Pastured Poultry

[tracykittilsen]

We are also thinking about persuing this...where is a good reliable source of info to begin the research?

[Smithy]

Hi Tracykittilsen,

The grassfarmer had a great article on this quite a few years ago, including plans for the moveable coops and runs. I don't know if they have archives going back that far, but they may have published similar stuff more recently.

I can tell you that the birds do very well. We haven't ever done this on a really commercial scale but we do have free range turkeys, geese, ducks and chickens. They turn out fat and healthy and taste great. We supplement with a tiny bit of grain just to keep the birds tame, not because they seem to need it.

The only real problem with my system is keeping them far enough from the gardens as they can do a lot of damage very quickly. [especially turkeys] I do have a good bird fence up between their area and mine but free range birds fly better than others and are more into adventure.

[jensco]

Watch out for predators too - flying variety as well as the coyotes, raccoons etc. A family of hawks can wipe out month olds in just a few nights.

Try contacting Sunworks Farm - www.sunworksfarm.com.

Good luck!

[jensco]

Another great resource is:

Pastured Poultry Profits by Joel Salatin
Rt1, Box 281, Swoope, VA 24479.