2. Brad Burbaugh Duval County Extension Service
Pastured Poultry Systems
Brad Burbaugh
Duval County Extension Service

3. Overview Alternative Production Choosing Meat Breeds Equipment
Alternative Poultry Systems
Supplies
Predator and Disease Control
Processing
The Business of Pastured Poultry

4. Alternative Poultry Production
Pastured Poultry
Moveable pens
Several options
Free range poultry
Non-confinement system
USDA definition = out-of-doors for 51% of their lives
Organic poultry (very difficult)
Begins with day old chicks
Feed, pasture and processor must be certified
1000 birds per season is working best for most producers

5. Elements of Pastured Operation
Production, processing, and marketing
Chickens forage for food
Fresh grass = portion of diet
Fresh pasture offered daily or weekly
Fresh air and exercise when foraging
Manure is spread evenly onto the pasture
30% of market in France
Foraging=plants and insects (omnivours)

6. Pastured Poultry Pros Can start small and grow
Poultry build soil fertility
Strong demand for pastured poultry exists
Can be run by one person; kids can help
Provides sustainably produced meat
Low capital investment to get started
Poultry can attract customers for other products
Excellent supplementary income, particularly if these farms direct market other products

7. Pastured Poultry Cons Labor intensive – especially on-farm processing
Mostly seasonal
Limited support system of suppliers, contractors and suppliers
Weather-related stress and predation
Reliable processing facilities hard to find

8. Choosing Meat Breeds Cornish X
Unlike with layers, there are limited options
Cornish X
Other hybrid varieties (Barred Silvers.etc)
Dual purpose varieties (Buffs, Barred Rocks)

9. Cornish X Advantages Disadvantages Grows out in about 8 weeks.
Lower feed costs than some other breeds.
Larger breast meat.
Disadvantages
More leg & heart problems.
Less foraging desire.
Less flavor.

10. Barred Silvers, Rainbows, etc.
Advantages
Better foragers
Fewer health problems
More texture to meat
Better flavor
Disadvantages
Grow out in about 12 weeks
Higher feed costs
Smaller breasts
See list of hatcheries in resource section of notebook.
Can buy straight run

11. Equipment for Alternative Production
Brooders
Home until sufficiently feathered
Most critical stage of growth
First weeks determine long term survival & development
Be prepared to check your chicks at least twice per day. Pay attention to details!
Made of many different materials
Basic brooder holds as many as 250 chicks can cost as little as $100 to construct
Secure boxes where newly hatched chicks can live until sufficiently feathered to live outside.

12. Brooder Requirements Space Heat Sources Litter 1 square foot per bird
2 light bulbs
95o F for week 1 – then decrease 5o F per week. (need thermostat)
Litter
3 inches of clean dry litter ( No sawdust or cedar )
Avoid slippery surfaces like newspaper
Keep litter around water and feed dry and clean
Wood shavings
2 lamps – in case one burns out.
Space= fully grown (6 weeks)
Decrease by decreasing light bulb size
Pine bark, newspaper dry and clean= no caking of crap

13. Brooder Requirements Water Feeders Delivery Day
1 quart for every 25 birds (clean and fill daily)
For large number automatic watering systems work best
Feeders
Place near heat, but not directly underneath source
Fresh food in front of chicks at all times
Delivery Day
Brooder should be up and running 24 hr before chicks arrive
Have them sent overnight
Show each bird water source
Regulate by moving away or close to heat source
Largest loses due to slow shipment…can survive 72 hrs on old, but sooner the better

15. Pasture Housing Protect from rain and cold when first on pasture.
After about four weeks, chickens can tolerate cold or rain, but not at same time.
Need to provide shade. Broilers can not take extreme heat.
3 weeks in brooder
7 weeks in pasture
Beyond a brooder and field pen, producers only need feed

16. Pastured Poultry Systems
The Salatin System
birds per pen
Lightweight, bottomless 12’ x 10’ x 2’ (LWH) pen moved one pen length onto fresh grass everyday.
1/3 to ½ of the pen has a flat sheet metal roof
Most common water system is gravity fed bell waterer
Cost = $130 (Lowe’s)
Step-by-step how to build in resource section of notebook
Notice feeder on top
Cost to build

