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ATTRA - National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service |
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Heifer
Project International 1015 Louisiana Street PO Box 8058 Little Rock, AR 72203 Phone: (800) 422-0474 E-mail: info@heifer.org http://www.heifer.org/ |
| In This Section | |
| Summarizing the experiences of 19 Southern farmers | |
| Brooding set-ups | |
| Pen construction | |
| Weather issues | |
| Pasture management | |
| Feeding | |
| Mortality | |
| Processing | |
| Marketing | |
| Labor and earnings | |
| Quality of life | |
| Follow-up | |
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The experiences described in this section represent a learning curve by beginners. For detailed how-to information on pen construction, brooding, feeding, pasture management, record-keeping, etc. please see the Resources Section. The Resource Section lists the HPI Record Book (available free of charge from ATTRA) which addresses all of these topics. The Resources Section also provides ordering information for Joel Salatin's state-of-the-art book Pastured Poultry Profits.
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA), the national sustainable agriculture information service funded by the USDA, offers free general information on sustainable chicken production. Producers can call ATTRA from 8:30 a.m- 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at its toll-free number, 800-346-9140.
The enterprise activities (ordering of chicks, moving to them to pasture, and processing) were carried out at various times, indicating that this enterprise and its activities can be manipulated to suit the producer and scheduled to fit between peak time demands, anticipation of appropriate weather, and availability of equipment.|
Time spent preparing the brooding area averaged about 4 hours. Many participants brooded their chicks in boxes. Theodore used a cardboard box surrounded by chicken wire. A heat lamp provided warmth and the feeder and waterer were placed in the box. As the chicks grew, they were placed in larger and larger boxes to prevent over-crowding. Norma brooded in a 4' x 6' covered cage with 4 heat lamps. Five chicks were lost to chill before she put in sawdust. Albert and Sheila used a "freezer box cut in half with three lights from the top." The chicks piled up -19 were lost. Trenton placed a box completely within a toolshed, which proved to be too busy a place. John and Angela placed their box in a mobile home and added fresh newspaper bedding every 2-3 days. They lost about 25 chicks in the brooder due to temperature problems and had to add a second heat lamp and a fan for ventilation. Lee brooded chicks in an enclosed area of a barn. Steve and Kim also used a part of their barn, enclosing chicks in a furniture crate. They cut additional holes in the crate when they realized the chicks needed more ventilation. Don had a friend who brooded chicks for him very successfully in industrial-style brooders. Don would eventually like to have a brooder at home, but it is not a priority. In addition to Pastured Poultry Profits, there are many books available on brooding chicks. See the Resource Section to order ATTRA's Sustainable Chicken Production Overview which lists small-scale poultry production books. In general, chicks were moved onto pasture at about three weeks of age. |
Pen
construction
In this project, the costs of building the field pen varied from $40.00 to
$343.00 with an average of $145.20. The time spent building the field pens
averaged about 9 hours and ranged from 2 to 24 hours.
The pen is 12' x 10' x 2' with a wood framework.
Aluminum roofing covers three-fourths of the roof. The sides are enclosed
with chicken wire with one end enclosed with aluminum roofing. A section of
the roof lifts off as a door for access to the pen. The pens are moved with
a dolly. The dolly is placed under one end and the farmer pulls from the other
end.
Designs vary
While most participants followed a blueprint for Salatin's pen, some participants
varied the structure of the pens to suit their needs-usually to move the pen
more easily, to help dissipate heat, to have smaller pens, or to allow free
access to the pasture.
To prevent predator problems, Steve and Kim used 2x2's instead of 1x2's to make the pen sturdier than Salatin's. Too heavy for Kim to move, wheels were added. It also has a heat lamp and a fan.
Lee did not raise 100 birds at one time,
because he wasn't sure if he could process and sell that many at once. Instead
he raised 2 batches of 50 birds each.
Weather Issues
Salatin considers weather the biggest variable in pastured poultry production.
