These Birds Are Really Free To Range

These Birds Are Really Free To Range LIVESTOCK Miscellaneous Will Harris doesn’t believe in “chicken tractors” or other moveable pastured poultry enclosures But he’s serious about free range poultry His birds are free to roam and free to do as they please all 60 000 of them Of course food water and shelter are always nearby “Chicken tractors do let the birds get to grass and bugs but they aren’t really free ranging ” says Harris “I wanted to raise birds that were unrestricted and loose so they can flap their wings run and fly up into trees and roost I think it changes the quality of the meat Our birds are more muscular and athletic ” Harris’ chickens may be loose but his production system isn’t It’s tight as a drum and as carefully managed as an assembly line A fourth generation cattleman and former crop farmer Harris concentrates today on intensive grazing With the help of 85 employees he runs 700 brood cows 500 ewes and on any given day 60 000 chickens He recently added turkeys to the mix Farm employees slaughter all animals raised on the farm in two USDA approved packing houses also on the farm That includes 30 cattle a day and about 1 000 chickens Meat is processed and packaged on the farm and marketed both on and off the farm All the offal is composted blood is retained and bones are ground with the end products going back on the fields as fertilizer Everything is designed for the protection and improvement of the environment and the animals The entire farm and packing houses have received the highest animal welfare certification “Animal welfare land stewardship and environmental protection are our claim to fame ” says Harris Harris believes that letting his chickens express their natural characteristics like scratching running and flying is key to healthy productive birds His production system is set up to let them do just that Harris has 5 000 chicks delivered each week New chicks are the only things confined on the farm They are kept in brooders for the first 2 to 3 weeks of their 12-week production cycle Once they are feathered they are brought to skid shelters on pasture where they are confined for 2 to 3 days before being turned loose The farm’s 100 16 by 20-ft shelters have garage doors on one end that can be fully opened or nearly closed in bad weather A standard entry door on the other end lets workers enter and leave if the garage door is down Panels near the floor on the three solid sides can be raised for ventilation Food and water is replenished with twice a day visits by farm workers Chickens get accustomed to people which is important when they are ready for slaughter If cattle are present a single strand of electric fence charged by a solar panel is set up around the shelter area This keeps cattle away from the chicken feed Letting the chickens truly range free means Harris may lose a bird or two to hawks However he learned what kind of damage ground predators can cause when he started raising sheep “We’ve got Great Pyrenees dogs to protect our sheep flocks ” says Harris “When we started raising pastured poultry we got dogs for them as well They protect the chicks from feral cats and even opossum as well as coyotes wild dogs bobcat and fox as the chicks grow ” Puppies are introduced to chickens at an early stage Harris says it’s vital they bond with the species they are to protect He keeps 12 Great Pyrenees with the chickens on pasture “They spend their days in the woods or nearby swamps and range around the chicken shelters at night when the danger of predators is highest ” says Harris “Even during the day they’re close by ” When the chickens have cleaned out an area the skid shelters are moved 50 to 75 yards to fresh pasture How often depends on the size of the chickens and how much they are scratching and eating “Every time a shelter is moved the manure around it is loaded into a manure spreader and taken to fields that most need it ” says Harris “We want it well distributed If there is too much in one place it can be toxic to the grasses ” At 12 weeks the birds will produce the desired 3 1/2-lb carcass Catching the birds is easy thanks to those daily visits and the design of the shelters “From 60 to 70 percent of the birds perch inside at night while the rest are close by ” he explains “After dusk a couple of workers visit the house and drive the outside birds in like you would push cattle The garage door gets closed and they are left inside with water but no feed till the next morning Then they are caught caged and taken to slaughter ” Once the shelter has been cleaned and moved it’s ready for the next batch of birds Meanwhile Harris’s chickens are distributed up and down the East Coast as well as to the on-farm restaurant Harris recently opened “Each day our 85 employees my two daughters and a future son-in-law sit down at the restaurant and eat dinner ” says Harris “My employees are great workers and I am very grateful to them They go above and beyond ” White Oak Pastures’ website store also sells their farm raised and grass-fed lamb beef and poultry including chicken turkey duck and guinea fowl Rabbit is sold as well Contact: FARM SHOW Followup White Oak Pastures P O Box 98 Bluffton Ga 39824 ph 229 641-2081; info@whiteoakpastures com; www whiteoakpastures com

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