Joel Salatin's pasture method

[Livinzoo]

Has anyone tried Joel Salatin's pasture method for their non-meaties?

I was thinking about trying this. And wanted to know if you had success and did you or would you change anything (aside from adding nest boxes and roosts)?

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
well, I sorta have tried it. Not with his little clapboard "coops" but along the same lines: Movable coop which confine the birds, rotated around periodically.

What Joel does, is confine them on range, moving them from place to place until they are of slaughter age. They never get out of their cage (in theory) but have the benfit of range feeding. Joel is in the Virginia back country last I knew, and I'm also willing to bet he has his normal small predators under tight control!

I use a different design tractor than his, rather unlike any other I've seen. Roomier and lightweight. And mine birds dont live in the tractor exculsively... I employ it more like a range shelter.

But, yeah it would work and similar things have been done. But they never really stuck, except on the smallest of backyard scales.

There are practical limits in size, first off, unless you have machinery to move the coop. Some have added wheels to the coops so they are more of a wagon, but then again you need something to haul it around with.

Second, chickens aint too bright and moving their house with them in it is fraught with all sorts of peril. They get caught under it and get hurt, or go berserk and bash around inside etc. It wasn't long before I stopped moving mine so much.

Regardless, the bottom is open to the ground and the top is the roosting and nesting area. The bottom has to stay within 2"-3" of the ground, or the chickens will squirt out. Not good for chicks and little'uns _ I can tell you. You need either level ground or a floating skirt to adapt to any changes in grade.

Predators become an issue too, in that with an open bottom, critters can dig in. You can cover the bottom with wire mesh to stop them, but then the stupid birds get caught in that.

More than anything, we're talking tiered, ground hugging tractors able to house more than the usual 3-4 birds. If you have secure perimeters and predators arent a worry, then it is very doable. But then, if you have that - it almost becomes a moot point to bother, you know?

On the other hand, if you have to build so strong as to prevent preds entering, then you can't move the thing without a tractor or draught horse. Catch 22.

Long story short - it is doable. Some challenges are before you if you push forward with it and I'd look to the many PVC-designed range houses for inspiration. I personally wouldnt USE PVC as a long term structural material, but much has been done along those lines with it.

Also, Bob Plamondons hoop house is a great option that might suffice. See them at ( www.plamondon.com )

Another source of info for this is the book "Chickens Tractor..." by Andy Lee.

Good luck.