Although the pen construction calls for covering three-fourths of it with
roofing, rain can still get in. Salatin recommends spreading hay inside the
pen if cold rain settles in. Sometimes it becomes necessary to cover open
sides of the pen with scrap metal roofing or plywood to protect birds from
strong winds. For extreme heat, Salatin recommends propping up the enclosed
end of the pen to ventilate.
Most participants tried out their first batch during the spring or summer when the daytime temperatures were typically very hot (i.e. highs in the mid 90s and lows in the mid 70s). However, temperature swings could be dramatic. A Kentucky producer experienced temperature swings from highs of 102° to lows of 50° in the months of July and August.
In the hottest weather participants considered different ways to cool the birds down. An Alabama producer considered only putting 50 birds per pen or to use a gabled roof to reduce heat stress.
The weather was very wet for one Kentucky producer (over 6 inches of rain in June) and the ground under the pen was muddy and quickly depleted of grass. "Chicken breasts seemed to stay wet and dirty." An Alabama producer also found that the hot and rainy conditions in August significantly increased his labor since he had to check on the water supply so often.
Sudden storms were problematic throughout the growing season. One Louisiana producer lost 28 birds in April from a drastic change in weather (sudden cold temperature, thunderstorms). The pen was later modified by nailing tin onto the pen to weather proof one corner and placing hay inside the pen. A Kentucky producer lost 6 birds during a storm when they piled on top of each other. A South Carolina producer lost birds due to heavy rain and a cold night in August.
Salatin recommends a "perennial polyculture" or a mix of perennial forages. His pastured poultry follow a cattle rotation-cattle shorten the pasture for chickens. Proper pasture management requires allowing sufficient rest time for the plants to recover after grazing. Many participants kept other animals, but generally did not mix them with the chickens on pasture. Theodore found it was not difficult to "keep the chickens ahead of the cows" since he control-grazed cattle in paddocks. In Albert and Sheila's operation, cattle and sheep shared the pasture with the chickens-if the chicken feed was spilled, the cattle and sheep cleaned it up after the pen was moved. Roosevelt found there was no problem with cattle being in the same pasture. "At first they were curious and attempted to eat from the pens. After a week the cattle ignored the pens except at feeding time." He thought the poultry enhanced the pasture for his cattle, and neighboring cattle farmers were also impressed.
Lee kept goats in the same pasture with the chicken pens. Although the goats climbed on the pens, there was no serious problem. Goats broke through a pen at Laura and Ralph's--an A-frame roof instead of a flat roof prevents goat damage. In general, no pasture preparation other than mowing or haying was done for the chickens. The land used had various former purposes: tobacco, hay, pasture, lawn, an old peach field, etc. Little seeding for the benefit of chickens was done. Forages in the pasture
included clover, annual lespedeza, fescue, orchardgrass, "weeds,"
warm season annual grasses. In the lower South, bahia, common bermudagrass,
and dallisgrass were the norm. One participant seeded the area with
white clover. Usually flat or gently sloping land was used, and the
forage was generally 4-6" high. |
Feeding
| All poultry diets require
a source of: * energy (grains-i.e. corn) * protein (i.e. soybean meal or roasted soybeans) * calcium (i.e. oystershell or limestone) * phosphate (i.e. dicalcium phosphate) * salt * trace minerals and vitamins (i.e. a premix). |
Overall, feed per chicken ranged from 8 to
27 lbs., with the average amount being about 14 lb. Feed cost ranged from
8 to 21 cents per lb and averaged about 15 cents per lb. Differences in amounts
fed may be due to quality of the feed, the length of time the chickens were
kept until slaughter, the feed efficiency of the chickens, and spillage. See
Appendixes 2, 3, 4 and 5 for averages on total feed,
feed per chicken, total cost and cost of feed per pound.
A strong marketing advantage of pastured poultry can be the use of a "natural,"
non-medicated diet. Many consumers are interested in poultry raised without
routine antibiotics or unappealing by-products in the feed.
