Pastured Poultry

Poorbuthappy · Dec 4, 2020

Blaithin said:
Looks good to me!

The only thing I would suggest is changing your wire if and when you build new tractors. Chicken wire keeps chickens in, that's about it. Any predators can easily tear through it. A hardware cloth or page wire would be a much safer choice. I've seen lots of people take the page wire cattle/pig panels and bend them in a hoop and then cover with chicken wire. Light weight, taller for people access and still keeps predators out.

For water - this is all hypothetical and something I'm going to try, I haven't actually gotten around to it yet - I'm planning on running a small water pipe, like 1", out of a 5 gallon pail. Putting a number of water nipples in the pipe and filling the pail as needed. Hoping I can rig up some way for the pail to sit in a corner where I just have to pour water in the top and the pipe runs down the length of the tractor for easy access for birds. Works well in my mind anyway Lol

I just have 3-4 gallon buckets hung up with nipples fitted to the bottom. Lid covering the top in such a way I can fill with a hose from the outside.
Filled to top that keeps about 60 birds going for 24 hours

Blaithin · Dec 4, 2020

Poorbuthappy said:
I just have 3-4 gallon buckets hung up with nipples fitted to the bottom. Lid covering the top in such a way I can fill with a hose from the outside.
Filled to top that keeps about 60 birds going for 24 hours

I've done it that way in smaller cages. Figured I'd add the pipe in so they don't have to crowd around the pail. Adds more nipples and space for access. When it gets hot here in summer some of the fat, lazy ones don't drink enough. The easier I make it for them the better.

Woolless · Dec 28, 2020

Just having a very preliminary look at this as a possible add-on to my regenerative-type grazing experiment down the track but wasn't particularly excited by the headline figures.

Say 200 hens, so we'll say 200 eggs at £2/half dozen gets us to £66/day with no expenses or labour (considerable) costed in. Our neighbour sells eggs in an honesty box for £1/half dozen and they are very good! So am I missing something? Are broilers a better bet?

Poorbuthappy · Dec 28, 2020

Woolless said:
Just having a very preliminary look at this as a possible add-on to my regenerative-type grazing experiment down the track but wasn't particularly excited by the headline figures.

Say 200 hens, so we'll say 200 eggs at £2/half dozen gets us to £66/day with no expenses or labour (considerable) costed in. Our neighbour sells eggs in an honesty box for £1/half dozen and they are very good! So am I missing something? Are broilers a better bet?

All depends on your market I guess.
Can you sell reasonable numbers of broilers direct? Or find a suitable wholesale outlet? Someone that will value the regenerative approach? Pastured broilers done by the Salatin model don't qualify as organic, or free range, so you have to build your own "branding/ story".
Where would you look to sell eggs if you did them? How does your neighbour run their layers? My daughter increasingly gets compliments that her eggs are way better than standard free range.
Similarly our pastured broilers have excellent reviews on taste.
It's as much about the marketing as it is about the product. But you have to have a product you believe in!

Woolless · Dec 29, 2020

Poorbuthappy said:
All depends on your market I guess.
Can you sell reasonable numbers of broilers direct? Or find a suitable wholesale outlet? Someone that will value the regenerative approach? Pastured broilers done by the Salatin model don't qualify as organic, or free range, so you have to build your own "branding/ story".
Where would you look to sell eggs if you did them? How does your neighbour run their layers? My daughter increasingly gets compliments that her eggs are way better than standard free range.
Similarly our pastured broilers have excellent reviews on taste.
It's as much about the marketing as it is about the product. But you have to have a product you believe in!

Just considering poultry as an add on to possible future boxed beef/lamb sales on the back of a regenerative type approach. No market or marketing at the moment! I just thought that the potential returns from layers weren't that great, even at double the current local market price (£1.50/half dozen in the village

).

Blaithin · Dec 29, 2020

What about quail?

Something I’ve started looking into as they can be quite prolific egg layers and grow quickly. If the market is there for them the market seems to pay extremely well compared to chicken.

I haven’t read up on how they do in tractors but I can’t think it would be much different than chickens.

Poorbuthappy · Dec 29, 2020

Blaithin said:
What about quail?

Something I’ve started looking into as they can be quite prolific egg layers and grow quickly. If the market is there for them the market seems to pay extremely well compared to chicken.

I haven’t read up on how they do in tractors but I can’t think it would be much different than chickens.

