Developing the grass in your yard for increasing free ranging nutrition

[Gypsi]

doesn't sound like I want ryegrass. Hey Bee, you're still here!

 

[HEChicken]

A few days ago I saw an amazing video. This guy in Vermont started with 200 chickens 15 years ago and has NEVER bought them grain. He keeps donkeys and mules and his neighbor keeps cattle. He also found a local restaurant that was willing to give him their food scraps so he used his mule and cart to go and pick them up every day. Then, he would pile everything up in compost piles and turn the chickens out on it. Well, per the videos of his operation, it looks like he is a commercial compost producer, as there were long rows of 4-5’ high piles in varying stages of decomposition as far as the eye could see. The video showed the chickens scratching through it and were clearly finding a lot to eat. Then they panned the camera over to a “finished” pile of compost and he said once it is done, the chickens lose interest in it, so it is ready to be hauled off and used. I suspect he is selling the compost but as a “by-product” he has also sold thousands of dozens of eggs and all without ever buying grain for them.

I know most of us can’t replicate this but it got me to thinking. I am not ready to start a commercial compost farm, but I do have access to as much horse manure as I want to haul away so the last couple of times I’ve been to the barn, I’ve loaded up a couple of large buckets of the stuff. I dumped two buckets out, one on top of the other, to create a pile that was about 2’ high, and stood back to see what they thought. There was immediate interest – in fact, the pile was swarmed by both turkeys and chickens. Sure enough, in addition to scratching, they were pecking at it and seemed to be finding plenty to eat. Within 30 minutes, they had the pile completely flattened out (the guy in the video must do it by the dump truck load to keep it from getting spread flat in no time). I left and went back to the barn and this time loaded up 3 buckets. By the time I got back it was 4-5 hours after I had dumped out the two buckets, and the birds were STILL congregated in that area, working it over. I guess it must contain some really good stuff! I dumped the 3 new buckets in the same spot and left. By the time I went to do bedtime lock up, less than an hour later, the new pile had also been completely flattened. I’ll be curious to see if they return to work first thing this morning.

Anyway, I just thought I’d throw this out there for anyone who lives near a cattle or horse operation and has access to free manure. I figure the organic material isn’t going to hurt my chicken yard – what the birds don’t eat will eventually break down and add nutrients to the soil there. Any grains they don’t find and eat, if they sprout, will either be eaten as a sprout, or grow and be mowed down next time I mow. I can’t really see a downside here. Oh – I should add, that you probably all know the horse manure is in balls we call “horse apples”, but when I go to fill the buckets, I try to gather the stuff that was pooped out a day or two ago and been walked on in the meantime, so it is somewhat pulverized. Horse apples tend to dry out and turn into horse rocks and I didn’t want to be tripping over those, in the event the chickens weren’t interested in them. So by getting the stuff that is pulverized, they’re more likely to scratch through it, I think, because its been broken down enough they can find the undigested grain hidden in it. And, whatever they don’t eat, the particles are small enough to just fall down into the grass and eventually be absorbed into the ground. That’s my hope anyway…..

 

[pegm]

What an operation! It would be nice to haul the horse poop home, but I am afraid my neighbors would not be happy, and I probably wouldn't be either as we are in town on small lots. Sigh. I board and there are 8 horses there.....that's a LOT of poop every day. But if you had the space and could get the poop far enough away so the smell and in the summer, flies, would not bother anyone, what a great way to feed the flock. I know they get undigested grains and such, that's what the birds are after when the go through a pile.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Here is a short video of Karl's Vermont Compost Company ...

 

[HEChicken]

Here is a short video of Karl's Vermont Compost Company ...

Thanks Leslie! I've been having some issues with Safari (reported to BYC and Nifty is looking into it as I am apparently not alone) and was unable to post the link in my original post.

The birds came out of the coop this morning and made a beeline for the horse poop. And, as luck would have it, I had to make a run to the barn this morning (pegm, there are also 8 horses at our barn so I know what you mean about the volume produced!) and grabbed another 3 buckets full to add so they are busy, busy again now.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

Karl's Composting with Chickens business ... there is a longer version of the video available for free by registering at http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/32461-surviving-the-coming-crises

I found the longer version useful.

I'm not sure how much I agree with the zero feed idea, and have not had much luck forming relationships with restaurants for food waste ... and am not entirely comfortable with that for a variety of reasons ... but I do like the idea of manure piles and yard debris for the birds to scratch around in.

I've read about a poultry pasture system that incorporates something like 3 or 4 yards the birds are rotated through, connected by a large compost area to which the birds have constant access ... but I can't remember the name of the system or the name of the woman who developed it. Can someone help fill in the blanks on that?

This is slightly OT for the "developing the pasture" thread, but is certainly something that can help enrich the environment for the birds and ... if done right ... provide healthy nutrition for them. And with usable compost as a byproduct.

 

[Beekissed]

I think it's close enough on topic to give it some consideration....it's all about creating habitat that provides supplemental feed past grain based feeds. The less they have to walk and hunt to get bug energy, the better, so if piling it up in a manure pile creates a buffet, it's an excellent resource! I wish I had access to such things and a way to get it here, but I don't any longer. But...if I did, you can be sure I'd have huge piles of manure everywhere just attracting bugs and worms for the chickens.

 

[LeslieDJoyce]

I think it's close enough on topic to give it some consideration....it's all about creating habitat that provides supplemental feed past grain based feeds.  The less they have to walk and hunt to get bug energy, the better, so if piling it up in a manure pile creates a buffet, it's an excellent resource!  I wish I had access to such things and a way to get it here, but I don't any longer.   But...if I did, you can be sure I'd have huge piles of manure everywhere just attracting bugs and worms for the chickens. 

I think it is a great component to a rich poultry habitat ... like the "orchard" component I keep writing about.

 

[Aphrael]

I agree.

 

[Lacy Blues]

I've got a couple of horse places real close to me but I need some big tub on wheels or something to be able to gather it up and bring it home. I've got a plan in my head for just such a venture, along with a bunch of other plans fighting for air.