Brad Burbaugh Duval County Extension Service

2. Pastured Poultry Systems Brad Burbaugh Duval County Extension Service

3. Overview • Alternative Production • Choosing Meat Breeds • Equipment • Alternative Poultry Systems • Supplies • Predator and Disease Control • Processing • The Business of Pastured Poultry

4. Alternative Poultry Production • Pastured Poultry • Moveable pens • Several options • Free range poultry • Non-confinement system • USDA definition = out-of-doors for 51% of their lives • Organic poultry (very difficult) • Begins with day old chicks • Feed, pasture and processor must be certified

5. Elements of Pastured Operation • Production, processing, and marketing • Chickens forage for food • Fresh grass = portion of diet • Fresh pasture offered daily or weekly • Fresh air and exercise when foraging • Manure is spread evenly onto the pasture

6. Pastured Poultry Pros • Can start small and grow • Poultry build soil fertility • Strong demand for pastured poultry exists • Can be run by one person; kids can help • Provides sustainably produced meat • Low capital investment to get started • Poultry can attract customers for other products

7. Pastured Poultry Cons • Labor intensive – especially on-farm processing • Mostly seasonal • Limited support system of suppliers, contractors and suppliers • Weather-related stress and predation • Reliable processing facilities hard to find

8. Choosing Meat Breeds • Unlike with layers, there are limited options • Cornish X • Other hybrid varieties (Barred Silvers.etc) • Dual purpose varieties (Buffs, Barred Rocks)

9. Advantages Grows out in about 8 weeks. Lower feed costs than some other breeds. Larger breast meat. Disadvantages More leg & heart problems. Less foraging desire. Less flavor. Cornish X

10. Barred Silvers, Rainbows, etc. • Advantages • Better foragers • Fewer health problems • More texture to meat • Better flavor • Disadvantages • Grow out in about 12 weeks • Higher feed costs • Smaller breasts • More texture to meat

11. Equipment for Alternative Production • Brooders • Home until sufficiently feathered • Most critical stage of growth • First weeks determine long term survival & development • Be prepared to check your chicks at least twice per day. Pay attention to details! • Made of many different materials • Basic brooder holds as many as 250 chicks can cost as little as $100 to construct

12. Brooder Requirements • Space • 1 square foot per bird • Heat Sources • 2 light bulbs • 95o F for week 1 – then decrease 5o F per week. (need thermostat) • Litter • 3 inches of clean dry litter ( No sawdust or cedar ) • Avoid slippery surfaces like newspaper • Keep litter around water and feed dry and clean

13. Brooder Requirements • Water • 1 quart for every 25 birds (clean and fill daily) • For large number automatic watering systems work best • Feeders • Place near heat, but not directly underneath source • Fresh food in front of chicks at all times • Delivery Day • Brooder should be up and running 24 hr before chicks arrive • Have them sent overnight • Show each bird water source

15. Pasture Housing • Protect from rain and cold when first on pasture. • After about four weeks, chickens can tolerate cold or rain, but not at same time. • Need to provide shade. Broilers can not take extreme heat. • 3 weeks in brooder • 7 weeks in pasture

16. Pastured Poultry Systems • The Salatin System • 80-100 birds per pen • Lightweight, bottomless 12’ x 10’ x 2’ (LWH) pen moved one pen length onto fresh grass everyday. • 1/3 to ½ of the pen has a flat sheet metal roof • Most common water system is gravity fed bell waterer • Cost = $130 (Lowe’s)

17. The Salatin System • Advantages • Low cost unit • Prevents build up of manure • Grass cover is not destroyed • Poultry protected from flying predators • Disadvantages • Pens need to be moved everyday • Nighttime predators • Hard to reach in pen to get birds • May not be enough shade during hot periods

18. Day Range Systems • Poultry house on skids ( 8’ x 18’ ) moved to field at beginning of growing period • Bird on pasture during day and shut in house at night. • Moved on weekly basis • Pasture activity controlled by electrified netting. • 400 birds per acre • Cost is variable • 160’ electronet poultry fence = $160 • Electrical source = variable • Poultry house = ~ $400

19. Day Range Systems • Advantages • Better protection from nighttime predators • Provides non-wet grounds and protection from rain • Easy to catch birds • Disadvantages • More expensive • Exposed to flying predators • House needs to be cleaned in between batches • Care of birds is required in AM and PM • Grass can be damaged if fence not moved often

20. Chicken Tractors • Bottomless, portable shelter-pen that fits over garden beds • Many designs • Mostly commonly used with fruit and vegetable production • Popular among sustainable production enthusiasts

21. Chicken Tractor • Advantages • Can be moved very easily • Insect control • Source of fertilizer • Used in urban areas • Disadvantages • Ground can become barren • Semi-labor intensive • Not made for a large amount of poultry

22. Feeders • Hanging System • Raise and lower to bird height • Outer lip level with birds back • Prevents spillage and spoilage • Trough Feeder Systems • Chickens more susceptible to disease • Taken out of pen before moving • More chickens can feed at once

23. Watering Systems • Five-gallon bucket atop the pen will gravity feed a bell waterer • Mesh screen across top • Attach to pen • Hoses can be used on nipple waterers • Daily water consumption at 90o F • Chickens…8.4 gallons • Turkeys…..120 gallons • Water intake varies greatly

24. Predator Control • Type of control depends on system • Salatin and tractor = nocturnal predators • Place pens well inside pastures instead of along wooded fence lines. Predators reluctant to travel across open territory. • Dogs, traps, motion lights, bungee cords • Free Range = flying predators • Have as little tree cover as possible. Poultry have a sixth sense in open air.

25. Disease Control • Disease rarely reported in pastured poultry systems • 10% mortality is normal • Most common loss due to getting wet in rainstorms • Parasites not a problem because of grass rotation • Poultry disease flow charts in production section

26. Processing Equipment • Kill Cones • Scalder • Plucker • Stainless steel table • Running water • Plastic tubs • Sharp knives • Ice • Bags

28. The Business of Pastured Poultry • Labor • 80 hours to build one pen, raise, process and market 100 birds • Average 20 hours a week • Costs • Feed is 2/3 of production costs Income • Typically, producer nets 50% of sale price • Chickens $1.75 per pound @ 3.5 pounds • Turkeys $3.00 per pound @18 pounds

29. Questions References • Free Range Poultry Production and Marketing: A Guide to Raising, Processing, and Marketing Premium Quality Chicken and Turkey and Eggs, by Herman Beck Chenoweth • Success with Baby Chicks, by Robert Plamadon • The Chicken Health Handbook, by Gail Demerow • Grit!, bimonthly newsletter published by American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) • The Dollar Hen: The Classic Guide to American Free-Range Egg Farming, by M. Hastings and Robert Plamondon • Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture by Sustainable Agriculture Network • Pastured Poultry Research by Truman State University