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Visit Web Site: http://www.lionsgrip.com/pastured.html
by Jo Robinson
"Pastured" and "Grass-Fed" are similar terms, meaning the frequent moving of livestock over good grassland forage. Here is solid nutritional research on the fast-growing pastured farming trend, clearly demonstrating how livestock produced this way contribute to vastly better health in the consumer. Poultry raised on open grass, instead of in over-crowded lots, are high in beneficial fats and other factors that lower cholesterol and greatly reduce degenerative disease in the consumer! Eating large proportions of living green plants, while foraging for insects and seeds and myriad other natural commodities that science hasn't identified yet, and with minimal need for medication, grassfed animals create more vibrant health than other poultry. Moreover, the meat and eggs are incredibly tasty compared to general market chicken. Currently, restauranteurs are one of the largest groups of purchasers of pastured poultry, but even among the best chefs, there is still very little awareness of the existence of this type of meat, much less about its health benefits.
Jo Robinson is one of those rare writers who (1) completely understand and have widely read the scientific research, and (2) can put it into plain English for the public to read. Here in Why Grassfed Is Best! are many cleanly-constructed charts of data and a full range of pertinent information and research on pastured poultry.
Treat yourself to Why Grassfed Is Best!.
Farmers agree this is THE source Pastured Poultry Profits
by Joel Salatin
Net $25,000 in 6 months on 20 acres
Paperback, 371 pages, 150 x 230mm, USA, 1993. $30
Top pastured poultry farmers agree that this is THE book for professional instructions in getting started with pastured poultry. This book is even featured in Europe.
The store says: "If you are considering a home business in agriculture, you owe it to yourself to buy this book and study it. If you want to raise chickens for income READ THIS BOOK FIRST."
If you like it simple The Pastured Poultry Committee of the SoCNY RC&D. If you could have only one contact person for info on pastured poultry, the man at SoCNY, Jim McLaughlin, is the one to know.
What Is Pastured Poultry?
by Farmer/ Author/ Instructor, Andy Lee [NOTE: See our Posts Section for responses to this wonderful FAQ, posted 2/22/00.]
Contents below include
Sources for More Information (letter N below)
Processing Equipment & Supplies Sources
A. WHY RAISE POULTRY ON PASTURE?
Public perception in some areas is that antibiotics, growth hormones and meat by-products are routinely fed to commercial poultry to increase profits for large integrator corporations. However, growth hormones and meat by-products are illegal for use in poultry, and antibiotics are used sparingly because of their expense. Additionally, some people feel that concentrations of poultry houses in any given area can lead to environmental degradation and real estate property devaluation. Some people also feel that commercial poultry are treated inhumanely, and that some diseases and illnesses are caused by over-crowding in huge barns without proper ventilation, long-distance transporting in all kinds of weather, and unsanitary commercial processing facilities.
As a result of these perceptions, a steady market exists for poultry products that are grown in a more natural way, such as on pasture. Farmers who take advantage of this public perception can often sell their pasture-based poultry products for premium prices by using well-established language such as "Free-Range" and "Organic". Other reasons to raise poultry on pasture are:
1. Better Food. Recent research in Pennsylvania (see APPPA GRIT! #11) revealed substantial increases in nutritional value of pasture poultry, particularly in Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Vitamin A, and a significant decrease in total fat.
2. More Satisfying Flavor. Many people feel that poultry raised on pasture, in fresh air and sunshine, taste superior to confinement raised poultry. Many also think the naturally raised poultry has a firmer texture and more satisfying "bite".
3. Lower cost entry. Small-scale and limited resource farmers can start a profitable farm enterprise for a fraction of the cost of conventional, integrator-controlled poultry housing. Pasture poultry investments as low as only $1,000 can potentially earn a net return of several hundred dollars per year.
4. Fertility and Pasture management. Moving poultry across the pasture is a way to spread manure and fertility without using excessive equipment or labor.
5. Multi-Cropping. Poultry can be used to scavenge crop residue, and hog down weeds and grasses in multi-crop fields being used for horticulture and floriculture.