Commercial vs home mix
Many participants used a non-medicated commercial ration; others had the feed mill mix custom rations; others home-mixed rations on farm. Many participants started with a commercial starter ration for brooding and then switched to a home-mixed finishing ration. One producer found that buying non-medicated commercial feed would cost him 18 cents per lb., while his local feed mill would prepare a custom ration for 12 cents per lb.
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at 1-800-346-9140 |
Some producers grow their own corn and wanted to use it for the chickens. Albert and Sheila's feed ration was 85% corn on the cob with 10% soybean meal (44% protein), and 5% poultry commercial supplemental crumbs. If home-mixing rations, producers need to follow proven recipes such as Joel Salatin's or obtain proper advice from a nutritionist (many feed mills provide this service). Salatin currently uses corn, roasted soybeans, crimped oats, limestone, Fertrell Nutribalance™ (a vitamin and mineral premix), fish meal, and kelp meal. He also adds a probiotic. However, some of Salatin's ingredients are not readily available in some areas.
By the second year of the project, all HPI
field representatives supporting these farmers had access to a feed formulation
program.
Many producers steer clear of animal proteins such as meat and bone meal due to consumer concerns. Producers also depend on forage to supplement the concentrate feed. Salatin estimates that the forage can provide up to 30% of the nutrient needs of pastured poultry. Trenton supplemented a commercial ration with garden greens, fresh alfalfa, and cracked corn. In the future he plans to use more alfalfa and clover cuttings.
Mortality
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As described in Pastured Poultry Profits, Joel Salatin experiences no more than 10% mortality. Only 2-3% is due to sickness--the rest is due to predators and weather. In his book, he describes many of the things that can go wrong, especially for novices.
Mortality was quite high for the first batches of the grantee farmers. The average number lost during production was 31% (see Appendices 2, 3, 4, and 5 for averages and exact numbers). Mortality was caused by damage to chicks during shipping, brooding problems, weather and temperature problems on pasture, crushing birds when moving the pens, and sometimes predation.
Temperature regulation
According to Salatin, it is important for day-old chicks to have access to
90°F temperature in the brooder. After 48 hours, the temperature can be
reduced by several degrees each day until chicks are feathered at 3 weeks.
It is important to avoid drafts.
The grantees experienced mortality from brooding
usually due to poor temperature regulation. In addition to the stress caused
by cold temperatures, chicks may pile up and smother each other trying to
warm themselves.
'Curly toe' woes
One participant commented on the importance of regularly checking new chicks.
"Curly toe" was a complaint especially during brooding-it is due
to an unbalanced diet (the B vitamin riboflavin is deficient). Lee believes
he lost 25 chicks during brooding from curly toe before he added a vitamin/mineral
supplement to the water.
Sometimes shipping the chicks through the mail was a major cause of mortality.
Chicks may be injured during shipping or the shipping process may take too
long.
| Major reasons for
losing birds: * Shipping problems from hatchery * Brooding mistakes & mishaps * Inclement weather * Pasture problems * Temperatures: Too hot or too cold * Crushing birds when moving the pens * Predation from foxes, opposums, skunks etc |
Shipping problems
Trenton had problems with the hatchery where he purchased the chicks. They
would not replace the chicks lost in shipping-27 were dead on arrival and
25 more died that first day. He plans on using a different hatchery in the
future-one that is closer. Betty lost all of the 50 chicks within a few days
due to being mashed during shipping and to being sent to the wrong address
initially. The hatchery replaced all 50. Some pastured poultry producers are
interested in hatching their own stock-"pastured peepers" which
come from broiler breeders raised on pasture.
Moving pens & predators
Producers must learn how to move the pasture pens without injuring the birds.
Lee found the chickens would run out from under the pen when he picked it
up. Don sprained his ankle and several friends and his adult children helped
him move the pens-they all had to learn ways to move pens without running
over chicks.
Eleven of the 19 participants who reported
back reported no loss from predators at all from their first batch. However,
Betty lost all but 4 chickens out of 50 to a weasel who took 8-12 nightly.
