Pastured Poultry Talk

I'm a cotton patch goose breeder. Well, I have geese that are old enough to mate. We'll save the moniker of goose breeder until we have some deliberate success. The cotton patch goose is a historical landrace breed originally used to weed cotton fields and other crops across the South. However, the introduction of pesticides replaced the need for geese, and they've been hidden away on farms until the internet made them popular again. The common qualities of the breed include autosexing goslings and adults, gentle disposition, medium sized, great weeders, and broody. In pastured poultry, geese have a very popular use as guard animals, which is job one for my flock of Cotton Patch Geese. I will also use them for vegetation control on different parts of the farm. Most of this work relies on successfully hatching goslings, but after I have goslings to build the breeding pens out and to satisfy my utilitarian needs, I need to have a market for the geese. Christmas goose is a traditional market, and on the episode,

This is an edited version of the article I published in Issue 113 of the APPPA Grit, which was based on the conversation in this podcast. Not a member of APPPA? Go check them out. Last fall, I had the pleasure of consulting with a producer on some questions about his farm’s turkey processing procedure. Since turkey processing season 2019 is fast approaching, I wanted to share some highlights of that conversation in this podcast. One of the biggest challenges with the turkey processing was the amount of hand plucking required to finish the birds. The hand plucking went anywhere from five to ten minutes extra. The natural question becomes, "can I pluck the turkeys clean like I do with chickens?" I had this same conversation with a different person recently, so I know it’s a relatively common question. The first place to troubleshoot this type of problem is the scalder. The farm I was talking to was scalding and plucking four turkeys that dressed between 16 and 20 pounds in a Poultry Man 41” scalder and a Feath

Turkeys are one of the most adored birds in the pastured poultry community with a strong emotional tie to family Thanksgiving; however, they can often be challenging to raise because they require more time and attention than a chicken. Those challenges often see high mortality rates or farmers who opt out of turkeys all together. There are at least two possible solutions to the turkey raising woes. The first is to get better at turkeys, but turkeys arrive on farm in one of the busiest times of the season, so it's not always that easy. The second possibility is to purchase started turkeys from another grower. In addition to the opportunities, this podcast episode will focus on the math and marketing of 6 week old started turkeys. How much does it cost to raise a turkey for 6 weeks? As producers, we spend a lot of time focusing on cost of production, and with young turkeys those costs are evident from day one. The cost of day old turkey poults is all over the map and can range anywhere from $6 to nearly $9 for

It's no surprise that I'm hot on the  podcasting medium. Pastured Poultry Talk is a podcast, after all. In Episode 93 of the show, Kenny Troiano referenced his podcast, Bred to Perfection, as a primary marketing asset for his membership site. The publication of the episode was well timed because it happened soon after I returned from the Podcast Movement conference in Orlando. If you want to hone your pastured poultry business, you associate with expert people (through APPPA, for example). If you want to develop your podcasting craft, you seek out the smartest people you can and spend time with them. That's what Podcast Movement was for me. Here are the key points: Don't be afraid to selectively focus on a niche group for your products and farm. Success will demand it. Don't measure your success by impressions or population; there's a subset of the existing population who is your customer. Develop your marketing so that it creates relationships, so you can connect with your niche. If you're already engaged i

Dangerous breeders are everywhere and the internet gives them a platform to perpetuate bad breeding habits at the expense of offspring that represents the breed. A dangerous breeder is someone who produces offspring that doesn't represent the breed. They often don't know how to selectively breed, and they're not interested in learning. I may be characterized as a dangerous breeder in that I have done things that are counter to good breeding practices, but I've not really perpetuated my lack of knowledge by selling my failed breeding projects. I understand my gap in breeding knowledge and the gap in the quality of my birds. I tend to eat my lack of understanding rather than selling it. Master breeder Kenny Troiano of the Breeders Academy and Bred to Perfection podcast joins the show to help us become better breeders. Too often, when we talk to breeders about their work, we focus on the end result--the successes they've had and that leaves a large gap in knowledge for people who want to start breeding. If you w

https://pasturedpoultrytalk.com/2016/06/14/ppt044-understanding-the-nutritional-benefits-of-black-soldier-fly-as-poultry-feed/Confused about the difference between feed values expressed in as-fed or dry matter percentages? The difference between as-fed nutrition and dry-matter nutrition in poultry feeds is water. The dried feed removes the water, giving us a dry matter calculation. Using the mealworm protein example provided by Cheryl Powers in episode 91 of Pastured Poultry Talk, the live mealie has a 19% protein level. Dry the meal worm by removing the water and the protein jumps to 55%. As a producer, you need to know the nutrition of your feed if you purposefully give that feed to your flock. In the podcast episode, I talk through an example where this knowledge would be beneficial. If you wanted to increase the protein of a chick starter from a 21% protein to a 26%, you could use the Pearson Square to create a new ration from the chick starter and the mealworms. But which type of mealworm should you use