C. ARE THERE ANY FEED SAVINGS WHEN POULTRY ARE ALLOWED TO GRAZE?
Experience of many pasture poultry producers is that 3.5 to 4 pounds of feed are required for each 1 pound of gain. Conventional poultry requires about 2 pounds of feed to get 1 pound of gain. It is entirely possible that pasture poultry requires up to twice the amount of feed as confined poultry.
D. HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I MAKE RAISING PASTURE POULTRY?
Pasture poultry generally commands higher prices, therefore the potential for profit is higher than with conventional, confinement poultry. Pasture poultry is usually sold locally, with only minimal processing. Broilers sell for between $1.50 and $2.50 per pound, dressed weight. Turkeys sell between $1.75 and $2.50 per pound. Prices vary between producers. The price difference often depends on whether the birds are sold from the chill tank, or are bagged, weighed, labeled and ready for the freezer. Production costs are usually about 1/2 to 2/3 the sale price. Many producers do not add their labor into production costs. Pasture raised eggs sell for $1.50 to $3 per dozen.
E. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RAISE POULTRY?
Costs vary between regions and between producers. Pens can range from $100 to $400 depending on size and type. Electrified poultry netting can cost between $1 and $1.50 per lineal foot. Feed costs vary widely across the country, from a low of 8-cents per pound in the Mid-West, to as much as 13-cents per pound in the East and West Coasts. Organic feed generally costs from 50% to 100% more than conventional feed. Many growers add supplemental vitamins, enzymes, probiotics and minerals to their feed ration to overcome stress and to help poultry grow better.
F. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO PROCESS POULTRY?
Most pasture poultry producers choose to do their own processing. Reasons given include close to home, earn extra money, and concern about quality control. The biggest reason many growers do processing, however, is that they don¹t have a processing facility nearby that they can take their birds to. In recent times, almost all local poultry processing houses have gone out of business. Large integrator processors that only do company birds have replaced them. In some areas, pasture poultry growers have banded together to build Mobile Processing Facilities. In other cases, growers are choosing to support centralized facilities that are privately owned. Processing equipment costs range from less than $1,000 to more than $20,000, depending on the level of sophistication. Small-scale commercial poultry facilities that will take small quantities of poultry for processing charge from $1 to $3 per broiler, and from $3 to $8 per turkey.
G. WHAT METHODS ARE USED TO RAISE POULTRY ON PASTURE?
There are FOUR basic methods, including PASTURE PENS, CHICKEN TRACTORS, FREE RANGE, and DAY RANGE. Each method has regional refinements:
1. PASTURE PENS are bottomless pens that hold layers, broilers or turkeys, and are moved daily or as needed to give the poultry fresh pasture. This method was pioneered by Joel Salatin and popularized in his book PASTURE POULTRY PROFITS. It is the most commonly used pasture poultry method at present. A typical pen is 10- x 12- x 2-feet, and holds 80 broilers. About 2/3 of the top is roofed; the rest of the top and sides are covered with poultry wire. Each broiler requires 3-inches of feed trough space, a 10-foot long 6-inch sewer pipe sawed in half lengthwise is a typical feed trough. They need a continual supply of fresh water, up to 15 gallons per day per 80 broilers. Some growers use these pens for layers, and raise 30 or 40 hens, with nest boxes fixed to the pen side. They reach in from outside the pen to gather eggs. These pens are not well suited for turkey production, although some growers do grow up to 20 turkeys per pen.
2. CHICKEN TRACTOR is not really a method, but is often a popular name for the pasture pen system. It has several permutations including free range and day range. It is a permaculture design used to acknowledge the whole system that includes the poultry, the garden, and the grower. This idea was first presented by Bill Mollison, and was further popularized by Andy Lee and Patricia Foreman in their book CHICKEN TRACTOR.
3. FREE RANGE has been practiced for a century or more. This method fell out of favor in the 1960's due to disease and predator inroads, and was mostly replaced by commercial confinement poultry production. Free Range generally means a fenced pasture surrounding the barn or poultry shelter.