Norma reported that a fox killed 18 chickens. One Alabama producer used dogs
for protection since there are many predators in his area (foxes, raccoons,
coyotes, opossums, skunks, etc.).
Disease
Disease was very rarely reported in this project. However, other pastured
poultry producers at times have reported a high loss of birds after getting
wet in rainstorms. Parasitism is unlikely to be a problem since the pens are
moved daily to fresh pasture. Producers in this study generally did not report
parasite problems.
4 Processing
Processing
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A legal summary was prepared by the National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information concerning the regulations for on-farm processing (see Appendix 6: Resource Section for ordering information).
There are federal exemptions provided in the Poultry Products Inspection Act that can allow farmers to process and sell a limited number of birds from their farms. The exact number, depending on the state, is never more than 20,000 birds per year; many states only allow 1000 birds per year.
In addition to USDA and state agricultural department regulations, the state and local health departments may also have regulations. After the first year of the project, the State Health Department in Kentucky indicated that processed chickens could not be sold at all in the state without USDA inspection.
HPI was concerned about food safety and committed to helping farmers process in as sanitary a fashion as possible. A food pathologist at Tuskegee University developed processing guidelines for the farmers for fly control, chilling, drainage, disinfection, hand washing, water use, etc.
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Butchering age averaged 9 weeks and varied from 8 weeks to 14 weeks. Birds generally weighed 4-5 lbs. Processing time averaged 36 work hours for 73 birds. |
HPI provided a plucker, scalder, killing cones, and delunger for processing as well as training in food safety. In the last 2 years of the project, HPI also made funds available for buying stainless steel tables.
Water issues
Participants were not entirely happy with the scalder, which sometimes had
trouble keeping the water hot enough, and supplemental hot water had to be
added. Also processing one bird at a time is slow. Processing equipment that
can handle 4 birds at a time would speed things up. Water availability is
an issue. Lee can't process with rural water. Steve and Kim are on a cistern
and have to haul water in for processing.
Birds are generally processed according to available labor, time, and the
ability of the customer to pick up their birds. Processing also depends on
the weight of birds the customer desires-from Cornish hens to roasters. Butchering
was often spread throughout several different days.
Pricing the birds
Price was generally on a per bird basis since most participants did not weigh
the birds at processing. Some participants decided on a price that would provide
them with a profit, but most charged according to what they believed their
clientele would pay-generally about $6 per bird (see Appendices 2, 3, 4, and
5 for prices per bird).
Sometimes customers actually helped with the processing. Many participants bagged their chickens for the customer. Most asked customers to pick up birds on processing days, but sometimes would freeze the meat for later pick-up-sometimes it was not by choice.
Some chickens were sold live. According to one Alabama producer, "In this area, people would rather have live chickens than butchered, and they don't have to freeze them thereby losing some taste."
Processing
set-up
Most participants set up processing equipment
under trees or a shed. Some use a permanent building. So the processors are
not standing in water, Rosa and Alvin used pallets on the floor, and water
was drained out.
Trenton set up under a large tree using branches
to support loops of water hose. The setup included killing cones and a feather
picker. The scalder blew the fuses in his house so he used a small, portable
burner and a large canning pot of water. A large work area (12 feet long and
2 feet wide) was divided into three equal sections. The first (with a marble
counter and sink) was the location for eviscerating carcasses and removing
heads and feet. The second countertop was stainless steel and held a bucket
of ice water for necks, livers, and hearts, and a bucket for gizzards. The
third section (a kitchen countertop) was the final quality control area.
