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Tyler Ludens wrote:If you have predators such as foxes, you need to close the chickens into a secure shelter at night. To do this you have to actually be there, or have someone else do it for you.
tel jetson wrote:
paul wheaton wrote:I like the idea that with paddock shift you will cut those feed costs by about 80%
I don't think that just changing to a paddock shift would make such a difference in this instance. Cornish Cross chickens are notorious for not being terribly interested in foraging. they don't even particularly like to walk. so switching breeds might be required to reduce feed costs substantially.
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I'm certainly in favor of better management practices like paddock shifting, because when it all the advantages are taken into account, it's a much better arrangement. but I don't think it's quite such an immediate or obvious payback.
Organic poultry have access to pasture [3], a nutrient source that has not been fully evaluated for use in poultry. Laying hens and broiler chickens given access to pasture may meet various nutrient needs through foraging.
Buckner et al. [4, 5] found that giving laying hens access to early-growth Kentucky bluegrass resulted in a 20% reduction in feed consumption and increased egg production compared with hens raised in confinement. Additionally, hens reared on alfalfa or Ladino clover need considerably less feed protein than confined hens [1]. High-quality alfalfa hay can supply carotene, vitamin K, and vitamin E [1]. Feed having only 11 to 12% protein* has been shown to be adequate for hens on good pasture [6]. Additionally, Moritz et al. [7] reported that organically reared Ross broilers may overcome growth impairments associated with Met deficiency through foraging.
Poultry may obtain small amounts of energy from pasture forage (285 to 542 kcal/kg).**
Poultry have the ability to utilize amino acids found in forage. True amino acid digestibility values for Met, Lys, and Thr were approximately 88, 79, and 84%, respectively.
tel jetson wrote:
at that point, you'll have to take into account that the breeds that do forage better also take longer to reach market size. it can be the difference between a six to eight week grow out, and a ten to twelve week grow out. that's potentially twice as long. that would eat into the feed savings substantially.
C. ARE THERE ANY FEED SAVINGS WHEN POULTRY ARE ALLOWED TO GRAZE?
Experience of many pasture poultry producers is that 3.5 to 4 pounds of feed are required for each 1 pound of gain. Conventional poultry requires about 2 pounds of feed to get 1 pound of gain. It is entirely possible that pasture poultry requires up to twice the amount of feed as confined poultry.
Rufus Laggren wrote:Reading about Sep Holzer's work, it's struck me that most of the site techniques that go into permaculture require extensive use of heavy machinery, easily extending into hundreds of hours of machine time and thousands of gallons of fuel. This looks like a major requirement and cost to permaculture, at least to form the site initially.
tel jetson wrote:there's a thread on here somewhere about making woven retaining walls for stream bank stabilization out of live willows. I can't remember what the practice is called, though, so I can't find the thread. pretty neat trick, though.