Pasture-ized poultry

Well it's about time I introduced you to some of the animals here on the farm. We have 24 young egg layers called "pullets" they are about 10 weeks old and have not started laying yet.


A few of the gals. Notice there are some bare spots still left from our drought

I call them "pasture-ized" poultry because we raise them on pasture much like goats or cattle. They roam about within their fenced in area called a paddock, which is just a small section of a larger pasture. The fence they are in is electric poultry netting which is a flexible fence that is electrified with a fence charger.  Don't worry the birds don't really get shocked, it is not to keep the birds in as much as it is to keep predators out. Here in west Tennessee we have coyotes, fox, possums, weasels, raccoons and owls that really love a good chicken dinner. We  recently lost an entire flock of chickens to the masked bandits (raccoons) and this system is a result of tough lessons learned. We move the fence every so many weeks to keep the grass fresh.



Many people ask me why we go through all this trouble, why don't we just put them in a coop. I chuckle a little when I am asked that knowing what I know about the benefits of raising chickens on pasture. I understand that for many people this is what they imagine when they think of chickens, or maybe they remember back to when grandma had the old hen house, and if thats what grandma did that's the only way to do it. But if we look back to great grandma she let he birds roam around the yard eating bugs and scratching through the grass.





Here is the poultry netting and the charger that powers it



So why do I choose to raise my chickens on pasture? I thought you'd never ask. For one it's just healthier for the birds. They get plenty of fresh air and sunshine, they get all the bugs they care to eat, they get a free salad bar ( for those who have not read one of Joel Sallatin's books, thats fresh grass) its just a more natural way to raise poultry. When Michelle and I first began writing down our farming philosophy,one of the things we both felt was important was humane animal husbandry. What does that mean? It means let the goats be goats and the chickens be chickens. Chickens in the wild where not confined to poop filled coops and processed feed, they foraged for their food, eating bugs and grass and seeds. Now don't misunderstand me, we still feed traditional chicken feed to supplement their natural diet. The second reason is that the eggs are out of this world! Hold up a store bought egg or even a coop raised egg next to one that is layed by a pasture raised hen you will immediately notice the difference. The yolk is a bright orange color, the whites are so defined the yolk actually stands up on the whites. Taste it and you will have tasted the most flavorful, richest, creamiest egg you have ever tasted. Cook that egg in a cake or a pie and you will not stop getting compliments on how rich it is. There are even more unseen benefits, studies show that eggs raised in this fashioned are lower in cholesterol and higher in omega 3 fatty acids, why one might even say eating a pasture-ized egg is akin to taking a vitamin.




Our New Hampshire rooster

Those buckets are our range waterers they cost a fraction of what the store bought ones do and work even better