully selected free choice ration containing probiotics, no synthetic vitamins and minerals or appetite stimulants. A wholesome grain ration in combination with fresh forage and bugs produces a delicious chicken dinner in just 8 weeks.

Turkeys We raise the broad breasted commercial white turkey and the Bourbon Red a heritage breed. These birds are incredibly active and tremendous foragers. We move them through our pasture in a way similar to our laying hens, using electric netting to protect them from predators. For shelter from the elements they are provided an open shed on skids made up of roosts. The turkeys prefer grass taller than the other poultry, so in our rotation, when the turkeys are on pasture, they go ahead of the hens or broilers.

Duck Megan, our oldest daughter, raises duck for 4-H and our farm patrons. Last year was a first for ducks for her and she learned much. Ducks are excellent grazers and bug control. The ducks are generally rotated around our yard, garden and outbuildings, kept closer to the house to deter predators. Ducks do not roost at night like chickens and turkeys and their quacking seems to tell nocturnal predators to come and get it. We allow them access to the gardens to harvest end of season produce, weeds and bugs and we allow them to travel through the barns to drill in the deep bedding. We often see them snatching flies right out of the air. The ducks have provided our family countless hours of entertainment.

Gamebirds Ryan has raised coturnix and bobwhite quail, chukar partridge, and this year will be raising pheasant for his market project and our farm patrons. He has waited years to be able to have enough space to raise these birds. Raised unnaturally, with little room to move, game birds can be very aggressive toward one another, requiring blinders and beak trimming to keep them from being cannibalistic. Being on the wild side, game birds offer a pretty steep challenge using a rotational grazing system. The birds are flighty and as often as they see people, never lose the instinct to take to flight, making it a slow, tedious task to move them without losing them. Ryan will be raising them in floorless pasture pens, similar to the pasture pens we use for the broilers.

Goose Geese are the cows of the waterfowl world! I am amazed and delighted by their grazing ability. Geese are probably the most carefree, independent, hardy species we raise on the farm.

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