Thanks. I'm actually a permaculture designer and regenerative ag fits right in that same vein. I'm well aware of it, support it, and implement it when I can.
Excellent. Have you read Harvey Ussery? He integrates his flock into his growing schemes. My understanding is that poultry work very well as integrated livestock on regenerative or forest farms.
There are some commercially-produced feeds in the USA that consist of mostly whole grains. If you open the bag and dump it into a feeder, you see a bunch of grains and some powder.
For the feeds in the USA that were being mentioned, there are large amounts of actual whole grains in the bag, but there are other things as well.
no it is not what I mean by the term. Your exposition on this explains a lot; thank you.
actually C is Carbon, Ca is calcium. I mis-bolded.I understand people don’t like typing too much. But you really should add an * if you are using abbreviations many people don’t understand , and add ^^ the above post or a link to it in your explanation/the discussion. If you bookmark it you can add this info easily with copy - paste.
The only official abbreviations above are C and P. I would grasp those in the right context and maybe a few others too. But not all of them. And my memory is not that strong that I remember them all next month. Other people may have other knowledge. But I don’t think my mind/memory works/is exceptionally.
Personnally I often get annoyed with all the abbreviations people use here on BYC. For chicken breeds I don’t know very well, for states I’m not familiar with, for relatives other than MDH, etc. I tend to skip reading /grasping if it gets too complicated. But often would have preferred to read the reply or explanation without abbreviations. On the other hand I use some abbreviations as well, because everyone here seems to think thats the way to go.
KR, BDutch
From NL, EU
Having bA juveniles, bD hens and 1 bRIR.
used to be called Mash and was common before the pellets and crumbles were widely available around here. It was understood back then that getting it wet caused the power to stick to the grains. But back in the day not all had added nutritional powder in it.... back then chickens, dogs and cats were expected to get most of their food on their own during the warmer months... following the cows and draft horses year around. Which meant they didn't lay much and a sunday dinner chicken dressed out at 2-3 Lbs.
The name doesn't ring a bell but I may have seen things from him and just don't know it. I tend to not remember names and titles, more the meat of the work, is what I retain not necessarily the sources if that makes sense at all
No I hadn't. I will do some research on it now you've brought it to my attention; thank you.
you *know* that what is available on your property is depleted? have you had it tested? or did the scaremongers just make you suspect there's something wrong with it?
This applies to crops grown through conventional agriculture: highly selected varieties chosen for yield above all other considerations, in dead soil, and fed just NPK. It does not apply to the world in general and unfarmed land or land farmed in a regenerative way in particular. Individual soils may be deficient in one or a handful of minerals because of the rock on which and out of which they are formed, but that can be supplemented as necessary.
Only if you have to buy food and feed grown conventionally.
What has been the history of land use where you are?The name doesn't ring a bell but I may have seen things from him and just don't know it. I tend to not remember names and titles, more the meat of the work, is what I retain not necessarily the sources if that makes sense at all
I do quite enjoy using the poultry in my circular systems. The trick is designing something that is low maintenance, actually functional in application, and simple enough that it will be done for the long haul not just when it is novelty. That's the problem with most things is they either don't actually flow/work well in true day to day application or they are so complicated or poorly designed that once the novelty wears off it isn't done anymore bc it ends up being more trouble then it is worth. Zone planning on permaculture design is a basic principle that helps to mitigate at least the latter bc you specifically design ease of flow and function into your property systems. I also quite enjoy JADAAM /Korean natural farming techniques too. Have you ever heard of those? What I love about those specifically is how it makes organic farming/gardening accessible to all even with little resources bc you are literally making your own natural pesticides and fertilizer that are also in harmony with nature. I cherish the principle of regenerative ag - "To work in synergy with Nature, instead of waging war against it"
Everything we do quite frankly in the western world is "waging war" against something. We hyper focus on a small fraction of whatever it is and loose sight of the whole picture. Often disrupting natural balance while supposedly "fixing" things.
This is a mistake in my humble opinion and we will never truly advance until we adopt a wider perspective.
Anyways - I do quite like the simpler approach and the idea of lower cost and inputs. But as you have said we know we have serious deficiency in macro and micro nutrients, minerals, vitamins, etc. If those things are there in the first place then they will not be transferred to the end product. And that is where my conundrum comes in. Knowing that, how can I simply ignore that. I cannot if I want a quality product I must work to ensure that it is actually quality and not a mere illusion. Does this make sense? If I pasture raised my birds without supplement of vitamin and minerals bc I say they will get what they need from their environment and free choice while knowing all along that those very things are depleted. Then Wouldn't I be quite ignorant to think my processed birds are of any count if I don't supplement them? I certainly think so.
