Free range alternatives to broiler pens, tractors, and coops

[jdc]

We are raising some red rangers this summer to see if they take the heat better than our usual cornish. We are going to get batches of 150 birds and raise half of them tractored as we usually do. The other half we are going to try raising in larger areas with electric netting. We are still going to use the tractor as a shelter within the netting, but we will have it raised on blocks so they can get in and out. I'm not sure yet about how we will handle things at night though. I'm concerned that the netting won't keep out coyotes and dogs so I am thinking of shutting them up in the tractors at night. Any thoughts on that? Has anyone used just netting at night to successfully keep out predators?

We have a fox that is seen every day, opossum, raccoons, my lab and the occasional coyote and do not have any problems at night. My tractor is up on blocks as well. Our lab nosed the fence once and will never do it again.

I would think that an owl would be a problem but we have not had any issues yet. The crows have bothered the chickens the most.

Good luck.

 

[shadowmane]

LOL... crows are evil birds. I love it when I see one flying by with two or three little birds chasing him. But then again, I hear crows are your best predator alarm as far as chickens go. They'll harass a hawk like the little birds harass them.

 

[RoosterGeek]

Salatin addresses the issue of broiler stocking rates in one of his books. He mentioned something about having too few birds per pen and having reduced weights. I may be remembering that incorrectly though.

 

[Beekissed]

His whole premises for low stocking rates causing reduced weights is food competition. While that works well for his cattle and having them clean up all the grass in his rotational grazing plots, food competition in broilers seems like a moot point. Particularly if you are advertising pasture raised birds but are stocking your pens so heavy that the only pasture they see is covered in feces, rendering it inedible.

I'm sure that more birds in a pen would cause them to eat more frantically to make sure they got their food before another bird could, but does anyone really want to turn up the dial on the insanely huge intake of a penned broiler? Isn't that why they have health problems and never make it to the processing date? Losses of whole birds would likely cut down on any gains in weight you'd make per bird, I imagine. Six of one, half dozen of the other....and you'd have to factor in the increased feed consumption caused by the "competition". Big guys like Salatin by their feeds by the tons and can get it much cheaper than the average person.

 

[loanwizard]

His whole premises for low stocking rates causing reduced weights is food competition. While that works well for his cattle and having them clean up all the grass in his rotational grazing plots, food competition in broilers seems like a moot point. Particularly if you are advertising pasture raised birds but are stocking your pens so heavy that the only pasture they see is covered in feces, rendering it inedible.

I'm sure that more birds in a pen would cause them to eat more frantically to make sure they got their food before another bird could, but does anyone really want to turn up the dial on the insanely huge intake of a penned broiler? Isn't that why they have health problems and never make it to the processing date? Losses of whole birds would likely cut down on any gains in weight you'd make per bird, I imagine. Six of one, half dozen of the other....and you'd have to factor in the increased feed consumption caused by the "competition". Big guys like Salatin by their feeds by the tons and can get it much cheaper than the average person.

I am glad that somebody else see that too. You don't just say things against Salatin, he's the go to guy for that kind of thing. When I had mine in the tractor, I wondered, how much different am I than the big guys that raise them in cages inside? The only argument would be to move the pens twice per day, but they are still stuffed in there with no place to really stretch their wings. That was the final reason I got netting. If I can't profit using the netting and a longer time, then I won't be a part of it and will just raise enough each year to feed my own family.

 

[shadowmane]

I'm getting more and more sold on a tractor and netting. I can cordon off portions of my yard and let them roam in there, then move them every week or so. That'll keep them from tearing up the whole yard.

 

[Beekissed]

I am glad that somebody else see that too. You don't just say things against Salatin, he's the go to guy for that kind of thing. When I had mine in the tractor, I wondered, how much different am I than the big guys that raise them in cages inside? The only argument would be to move the pens twice per day, but they are still stuffed in there with no place to really stretch their wings. That was the final reason I got netting. If I can't profit using the netting and a longer time, then I won't be a part of it and will just raise enough each year to feed my own family.

Yeah....he was my hero until I got to visit his place and got to see it all in action. I was no longer impressed and was downright disgusted by the end of the day. I saw things on his place that you see in some CAFOs just on a smaller scale. If you had told me the same thing before I actually saw it, I probably wouldn't have believed it because Salatins' The Man when it comes to natural and sustainable farming. Then I saw the truth and the truth is that it really sounds good in his books~ and the videos don't show the true picture of his operation.

 

[Buster52]

If you want to bash Salatin, please start a thread for it. I would rather not see this one hijacked to that purpose. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

As you wish. We had no intention of "bashing" anyone, merely pointing out that over stocking pasture pens may not be the way to go and using Salatin as an example. We'll leave you at the feet of clay....

 

[Buster52]

We are raising some red rangers this summer to see if they take the heat better than our usual cornish. We are going to get batches of 150 birds and raise half of them tractored as we usually do. The other half we are going to try raising in larger areas with electric netting. We are still going to use the tractor as a shelter within the netting, but we will have it raised on blocks so they can get in and out. I'm not sure yet about how we will handle things at night though. I'm concerned that the netting won't keep out coyotes and dogs so I am thinking of shutting them up in the tractors at night. Any thoughts on that? Has anyone used just netting at night to successfully keep out predators?

My dogs do the job of protecting for the most part. I'm using the netting to keep the birds in a particular area, so I can control their diet and their use of resources. I'm experimenting with placement of the feeders to accomplish that with one batch, and the netting with the other, to see which is most effective. Or at least, to see if the feeders can do a good enough job.

However, with electric in general, it is more dependent on the kick of the system than anything. If you are feeding some real juice, netting will even stop a bear. If all you want to do is keep your birds in, a small solar charger will do the trick. To keep out even determined predators, I would go with something with 3 joules or higher rating. That might mean having to run a line out to your birds, since solar and battery operated energizers don't seem to carry that kind of kick, but that isn't really all that hard or expensive.