I'll see Joel Salatin Saturday morning at the farmers' market (our
spaces are adjacent) and will give him a copy of your questions. Since
he is "too busy farming for all that e-mail stuff," I'll see if I can
get a response and I'll get back to you.
Looking at Greg's reply, he is pretty much on track; however, the pens
are actually 12' x 10'. The pastured poultry is indeed a part of the
beef operation. One key difference between pastured poultry and
free-range is that pastured chickens are moved onto fresh ground every
day, and are not rotated back to that ground until forage conditions
permit. This also prevents a build up of possible pathogens in any one
spot. With free-range birds, (second best method in my opinion) the
chickens can develop a tendency to congregate in the same areas day
after day after day. This is (1) bad on pasture, (2) allows a build up
of manure in one spot, and (3) easy for predators to "learn" their
prey's favorite hangouts.
More later. Gotta get ready for opening day at the market!
Jeff Ishee
Bittersweet Farmstead
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