Crickets are a popular insect protein for humans, and black soldier fly larvae receive most of the attention among chicken keepers; Cheryl Powers, Jord Producers, plans to change that by farming mealworms as a supplemental chicken feed. Actually, she's working to position mealworms for reptiles, exotic birds, and humans (but we tend to stick to chickens). One of the biggest benefits of mealworms is that they are high in protein. There has also been published research in Poultry Science that shows feeding mealworms to chickens can increase average daily gain, feed conversation, egg size, and flavor. According to Cheryl, you only need to feed a small amount of mealworms to see an increase in the protein intake of the chickens' diet. Less than 10 mealworms is her recommendation. Chickens love the mealworms, and they will forage on them without hesitation. There can be too much of a good thing. If the birds fill up on the fiber of the mealworms, they won't get all the other vitamins, mineral, and nutrients they n

In the week or so preceding this episode, Polyface announced it was slaughtering one of its sacred cows. They were going to ship product. Social media was a angry throng of pastured poultry injustice warriors. If you're looking for commentary on Daniel and Joel's decision, you're in the wrong spot. My commentary is for the people commenting, and I'll place that commentary in the context of pastured poultry. Episode 89 of the podcast featured Garoleen Wilson and Jhawk Farm in Kansas. That chat Garoleen brought into focus the context from which we should be evaluating whether or not shipping is a viable option for your farm. It won't be for everybody, but that doesn't mean it's wrong for the community at-large. A critical distinction, from my perch, is to ask yourself, what are the principles that can't be compromised and what are the limiting beliefs (for you Ravenscraft listeners)? Shipping is a limiting belief, an obstacle that could prevent you from growth. It could keep you and the community from relevance

Correction: In the podcast episode, I  state Garoleen is producing 7,000 broilers. That was an error in my interpretation of her numbers. She's actually on track to produce 3,500 broilers on pasture in her fourth year. That still a fantastic trajectory and that growth is the point, as the numbers will fluctuate from year to year.  Pasture-raised broilers make a great side hustle, but when you're farming a niche product in a rural community, sometimes you need to think creatively and efficiently to make the business work. That's what Garoleen Wilson from Jhawk Farm in Kansas discusses on episode 89 of the Pastured Poultry Talk podcast. I first met Garoleen through my work with APPPA in 2016 as I was planning a cross-country seminar series. We had talked about potential seminar locations in Kansas. As luck would have it, we did not go to Kansas during that tour, but Garoleen did get involved with pasture-raised broilers. Her start in pastured poultry was heavily influence by a bout with uterine cancer. Cancer c

In episode 87 of Pastured Poultry Talk, I talked with Erin Angulo about her Delaware chicken breeding success and the formation of a new association designed to help breeders learn. I'm taking this opportunity to follow up with my own thoughts on Erin's interview. [caption id="attachment_1848" align="alignright" width="284"] SASSO Naked Neck meat birds growing on pasture at Badger's Millside Farm.[/caption] Erin mentioned the need to evaluate your needs in terms of selecting the right bird for your circumstances, and that's a really basic need for pastured poultry producers of any type. The chicken you choose dictates what type of pastured poultry farm you will be. If your intent is to scale up and be a production farm focused on reaching the maximum number of people as possible, the Cornish Cross is your primary choice. That's just the way it is. In episode 44 of The Fighting Farmer podcast, Spence talked about the choice between production capacity, market demand, and what that meant for heritage versus hy

Heritage chickens have a stereotype of being slow to grow and low yield, making them a difficult choice for production-based pastured poultry farms. Ok, maybe the stereotype has strong roots in reality. That's why Erin Angulo (Dawnridge Farm) is on the podcast discussing the improvements she has made with her line of Delaware chickens in addition to her work with the Heritage Poultry Breeders Educational Foundation. Breeding Delaware Chickens for Weight Gain As we discuss in the podcast episode, the Delaware has strong roots as an American chicken prior to the development of the faster growing Cornish Cross. The Cornish Cross dislodged the Delaware's popularity. Ultimately that development of the faster chicken growth turned chicken into a common food and sent heritage breeds, such as the Delaware, on a fast track to neglect. Seventy years removed from the Delaware chicken's popularity, breeders like Erin are trying to restore their potential. Just how far has she come? Her first batch of chickens yielded a 3

Email marketing for small farms is one of those things that people have strong opinions about. Either you recognize the value, or you have limiting belief about why you shouldn’t send email. In this episode, I take the stance that email is the second half of a technically sound marketing process, and I’ll share some basic ways you can use email to your advantage. In episode 85, I talked about 10 tips to improve your farm website SEO, and the number one item was to incorporate an email marketing capture into the design of the website. Which email marketing platform you use is irrelevant to the conversation. Email is a tool. You pick tools based on how well it meets your need. If you’re just starting out, your primary criteria will likely be price, which will put you in the free version of Mailchimp, but Aweber and Constant Contact will work too. Is email marketing dead? The correct answer to “Is email marketing dead for your farm?” is that you spend too much time on Instagram and Facebook. Email is still the n

