Someone outside the world of chickens might think their only differences are in the color of their feathers and egg shells. But over the last few decades, with the explosion of pastured poultry, homesteading and backyard chicken raising, more people are discovering the truth as general interest in chickens has grown. Not only are there differences amongst the chickens themselves but also how best to manage them. Your location, the resources you have at hand, and the other activities that are part of your setup, no matter its size, all impact just how to best manage your flock, and just what kind of flock it should be.
Small-scale farmers who are thinking about diversifying by adding poultry should know about Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD). Sometimes called Gumboro Disease because it was first identified in Gumboro, Delaware in the 1960s, IBD is now present throughout the U.S., as well as many other parts of the world.
If you opt to start your heirloom flock with day-old baby chicks, you will have to allow time for them to develop and purchase them in the numbers that will allow for full and proper culling as they grow and develop.
Putting a price on your farm product is a highly emotional experience for farmers. The price you ask for encapsulates so much more than profit. It includes all the sleepless nights you spent listening to the coyotes howl and wondering if your lambs were safe, that late frost that caught you and your tomatoes off guard, the equipment breakdowns in the field, and the love, care and stewardship you poured into your operation to bring that specific tomato or that pound of ground lamb to your customer.
When many people envision a homestead, they have included animals somewhere in the picture. Ducks, goats, geese, or honey bees. Beef cattle, horses, chickens… There are many intriguing options, and though it may seem challenging and intimidating at times, it would be beneficial if every homestead considered some variety of animals. What can be even more exciting than deciding what animals you wish to have on your homestead is how you are going to use them.
Holistic Planned Grazing is defined as a pillar of regenerative agriculture. It is one of the most beneficial actions to improve ecosystem function, and soil health, on a farm or ranch. However, it is not quite as simple as just adding graziers to the system and expecting beneficial results to be the natural outcome.
