Below is a post that we had written last August but never posted. We decided to go ahead and post it as part 1 of our newest blog since it explains some changes we made and updates from that time period. Enjoy and don't forget to check out part 2 which will have the latest updates on the farm and our lives
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Howdy! Man has it been a great summer so far. We just finished processing our second batch of broilers, our layers are about to start laying, and our cows are putting on some pounds with all the greens they've been grazing! It is amazing to see how much the land is being restored even from just one manure application from the chickens or one grazing from the cows. This style of farming REALLY WORKS! Going with the flow of nature instead of fighting against it shows results almost immediately not only in soil fertilization but also in the health and well being of the animals. Our last batch of birds was the healthiest batch of chickens we've had yet! We still have never had to use antibiotics or any type of medication on our chickens...and we plan to never have to. By moving them every day away from their manure and onto fresh pasture, we don't have to worry about sickness, disease or harmful pathogens. And the birds love them some fresh grass and grasshoppers!
We actually made some changes to our broiler production. After much observation and effort to make the "free-ranging" method work for the broilers, we finally came to the realization that our system wasn't working as well as we had hoped. As you read in our last blog post, we were using a "Roostmobile", as we called it, for our broilers. It was a mobile roost that the chickens would go up into at night to roost and we would move the rig every 2-3 days to fresh pasture, using an electric net fence to keep the birds near the coop and to keep predators out. This method works great for laying hens, who love to roost at night and are a bit more agile and able to go up and down the ramp easier. The broilers simply grow too big too fast to be able to handle a steep ramp every morning and evening. This was causing unneeded stress on the birds which can really affect their health and weight. Anytime you are raising chickens, especially for production purposes, you really want to eliminate as much stress as possible because they simple will not perform nearly as well when under any amount of stress. Another stress factor with this system was the need for a truck to move the Roostmobile every few days. The loud engine noise and exhaust stressed the birds out way too much. If we could have built a trailer with a not-so-steep ramp that was a little more manageable for the heavy birds, and made a few more tweaks here and there, it would have worked on a small scale.
But only on a small scale. As we thought about the future and expanding our broiler operation, we just couldn't figure out how to make this system work with hundreds and hundreds of birds. It would require multiple Roostmobile's, multiple feathernet fences and a battery and charger set-up for each feathernet. It just wasn't practical. So...we opted to go back to what we call the "Salatin Pen" style (Joel Salatin's chicken pen design). It is a tried and true method for raising broilers on pasture. With the Roostmobile, not only were there too many stress factors, but the manure application simply wasn't as even and uniform as with the pens. If you look now at the pasture where we had our chickens in the Roostmobile, you'll see random little circles of bright, lush green grass. It's beautiful grass but it is spotty and uneven. Since broilers don't particularly like to be in the straight sun all day, they mostly congregated underneath the Roostmobile the majority of the day except for mornings and evenings when it was a little cooler. So even though the rest of the pasture didn't look like chickens had been on it for 3 days, directly underneath the trailer was totally impacted and covered in manure...although it is now the most fertile soil on the pasture! This was also a big deciding factor when it came to switching to the floorless pens. We really want to aim for as even of a manure application as possible, and with the pens, you can control exactly where you want the manure to go and make perfectly even manure-scapes. So about 3 weeks into our second batch of broilers, we decided that we needed to switch our system as soon as possible before the birds got too big and too stressed. We headed to town and got our supplies and built 6 "Skidoops"...our modified version of "Salatin Pens".
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| A "Skidoop" |
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| Rachel killing a chicken |
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| Matt ready to process some chickens on a rainy day |
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| Our processing set up |
We decided to put in an application for the Lynchburg Farmer's Market, even though it was an hour and 45 minute drive, because friends from Lynchburg kept telling us that we would do so well there. So we applied. Almost instantly we got a response from the market manager saying that not only was there a full-season spot available, but this was the first season that their usual "chicken suppliers" would not be selling at the market! So they had no one there who was selling chicken on a regular basis and there was a huge demand for pastured chicken from the market buyers. We didn't even have to think twice about it. This was it! This was going to be our market. Our first Saturday there, we sold almost 5 times the amount that we had sold at the Salem market. And it has only been getting better the more we're there and the more people that find out about us.
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| Our setup at the Lynchburg Community Market |
God has really blessed us at that market and we are so excited to continue selling there. Almost every Saturday someone thanks us for simply being there and giving them an opportunity to purchase local, pastured, humanely raised, wonderful tasting chicken! We even had a guy this weekend tell us that we're mean because we got him and his wife hooked on our chicken and that it was the best chicken they've ever tasted in their life. Praise God! What an awesome thing to hear when you work so hard to ensure that you are producing a healthy, wholesome, honest, nutrient dense, flavorful product! It is quite rewarding and definitely a blessing to hear that so many people are happy with our chicken. Makes our job that much more enjoyable!
Another amazing opportunity has been presented to us that we are taking. A friend of our brother-in-law owns 90+ acres in Forest, VA (right outside of Lynchburg) and offered to lease his property to us so that we can be closer to family and our customers. Virtually all of our business has been coming from the Lynchburg area and it is a little bit of a drive from New Castle. We have been happy to make the drive because it has definitely been worth it, but we knew we were going to need to be closer at some point. We absolutely love New Castle, and the property we are at now is absolutely gorgeous. However, too many things fell perfectly into place for this to happen and we couldn't turn down the opportunity. That being said, we will be moving our whole farming operation to Forest by the end of this month! The property is already set up for rotational grazing with permanent fencing and water supplies, and there is an apartment on the property for us to live in which is a HUGE blessing. It is going to be a wonderful arrangement because we need land to farm on, and this couple has the perfect land with the perfect setup but due to their current jobs they simply don't have the time to manage the land. It works out perfectly! We get a farm for a great deal and they get the benefit of restorative farming practices healing their land while they basically get paid for it. It really is a wonderful trade-off. We are more than excited for what's ahead!
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| Banjo |
On another note...we added a new addition to our FARMily. His name is Banjo and he is the best dog ever. He is an Australian Cattle Dog aka Blue Heeler. We got him from a family in Lynchburg who's female Heeler had a litter of pups and they wanted to place them all in good homes. We met them when they stopped to talk with us at our booth at the Farmer's Market. Exactly one week later we brought Banjo home to the farm. He has been with us now for 5 weeks and is becoming a very loyal companion. He is definitely still a puppy and has a lot of puppy tendencies (especially nipping!) but he is extremely smart and is learning quickly. He loves the cows and will soon be herding them when need be. He's still a little small yet :) Though he's definitely not too small to herd chickens and we are currently training him to only herd them on our command. It's almost like having a child! He has brought so much joy to our lives and we are so happy to have ole' Banjo with us everywhere we go.
Stay tuned for pictures and updates from our new farm. It may be a few weeks until the next blog post, but hopefully once we're settled we can sit down and share some pictures and moving stories with you all. As always, thanks for reading and we hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer!
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