4. DAY RANGING is a recent hybridization of chicken tractors and free range. This method is presently being developed by Andy Lee and several leading pasture poultry producers across the country. In the day range system, the poultry are sheltered at night from predators and weather, and allowed to graze in the daytime where they are held in, and predators held out, by portable electric poultry netting.
H. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF PASTURE PENS AND CHICKEN TRACTORS?
1. The small shelters are easy and inexpensive to build. When placed on level or gently sloping land they are relatively easy to move with the aid of a dolly or scoot.
2. The small-scale and easy-to-learn method makes it possible for beginning poultry growers to start and be successful with limited financial means.
3. The controlled moves will harvest grass and spread manure uniformly across the field.
4. Perimeter fencing is not required, since each flock is contained within the pasture pen.
5. The pasture pens are nearly predator proof. Daily moves keep predators off-balance. Wire sides and heavy wood frames deter predators. Some deaths do result however, from predators scaring the chickens, causing them to pile up and suffocate. Determined dogs will sometimes get inside these pens. Poultry are safe from flying predators.
I. WHAT ARE THE DIS-ADVANTAGES OF PASTURE PENS AND CHICKEN TRACTORS? 1. The small pens hold relatively few poultry, compared to their cost.
2. Poultry are removed from the brooder at two to three weeks of age and placed outdoors in minimal shelter. This sometimes results in stress, hypothermia and frequent mortalities.
3. The two-foot high roof on the pasture pens can trap heat, leading to heat stress that causes losses in weight, and sometimes mortalities. The roof is too low for turkeys to stretch and raise their heads to full height.
4. In rough or hilly land the heavy pens are difficult to move without injuring the person, or crushing chicks or poults. Recent innovations with PVC pens make the pens lighter and easier to move. These PVC pens are more expensive, and can blow over in high winds.
5. Pasture pens offer only minimal protection from weather. Even under the best of circumstances the poultry grown in these pens require up to a third longer, and require up to two times as much feed, as confinement raised poultry.
6. Daily chores are time-consuming, given the small number of birds serviced at each location.
7. Even though the pasture pens are moved daily, the poultry only has a brief period of fresh graze before the new site is contaminated with manure. And, unless the pen is moved again at dusk, the birds have to bed down in manure-soaked grass. This is unhealthy and unsightly, and leads to dirty feathers, feather loss and skin sores.
8. The individual pens are hard to move around in market gardens so the poultry can harvest grass and weeds and insects.
J. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF FREE RANGE?
1. More birds can be held in a given area, and can be taken care of in less time, compared to pasture pens.
2. Poultry are free to move around, thus able to forage more naturally for grasses, legumes and bugs. This is especially useful in market gardens where poultry are used to harvest weeds and grasses and insects, and to spread manure as fertility for the following crop.
3. Poultry are often cleaner, since they don¹t bed down in manure as in the pasture pens.
K. WHAT ARE THE DIS-ADVANTAGES OF FREE RANGE?
1. Predator losses can decimate entire flocks in a short time.
2. Perimeter fences required to keep in poultry and keep out predators can be very expensive to install and hard to maintain.
3. Flock pressure is greater on some portions of the site, leading to over-grazing and soil/sod damage. Areas around doorways and near the shelter are often muddy, fecal laden sites which are ugly and unhealthy.
L. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF THE DAY RANGE SYSTEM?
1. After they leave the brooder, poultry are housed in a mini-barn, which protects them from weather extremes and predators. This gives them an intermediate hardening off area before going onto cold or wet ground.
2. Because the poultry only use the shelter at night, each shelter can safely handle twice as many poultry as the pasture pens and chicken tractors.
3. Expensive perimeter fencing is not required because the grower keeps the flock in, and predators out, with portable electrified poultry netting.
4. The area for poultry to graze is moved regularly by repositioning the poultry netting. This eliminates over-grazing, and gives the poultry continual access to fresh, growing pasture.
