300 chickens, pastured egg farm

[ChickFarmer]

In about a month I'll be getting 300 day old, pullets. I am starting a pastured egg CSA. I wanted to start a thred on how other egg farmers manage flocks on pasture. About my farm, it's leased, has a grain silo, 4 acres available year round and another 19 after the hay is cut.

 

[sparkles2307]

Wow! Huge undertaking! Good luck!

 

[RBOutdoors]

I did something like this 4 years ago. Had a buddy watch my 200 birds while I went out of town for a long weekend. Came back and I had 7 birds left. Coyote or dogs took down my electric poultry netting and finished the flock in two days.

Now I just keep enough for my family.

 

[devora]

"I'll be getting 300 day old, pullets. I am starting a pastured egg CSA."


Wow. I'll be so interested in this. Is 4 acres enough for that many birds? I was reading a link from a thread and pasturing is fascinating...and a lot of work!

Good luck w/ it. In a short description, what's yer game plan? Tractors/paddocks?? Are the fields already divided? Will you keep the flock together in the feeding area?

 

[ChickFarmer]

Well I'll have three mobile roosting houses and one mobile nestbox house. The pastures are fenced with field fencing attached to a three rail fence. I'll add hot wire to keep preditors from digging in or climbing over. I don't think 75 per acre will be too many since I'll be giving the pasture a rest periodically.

 

[ChickFarmer]

I'm going to keep updating. I hope others find it interesting even if they only daydream about having hundreds of chickens. The feed mill will deliver to my silo but the minimum is 3 tons. I don't realy want to keep the feed around that long especialy in warm humid weather. They do however also sell scratch at 395 a ton, and all the feed additives needed to mix my own. Soy meal 14.95 per 50lb calcium 3 per 50lb. Scratch should stay fresher than crumble and I can mix it with an electric chipper shreder, or offer it cafeteria style. Chick starter is a different matter I'll buy one ton at 552 per ton bagged.

 

[devora]

Ah, so you're supplementing the pasturing w/ feed? Whoa, i can't imagine working w/ "tons" of anything!

How is it 75 per acre? You will rotate them separately? How long will one of the fields be fallow?
THX!

 

[ChickFarmer]

I'll just have to see how fast the pasture recovers to find out how long a rest it needs. The chickens will be in one flock on 4 acres at a time.

 

[donrae]

I think you're going to need more predator protection than hot wire and field fence.

 

[ChickFarmer]

What do you reccomend for additional protection. Keep in mind that it is for 4 acres and these are not pets.