Don's operation
Don describes his processing setup: "Killing: With V-bolts I clamped
a board to 2 steel T-posts I had driven into the ground. We hung the kill
cones on the board with nails. Scalding: We heated water with propane. We
had previously witnessed the inability of a 110 volt water heater to keep
up with processing. Picking: We used the HPI-provided table-top type. It worked
well, after a good scald, but required some skill to avoid tearing the skin,
bruising, etc. Eviscerating: We used a discarded triple-tub affair as a table
by laying a wide board across the top, lengthwise, and covering it with 6
mil plastic. Water was delivered through an arrangement in which three drop
hoses (with cut-off at the lower end) were spaced along the table, with water
running through a hose fastened to a board overhead. This board, too, was
v-bolted to 2 steel T-posts driven into the ground, one at each end of the
table. Chill tanks: We used new plastic garbage cans. Two liter soda-pop bottles
were filled with water and frozen overnight, and this provided the chill effect."
"Problems: We found ourselves standing
in water. Having water running constantly may not be a good idea. I would
like to try a trigger-activated water-squirting arrangement for the eviscerating
table. We found we needed to tie the chickens' feet together, in the cone,
before killing to prevent their kicking themselves out of the cones. Scalding
and picking seemed to be the usual bottleneck in the sequence. Mechanizing
those would free up another person to eviscerate-which was the next most likely
bottleneck."
Albert & Sheila's setup
Albert and Sheila nailed a killing cone to a tree. They eviscerated on a 6-foot
table with a plastic covering and a water hose with double connection-one
was connected to the lung puller and the other was plain water. Three iced
bowls were used for parts and two iced coolers for the dressed chicken. Three
5-gallon buckets were used for the guts, head, legs, and blood. Since they
were new to processing, it took a long time to get started and they worried
they weren't doing it well; however, their confidence improved with practice.
Marketing
The Salatin family has developed a loyal customer base of 400 people who come directly to the farm and pick up their chicken and other products. They send out newsletters to keep customers informed about the farm and provide order forms. Customers are reminded of pick-up times to which they have committed. Publicity efforts Some participants prepared
flyers or advertised by radio. Free samples were used a lot. One producer
gave 3 chickens as free samples to local newspaper food editors. Trenton
held a potluck for 30 friends and family to sample the chicken. Flavor sells the
birds Keeping customers
happy |
Labor and Earnings
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Earnings per hour for farm
families participating in the initial batch of 100 broilers were not
very high. However, many participants seemed to be happy just to have
access to the home-raised chicken. As farmers raise and process more and more batches, profits and hourly earnings can be improved by economies of scale. It takes only a little more time to service several pens as one pen. More inputs can be purchased in bulk (such as feed). Also, as poultry growers learn about the enterprise, the job gets easier. They will require less time to perform activities and have more knowledge which they can leverage. |
It seemed difficult for the participants to maintain records of their efforts, although record-keeping is an important part of evaluating an enterprise. About one-half of the grantees did not turn in their record books. Some participants, however, have continued to use the HPI record book as a tool in their enterprises. (Please see the Resources section to order a record book.)
Economic summaries
For a summary of all the actual income and expenses, labor budgets, and hourly
earnings from each participant who turned in a record book, please see the
charts in the Appendices 3, 4, and 5 (also called "Summaries
of Production Figures for 1996, 1997, and 1998"). Appendix
2 provides averages. Please note in these Appendices that the production
numbers do not always add up-the only information available was that provided
by the farmers themselves.
For a more general estimate of income, expenses and labor in the Pastured Poultry Project, see "An Estimated Income/Expense Analysis per Batch of 100 Broilers" in Appendix 1. This analysis was created by HPI's Appalachia Program Manager Steve Muntz who has much experience in training producers and raises pastured poultry himself.
The analysis includes the actual cost of
processing equipment (subsidized for the grantee farmers by HPI in the other
economic analyses). It shows that it is possible to make a small profit on
a batch of 100 broilers even when paying for processing equipment, if conditions
described in the analysis are met.
Major costs
Major costs include fixed costs: pen construction, brooder construction, heat
lamps, feeders, waterers, and processing equipment. These costs could vary
greatly. For example, some participants used scrap material from their farm
to build the pen; others bought new material. Processing equipment in this
project was provided by HPI, but most other pastured poultry producers must
expect an investment of about $1000 in equipment. Fixed costs can be amortized
over their expected lifetime.