5. In inclement weather, the poultry can be held longer in the shelter thus protecting them from stress and illness.
6. Chores are much faster, since feeding and watering are done in the open fenced area and the shelter is only moved infrequently. Sometimes the shelter is moved weekly, other times the shelter will stay in one location for a month or longer, even for an entire season.
M. WHAT ARE THE DIS-ADVANTAGES OF DAY RANGING?
1. This method requires more manager attention to pasture rotations, rather than just methodically moving the pens each day.
2. The shelter is more expensive than the pasture pen, because it has a floor. The floor is covered with bedding to soak up manure. The bedding is cleaned out at the end of each flock, and used for compost. Planer shavings or sawdust are best, since they soak up the moisture from the manure. Keeping the bedding deep enough and dry is important, otherwise it will cake, leading to dirty birds and unhealthy conditions.
3. About 1/3 to 1/2 of the poultry manure is captured in the bedding. This is good from a composting standpoint, but the bedding does require handling, whereas the pasture pen is moved daily, and the manure is spread evenly along the path of travel.
4. Poultry are protected from most predators by the electric poultry netting, but it does not deter flying predators such as hawks and owls.
N. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION?
BOOKS:
CHICKEN TRACTOR, $20, 350 pages, Andy Lee and Patricia Foreman.
PASTURE POULTRY PROFITS, $30, 350 pages, Joel Salatin.
FREE RANGE POULTRY, 2nd Ed., $40, 180 pages, Katie Thear
CHICKEN HEALTH HANDBOOK, $20, 340 pages, Gail Damerow
GUIDE TO RAISING CHICKENS, $15, 340 pages, Gail Damerow
RAISING YOUR OWN TURKEYS, $10, 135 pages, Leonard Mercia
All are available from your bookstore, or through
Good Earth Publications,
20 GreenWay Place
Buena Vista, VA 24416
Ph. 540-261-8874
Fax 540-261-8775
Email:
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PERIODICALS and INTERNET GROUPS:
PasturePoultry, via Yahoo!Groups. Read all the recent posts by expert farmers about the terms Grass-Fed, Pastured, and Free-Range, even if you don't join the group.
APPPA GRIT!, the quarterly newsletter of the 500-member American Pasture Poultry Producers Association, c/o Diane Kaufmann, 5207 70th St, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729. $20 annual membership dues, includes newsletter.
SMALL FARM TODAY Magazine regularly carries articles on pasture poultry and small-scale sustainable agriculture. $21 year, 6 issues, 3903 West Ridge Trail Road, Clark, MO 65243, phone 800-633-2535. Has an excellent book catalog.
ACRES USA, 12 issues, $24. PO Box 91299, Austin, TX 78735, phone 512-892-4400. Covers wide range of sustainable agriculture topics. Has an excellent book catalog.
STOCKMAN GRASS FARMER, 12 issues $28. PO Box 2300-M, Ridgeland, MS 39158. 800-748-9808. The grazier¹s voice, regular in-depth articles on pasture based poultry and livestock systems. Has an excellent book catalog. Email to
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PROCESSING EQUIPMENT:
Ashley Equipment
PO Box 2
Greensburg, IN 47240
812-663-2180
Brower Equipment
PO Box 2000
Houghton, IA 52631
R and R Pluckers
Rob Bauman
RD 1
Oxford, NY 13830
607-843-7415
Pickwick Zesco
7887 Fuller Road Suite 116
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
800-808-3335
JAKO Inc
6003 E. Eales Rd.
Hutchinson, KS 67501
David Schafer
Rte 5 Box 33
Trenton MO 64683
Koch Supplies (bags, supplies, food processing)
Kansas City, MO
800-777-5624
Matthiesen Company (bags, supplies)
San Antonio, TX
800-624-8635
Cryovac Sealed Air Corporation
Duncan, SC
800-662-9335
waterproof, shrink wrap bags
end of FAQ
Please send comments and suggestions to:
Andy Lee
Good Earth Organic Farm
1702 Mountain View Road
Buena Vista, Virginia 24416
Phone and Fax 540-261-8775
Email:
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Website: http://www.goodearthpub.com
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