17. The Salatin System Advantages Disadvantages Low cost unit
Prevents build up of manure
Grass cover is not destroyed
Poultry protected from flying predators
Disadvantages
Pens need to be moved everyday
Nighttime predators
Hard to reach in pen to get birds
May not be enough shade during hot periods
Better weight gains

18. Day Range Systems
Poultry house on skids ( 8’ x 18’ ) moved to field at beginning of growing period
Bird on pasture during day and shut in house at night.
Moved on weekly basis
Pasture activity controlled by electrified netting.
400 birds per acre
Cost is variable
160’ electronet poultry fence = $160
Electrical source = variable
Poultry house = ~ $400
Netting moved to several locations around the house during growing period.

19. Day Range Systems Advantages Disadvantages
Better protection from nighttime predators
Provides non-wet grounds and protection from rain
Easy to catch birds
Disadvantages
More expensive
Exposed to flying predators
House needs to be cleaned in between batches
Care of birds is required in AM and PM
Grass can be damaged if fence not moved often

20. Chicken Tractors
Bottomless, portable shelter-pen that fits over garden beds
Many designs
Mostly commonly used with fruit and vegetable production
Popular among sustainable production enthusiasts

21. Chicken Tractor Advantages Disadvantages Can be moved very easily
Insect control
Source of fertilizer
Used in urban areas
Disadvantages
Ground can become barren
Semi-labor intensive
Not made for a large amount of poultry
if overstocked or not moved

22. Feeders Hanging System Raise and lower to bird height
Outer lip level with birds back
Prevents spillage and spoilage
Trough Feeder Systems
Chickens more susceptible to disease
Taken out of pen before moving
More chickens can feed at once
Some producers hang feeders so they don't have to take them out to move the pens.

23. Watering Systems Five-gallon bucket atop the pen
will gravity feed a bell waterer
Mesh screen across top
Attach to pen
Hoses can be used on nipple
waterers
Daily water consumption at 90o F
Chickens…8.4 gallons
Turkeys…..120 gallons
Water intake varies greatly
white buckets, which stay cooler and attract fewer hose-clogging insects than colored buckets, and tie a plastic mesh screen across the top if necessary to keep out bugs and leaves. Fasten buckets to the pen to keep them from blowing off as they empty.
A pen of 7- or 8-week-old broilers can drink 10 gallons (44 liters) or more between morning and evening chores.
Roughages increases need for water for breakdown
Most essential nutrient
Pastured poultry need more water

24. Predator Control Type of control depends on system
Salatin and tractor = nocturnal predators
Place pens well inside pastures instead of along wooded fence lines. Predators reluctant to travel across open territory.
Dogs, traps, motion lights, bungee cords
Free Range = flying predators
Have as little tree cover as possible. Poultry have a sixth sense in open air.
747 at 10,000 feet

25. Disease Control Disease rarely reported in pastured poultry systems
10% mortality is normal
Most common loss due to getting wet in rainstorms
Parasites not a problem because of grass rotation
Poultry disease flow charts in production section

26. Processing Equipment Kill Cones Scalder Plucker Stainless steel table
Running water
Plastic tubs
Sharp knives
Ice
Bags

28. The Business of Pastured Poultry
Labor
80 hours to build one pen, raise, process and market 100 birds
Average 20 hours a week
Costs
Feed is 2/3 of production costs
Income
Typically, producer nets 50% of sale price
Chickens $1.75 per 3.5 pounds
Turkeys $3.00 per pounds
Feed is variable cost-
Average payments for conventional growers raising chickens is 22 cents per 3.5 pound bird

29. Questions
References
Free Range Poultry Production and Marketing: A Guide to Raising, Processing, and Marketing Premium Quality Chicken and Turkey and Eggs, by Herman Beck Chenoweth
Success with Baby Chicks, by Robert Plamadon
The Chicken Health Handbook, by Gail Demerow
Grit!, bimonthly newsletter published by American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA)
The Dollar Hen: The Classic Guide to American Free-Range Egg Farming, by M. Hastings and Robert Plamondon
Profitable Poultry: Raising Birds on Pasture by Sustainable Agriculture Network
Pastured Poultry Research by Truman State University