In this episode I discuss the foundation principles required to improve farm website SEO (search engine optimization). Farm website SEO helps you be found by people who are looking for the products and services you sell; that's why it's a critically important foundation for your entire marketing program. The only thing worse than not having a website in 2019 is having a website that doesn’t work for your business. Over the last year, there have been an increasing number of instances that have made me want to pull my hair out when I heard the “advice” some people give in terms of websites and their role in marketing. I also see a lot of questions popping up about websites in the Pastured Poultry Talk Facebook group and other places. I realized that I can contribute to the conversation even though I'm not known as an SEO consultant to small farms, I've been implementing SEO for over a decade, and half of that time was coaching small businesses through the creation and implementation of their own marketing stra

After listening to the episode on learning the art of scalding, listener Chad asked if I could explain how to pick a chicken plucker. I happy to help. Quick disclaimer: While the advice in the episode is general purpose, the examples use the Poultry Man line of pluckers to illustrate the points because that's what I know the best. The first question I'd ask is, "Do you need a plucker?" This is a personal decision, but the question is for those homesteader and family flocks who may be doing 20 or 30 chickens at a time a few times a year. I'm a strong believer that your first purchase needs to be a scalder. You buy the plucker second because the quality and ease of the pluck is controlled by the scald. I talk about scalding chickens in Pastured Poultry Talk episode 67. The primary decisions points about selecting an appropriately sized chicken plucker comes down to the following: Match the scalder/plucker capacity. Purchase a scalder based on processing day volume. Know your power requirements. Evaluate the d

Pasturewashing is the latest marketing craze where traditional poultry integrators want to capitalize on the success of pasture-raised chicken and eggs without following the principles of production. It's a form of greenwashing. Greenwashing describes a marketing tactic that positions an ordinary product as green or environmentally friendly in order to appeal to a buyer's emotion in exchange for a price premium or cost savings; think spin. For more than 30 years, farmers have been perfecting the pasture raised poultry model since Joel Salatin started sharing his ideas with the world (around 1990). Creating a pasture-raised divide where none existed Only recently have companies started to actively redefine what pasture-raised chicken and pasture-raised eggs mean. The divide is being perpetrated through third-party certifications, such as certified organic, GAP, certified humane, and so on. And here-in lies the pasturewashing problem. The certifications and companies who want to cash in with a pasture-raised ch

In this episode, catch up with Mike as he sets the 2019 pastured poultry production goals at Badgers’ Millside Farm, talks about pasture-raised greenwashing, and sets a vision for the show. Pastured Poultry Speaker Traveling, planning, attending, and presenting at a conference is emotionally challenging, but it is worth the energy. In the winter of 2019, here’s where I’ve been: Professional Pastured Poultry Conference in Texas. I helped plan this event and presented a talk about how to plan a pastured poultry business. NOFA-NJ in New Jersey. I presented two talks about cost accounting, budgets, and cost of production. PASA in Pennsylvania. I facilitated a 3-hour Q&A forum with Jeff Mattocks and Craig Haney. Craig taught me about how to effectively use the Pearson Square to balance rations. You’ll see more on this more this later. OEFFA in Ohio. This gave me a break from chickens and let me talk about podcasting as an education and marketing tool. Stone Barns in New York. Stone Barns invited me to deliver

Chick farmer Lauryn Salatin joins the podcast to discuss her backyard chicken business. She buys chicks from Murray McMurray, raises them until they're ready to lay, and then sells them. She finds her chickens enjoyable to be around and happy. This episode was recorded live at the Fertrell open house. Resources: Polyface Farm Murray McMurray

In this Kids in Commerce episode, Travis Salatin of Polyface discusses his Khaki Campbell duck business. Travis' advice to other kids who are starting a business: "start slow." Resources: Polyface Yum Premiere 1 Supplies

In this Kids in Commerce episode, Andrew Salatin joins the podcast to talk about his goals with raising sheep and what the enterprise has taught him. This episode was recorded live at the Fertrell open house. You can contact Andrew about lambs through Polyface.

John Coulimore, a long time pastured poultry producer from Washington, joined the podcast for a quick chat. Jonathan is another community member who has taken up the dual role of growing pasture-raised broilers and eggs while fullfilling an important part of the supply chain for other farmers as a Fertrell dealer. This interview was recorded live at the Fertrell open house in October 2018. For more information: Beerite Sales (Jonathan Coulimore). Scratch and Peck Feeds