Chicks Are Progressing
I’ll put them out on pasture next week during the next dry spell. I’d like to see a few more feathers, to combat the cold nights. Because once they move to the pasture pen they are out for the duration. Again, it’s a choice, feed more calories to keep them warm while waiting for feathering or wait a bit.
April 2011.
It’s hard to resist the temptation to put them out early though, when I see the dramatic results from last years batch of meat chicks being pastured. You can clearly see in this photo the pass made with the floorless chicken pen. One day in one place, and a year later the soil is still energized! You don’t get these results with free range or feathernets… . Yeah, you still get eggs or meat but you don’t get this. For me, manipulating the symbiosis is the better way. By controlling where my chickens poop I bring them into my edge effect, instead of the local flora and fauna. Just a tad of tampering with the food chain. I am farming these chickens, so I need to farm them, and not be passive.
May 2011, grazed once.
This is why Polyface pastures do so well, compared to neighboring continuous grazed farms. Sure, they bring in carbon to beat the band for bedding, but it is the timed animal movement and rest that rewards in positive pasture results.
This is resilience. When we get our normal, dry summer period this fortified part of the pasture will be drought resistant because the plants are deep-rooted and can reach down to the residual soil moisture. The adjacent plants of the same type will suffer. The fact that the roots are a mirror image of the top growth illustrates why deep-rooted healthy plants are the answer, not irrigation.
Until I bring them to the pasture, I will bring the pasture to them. Next week babies.
Food Renegade
Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op
Hi there! Is it a sin to covet someone else’s pasture : ). The grass has been on my mind.
quick question, the 2nd pic from the bottom…the growth next to the clover…broad leaved grass. What is it called? Does it have enough nutrition for the animals i.e sheep. I have a lot of that in teh pasture, but isn’t sure if that is actually good for the animals..or just weeds. Sans grass, I am welcoming all dandelions this year : ).
Hope you three are doing well!
-wf
WF, it’s lanceleaf plantain, a “weed” but very good feed, and usually found with clover.. It also has many medicinal uses too, if you’re so inclined.
Thanks! I am glad…I have a lot of it. The sheep should be well fed then. Sure..I would be interested in its herbal/medicinal purpose. What do you use it for?
Interesting you mention that it is found with clover. I did some frost seeding of clover and now I am noticing where the clover came out..so did loads of lamb’s quart, my favorite childhood greens from Bangladesh! Its interesting how there are companion ‘weeds’ when we use a seed for something. Do you think its in the seed mix, or there are other botanical reasons?
WF, I have just a passing fancy for herbs and their uses, just sticking with a few – I’ll pass you on to Tansy and her blog, which is a plethora of information about herbs of all kinds and their uses.
http://fieldoftansy.blogspot.com/
As for the plant combo’s I think there is some symbiosis in all things if we choose to look. Mostly soil conditions which favor a group of plants is not favorable to other groups or types and so we see many plants in conjunction with each other. That’s why you rarely see annual weeds in pasture type situations and perennial weeds in tilled fields, but anytime the soil is worked and dormant seeds emerge and go for it. All very interesting to be a part of.
Jerry Brunetti also writes extensively about the “other” pasture plants that are so important. Too often we get hung up on the lawn monoculture mentality. A good pasture is made up of many different types of plants. Your sheep should be happy!
I’d love to see a photo of your open-bottomed hen house. When I first started keeping chickens, I built a 6′x8′ hoop house with cattle panels, and it is much too big and heavy to really move around very much. I used it as a coop for this year’s chicks. The broilers have been processed, and as soon as the new layers get integrated with the existing flock, I’m going to disassemble it for parts!
Joshua, I use a Salatin style, 10′ x 12′ x 2′. Easy to move with a dolly. My hens stay in permanently in their own little greenhouse..
Thanks! I learn so much from your posts!
I’m not exactly sure why I like watching chickens so much, but the video sure made me smile. Thanks for sharing!