Quality of life
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Participants listed a number of benefits from raising pastured poultry. This alternative enterprise fits with their desire to live on the farm and be self-sufficient and self-directed, to raise their own good quality food including vegetables, and know the inputs used. Some participants wanted an "organic" product for health reasons.
Albert and Sheila value "caring for livestock and watching it renew itself". Gregory values "eating good quality food-'chemical-free' means a long and healthy life."
Some participants value the control over food products. Steve and Kim value the "ability to control or help change my life and family future." Betty commented: "It is so good when you can raise your own chicken. Then you know what you are eating." Abdul and Hafeeza value "being able to grow our own food and animals. By doing so, we make our quality of life better because we know exactly what we are eating. It gives us a sense of well-being."
Don commented: "We value a self-directed way to life, with free time to develop ourselves physically, educationally, socially, and spiritually. We expect to derive profit from livestock and crops. Pastured poultry gives one more-apparently profitable!-use of the grassland. The labor was gentle and not exhausting. Tending the birds did not take an excessive amount of time. The only problems were those confronted by anyone who raises animals of any sort. Yes, we were 'tied down' to the farm somewhat, but we discovered that our sons were taking an interest in the project-also my|
Labor
& Earnings Labor
per 100 birds Labor considerations include initial work such as learning, training, gathering information on feed supply, hatcheries, processing equipment, building the pen and brooder, and building a customer base. Work that is needed with each batch is brooding, servicing pens, reminding customers of pickup days, processing, and clean-up. Please see Appendix 1: An Estimated Income/Expense Analysis per Batch of 100 Broilers for detailed labor considerations. |
Opportunity for youth
Roosevelt says that pastured poultry has potential to provide a diversion
to troubled youth who are tempted into drug and alcohol use in a community
with few jobs or activities for youth, as well as a source of income. "There
is a real pleasure in knowing I am eating something that I have raised and
there is the assurance that I am providing quality products in the community.
I have some young family members 9-14 years of age that are learning how to
raise some of their food and finding it better than fast food. It has taught
the young ones the value of having chores to do and prepares them for other
things in life. It starts a work ethic." Pastured poultry will be used
in Roosevelt's local Community Summer Enrichment Program, a program which
provides activities to children during summer.
Don believes that community life in his area could be improved by pastured poultry production. "What would otherwise simply be 'consumers' become 'customers'-people you know-and those become friends. Knowing more people in this way engenders a sense of wider community. Coming to the farm also provides an opportunity to talk about mutual concerns: you get started on food concerns and branch out from there."
Follow-up
Fifteen of the 19 grantees who reported back continue to raise pastured poultry. There are also 11 more families who were grantees who did not file reports who continue to raise pastured poultry. Eight of the 35 producers who received grants from HPI to try pastured poultry have not continued with the enterprise.
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Norma commented: "It was a big job to move the pens every day-they were very heavy, but I do think this is a good way to raise chickens. I don't know if I will try it again next year. I'll have to think on this."
Albert and Sheila plan on raising more in the future. "This year we plan on at least 200 chickens. Because most people, once they tasted our chicken, placed orders for more." Ben planned to mentor a youth in pastured poultry.
Roosevelt hopes the community effort will eventually combine well with a greenhouse program to result in a Farmers Market. He will help fund the community project and help the youth.
According to Don, "The project has been almost fun the whole way along-one of the few agricultural enterprises I've tried that I can say that of. Yes, we'll try it again next year. I think we'll make the big jump and try 3 sets of 100 each."
The ATTRA Project is operated by the National Center for Appropriate Technology under a grant from the Rural Business - Cooperative Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture. These organizations do not recommend or endorse products, companies, or individuals. ATTRA is located in the Ozark Mountains on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, at PO Box 3657, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 72702. ATTRA staff prefer to receive requests for information about sustainable agriculture via the toll-free number 800-346-9140.
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