Pastured Poultry Raising Chickens in a Grass-Based System Erin Campbell-Craven, Livestock Program Assistant Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture What is Pastured Poultry? Pastured poultry ≠ free range! • “free range” is a marketing term • “Producers must demonstrate to the Agency that the poultry has been allowed access to the outside.” – USDA Food Labeling fact sheet • Outside could be pavement, gravel, rocks, dirt… not necessarily pasture What is Pastured Poultry? Pastured poultry ≠ organic • Feed must be organic • No use of hormones or antibiotics • Environmental regulations • NO pasture regulations for poultry, only ruminants Pastured poultry are… • Raised on FRESH pasture for most of their lives • Given access to sunshine • Usually frequently rotated • Less crowded (enclosure space per bird 1-2ft²) • Fed either non-organic or organic feed – Pastured poultry NEED feed or planted grains supplementation to thrive and produce (diet is only about 10% grass) • Often slower-growing, heritage breeds Types of Pastured Poultry • Broiler systems • Layer systems Broiler systems • Raise from chick to slaughter in 8-12 weeks • Usually kept in confined chicken tractors • Moved often • Often processed on site • OK allows home-processing without licensing UP TO 1000 birds/year – only allows sales to household consumers – must process at USDA-certified plant to sell across state lines, contract with stores, restaurants • Darp Processing Plant – Tahlequah, OK Layer systems • More often free-range or surrounded by electric fence & locked up at night • Need more space – Higher frequency of cannibalism/pecking in layers – Will be in production for years, not weeks • Egg-mobiles • Easiest to sell directly on-farm to consumers – OK laws governing egg sales are stricter than federal laws! Why Pastured Poultry? • Waste control • Fewer health problems – Heat stress – Cannibalism/pecking issues • Pasture improvement through use of manure • Health benefits/Tastiness of eggs & meat Pastured eggs have… • Thicker albumen (egg white) • Darker orange yolk Pastured Eggs vs. Non-pastured Eggs Pastured eggs have: • 1/3 less cholesterol • 1/4 less saturated fat • 2/3 more vitamin A • 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids • 3 times more vitamin E • 7 times more beta carotene http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10- 01/Tests-Reveal-Healthier-Eggs.aspx#ixzz27LvkfgLn Other Benefits of Pastured Poultry • Ethical concerns • Appealing appearance of flock to customers You’re not just marketing a product, you are marketing a way of life! Pastured Poultry Challenges • Weather – Heat stress – Cold stress • Parasites – Midges – avoid having poultry near boggy spots • Predator control – Electric fence – Livestock Guardian Dogs Heifer Ranch Pastured Poultry • Raised 1000 broilers/year for kitchen • Processed on site • Cornish cross shipped at one-day old • On pasture at 3 weeks, processed at 8 weeks • Production from early spring to late fall • Non-medicated feed (chick starter for first 2 weeks) Kerr Center Pastured Poultry Project 2009-2010 Chicken Tractor 2009-2010 Chicken Tractor • Can house 6-8 birds year-round • Easily moved with an ATV or other vehicle • Generally moved once-twice/week • Perfect for pulling over beds or rows to fertilize garden pre-planting 2011 “Learning Experience” • 100 Golden Wyandottes and Dominiques placed on pasture at 8 weeks in June 2011 • Surrounded by electric fence and locked up at night to limit roaming and predation 2011 “Learning Experience” 2011 “Learning Experience”: Problems Faced • Birds did not recognize the trailers as their place to roost • Could not be herded into the trailers easily – had to walk up narrow, steep ramp to access trailer doors • Had to be individually caught and manually placed inside the trailers – Too stressful for birds • Already over 100 degrees in beginning of June – couldn’t shut birds up inside trailers to acclimate • Roamed widely as soon as they were placed in pasture – Not trained to electric fence 2011 “Learning Experience”: Lessons Learned • Start over! • Order 40 chicks, not 100 • Raise chicks in trailers – “Home base” will decrease roaming • Put chicks on pasture as young as possible – Acclimate to weather before summer • Place wire panels on either side of ramp leading to trailer door to herd birds into trailer • Move trailers frequently to limit roaming, predation 2-day old chicks Electrolyte/Vitamin Mix - dissolve 4oz. packet in 2 gallons of water – add 10oz per gallon of water for 4-6 weeks – promotes fast feathering Brooder temperature recommendations • Week 1 – 95 degrees • Week 2 – 90 degrees • Week 3 – 85 degrees • Week 4 – 80 degrees • Week 5 – 75 degrees • Week 6 – 70 degrees • Week 7 – 60 degrees These are just recommendations – the faster you can wean your chicks off of the heat lamp, the faster they will feather and the better they will acclimate to changes in the outside weather conditions. 2 ½ week-old chicks Note advanced feathering – use feathering as a guide for decreasing temperature as the amount of feathering a chick has will dictate its cold-tolerance Look for signs of stress in the chicks to make sure your brooder temperature is not too hot or too cold – these are not stressed chicks! One-month-old chicks – outside in trailers during the day, inside the barn at night 6-week-old chicks – fully adapted to living outside surrounded by electric fence, put up in trailers at night 8-week-old chicks – moving out to new pasture Rock Creek Project – chickens move in a 2-3 day rotation behind cows in an effort to scatter cattle manure patties and decrease internal and external parasites in the cattle Panting to dispel heat – normal in chickens on hot days Scratching through cattle manure to fertilize pasture and destroy internal and external parasite larvae Kerr Center Pastured Poultry: Future Plans • Develop breeding program – Acquire Delaware rooster – breed pure and Wyandotte crosses – Use hens for natural incubation • Cull roaming hens • Livestock Guardian Dog for predator control • Fecal egg counts • Soil tests on improved pasture where hens have been .