Poultry


pic_barredrockhen_090424Chickens don’t have to be raised in cramped, windowless factory farms! One socially responsible method of production is to raise chickens in floorless pens that are moved daily to fresh pasture. The chickens are able to forage for plants and insects and are provided with feed and fresh water. Another technique is to transport a mobile chicken house from pasture to pasture. Poultry production can be integrated with other livestock, particularly cattle; when poultry are placed on pasture after the other livestock, the foraging activity of the poultry helps disperse livestock manure and also serves as insect control in the pasture.

For more information on pastured poultry systems, contact Herman Beck-Chenoweth, Creola, OH, tel: 740.596.4379 and/or Joel and Teresa Salatin, Polyface Farms, Swoope, VA, tel: 540-885-3590.

Resources

Free Range Poultry

Information about three popular methods of grass-based poultry production. Also offers poultry books for sale. (Free-Range Poultry Production and Marketing.)

Pastured Poultry Resources

Resources about pastured poultry production. (Sustainable Farming Connection, University of North Carolina.)

Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture

Features farmer experiences plus the latest research in a new “how-to” guide to raising chickens and turkeys using pens, movable fencing, and pastures. (Sustainable Agriculture Network, January 2001.)

Raising Poultry on Pasture

Questions and answers relating to raising poultry on pasture. From the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, University of Wisconsin – Madison.

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