I've always fancied doing quail eggs. But aren't they a lot less hardy than chickens?

martian · Dec 29, 2020

Poorbuthappy said:
All depends on your market I guess.
Can you sell reasonable numbers of broilers direct? Or find a suitable wholesale outlet? Someone that will value the regenerative approach? Pastured broilers done by the Salatin model don't qualify as organic, or free range, so you have to build your own "branding/ story".
Where would you look to sell eggs if you did them? How does your neighbour run their layers? My daughter increasingly gets compliments that her eggs are way better than standard free range.
Similarly our pastured broilers have excellent reviews on taste.
It's as much about the marketing as it is about the product. But you have to have a product you believe in!

I had one of your broilers and it was absolutely delicious and I know what you mean with the eggs too, the half dozen that we keep now, after the fox thinned out our pioneering mob, were producing eggs that people fought over.

It has to be said, since they've been in avian flu lockdown, the quality and quantity have both dropped through the floor. What is this madness? Are we keeping them in to stop the disease spreading? For their own good? Surely they are much less healthy now without access to pasture, they'll succomb to any disease going, I don't understand the logic. Can someone explain?

Poorbuthappy · Dec 29, 2020

1

martian said:
I had one of your broilers and it was absolutely delicious and I know what you mean with the eggs too, the half dozen that we keep now, after the fox thinned out our pioneering mob, were producing eggs that people fought over. I

t has to be said, since they've been in avian flu lockdown, the quality and quantity have both dropped through the floor. What is this madness? Are we keeping them in to stop the disease spreading? For their own good? Surely they are much less healthy now without access to pasture, they'll succomb to any disease going, I don't understand the logic. Can someone explain?

Glad you enjoyed the chicken

Amy's layers have moved into some of my my broilers' chicken tractors, so are "safe - ish", but are still on daily moves so still get that fresh grass and foraging, albeit with less room.

Blaithin · Dec 29, 2020

Poorbuthappy said:
I've always fancied doing quail eggs. But aren't they a lot less hardy than chickens?

Not to my understanding. Probably depends on breed though.

Hard to be less hardy than a chicken...

Hilly · Feb 21, 2021

Woolless said:
Just considering poultry as an add on to possible future boxed beef/lamb sales on the back of a regenerative type approach. No market or marketing at the moment! I just thought that the potential returns from layers weren't that great, even at double the current local market price (£1.50/half dozen in the village ).

They aren’t very good , pigs poultry is in the hands of the big boys now the small producer under immense pressure tiny margins if any .

holwellcourtfarm · Feb 22, 2021

Hilly said:
They aren’t very good , pigs poultry is in the hands of the big boys now the small producer under immense pressure tiny margins if any .

That describes the outcome of the American "vertically integrated" production model....

There is a role for niche local producers though.

Hilly · Feb 22, 2021

holwellcourtfarm said:
That describes the outcome of the American "vertically integrated" production model....

There is a role for niche local producers though.

Do you think niche local producers have it easier in America ??

holwellcourtfarm · Feb 22, 2021

Hilly said:
Do you think niche local producers have it easier in America ??

No, that's a hard route wherever you do it. Working hard to lose money under the integrated model is harder though I suspect.

I was only commenting that the system you described originated over there.

Hilly · Feb 22, 2021

holwellcourtfarm said:
No, that's a hard route wherever you do it. Working hard to lose money under the integrated model is harder though I suspect.

I was only commenting that the system you described originated over there.

It was a genuine question , the big boys have it sown up all over

Woolless · Feb 22, 2021

Hilly said:
It was a genuine question , the big boys have it sown up all over

The egg job is a funny one though. The vast majority will be produced in the vertically integrated supply chain and sold through supermarkets. But there's still a little space for someone with a few hens to sell the surplus, or even something a little bigger than that.

Hilly · Feb 22, 2021

Woolless said:
The egg job is a funny one though. The vast majority will be produced in the vertically integrated supply chain and sold through supermarkets. But there's still a little space for someone with a few hens to sell the surplus, or even something a little bigger than that.

How many hens to make a net of say 25 k a year ie an average wage ?

Woolless · Feb 22, 2021

Hilly said:
How many hens to make a net of say 25 k a year ie an average wage ?

Pass. I think in my example I had 200 hens generating £66 gross sales per day. Say lose a third for expenses, so £44, and that the hens will lay for nine months. So 270 days x £44= £11,880. Actually, that sounds a bit better but would involve a lot of work and that's getting top dollar for eggs. More than happy to be corrected on any of my assumptions by anyone who actually knows what they're talking about!

Hilly · Feb 22, 2021

A muckle hen house with about 500 hens in on daily move to fertilise the land would be a grand thing if it would pay ,

Woolless · Feb 22, 2021

Hilly said:
A muckle hen house with about 500 hens in on daily move to fertilise the land would be a grand thing if it would pay ,

400+ eggs to deal with daily. It's a fair bit of work.

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