Nowadays, raising pastured chickens is one part of sustainable poultry farming.
People are shifting from old unhealthy methods to these types of new chicken-raising methods.
Is raising chicken in pastures a good idea?
What type of issues you may face in raising pastured chickens?
Shall we discover the answer?
This guide provides a comprehensive overview of raising pastured chickens, including the definition, advantages, a raising guide, and a comparison to other methods.
The Concept of Raising Pastured Chickens
Pastured chickens are the name given to poultry flocks raised outside on the grasslands. These birds hunt for insects and seeds, making them more healthy and less stressed.
The health of the bird is better ensured by pastured chickens. They can peck and forage, which allows them to be fit.
Because of pastured chickens, the soil becomes more fertile. Their droppings serve as a natural fertilizer, and moving them around in the pasture encourages the plants to grow back.
Chickens on pastures have a diverse diet. Because of their natural habits, they do not need any additional medicines. It also makes the farm less dirty.
Because of pastured chickens, eggs, and meat are of better quality. The pasture-raised chicken eggs contain more omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Simultaneously, this eases the environment’s burden. By farming in a pasture, animals, the environment, and customers benefit. Everyone is pleased with the outcome, which brings satisfaction to all.
Pros of Raising Chickens in Pastures
Below are a few amazing benefits of raising pastured chickens:
It Is Best for Animal Welfare
The freedom to move outdoors lets chickens behave naturally. They can scratch, find food, bathe in dust, and wander. Chickens raised like this are strong and calm.
Chickens in coops face stress and behavioral problems. Pastured chickens enjoy better physical and mental well-being.
Strong chickens get sick less often. Hence, farmers can reduce medicine usage. Hence, pastured chickens produce healthier eggs and meat.
2. Get Healthy, Nutritious Eggs and Meat
Chickens that roam on pasture produce superior eggs and meat. Eggs from pastured sources have more omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins A, E, and D, plus beta-carotene, an antioxidant.
Chickens’ varied diet equals better products for consumers. The meat is leaner and tastier with pasture-farmed birds. Healthy folks want this nutrient-rich food, letting you sell premium products.
3. It Provides Natural Pest Control
Chickens are much like small, natural pest control guys because of their foraging behavior. They feed on various insects and pests that would otherwise harm crops or ecosystems.
As a result, we can manage the pest numbers that harm pastures, thus enhancing their health.
Chickens are helpful and decrease the use of chemical pesticides, which are friendly to the environment and good organic farming.
4. Make the Soil or Land Fertile
Chickens naturally fertilize the land as they roam. Their droppings contain a lot of nitrogen, which is vital to the soil.
When and in a controlled manner, like moving around, the chickens spread their droppings evenly on the field. This improves the health of the soil and promotes the growth of grass.
In regenerative farming, it’s important to use natural fertilization to keep the soil healthy without artificial inputs.
Healthy soil means that the chickens will have better food and, in return, they will produce healthier products.
5. Decreases The Feed Cost
One great thing about letting chickens roam is they can find food instead of just relying on bought feed.
They will need some added food now, and then, but being outside helps cut down on costs.
More pasture means more self-feeding for chickens. This saves money in the long run.
6. Sustainable Poultry Farming
When you raise chickens on the pasture, it is good for the planet Earth. Chickens act naturally when they graze on the grass and leave droppings that help the soil.
This makes the soil strong and keeps water in it. Many kinds of plants can grow because of this land fertility.
If you use this method of pasture poultry farming and move the chickens from one place to another, it will stop soil erosion and reduce bad chemical run-off.
So, pastured poultry farming is better for the farm’s ecosystem.
7. Consumer Demanding Quality and Healthy Products
People want chickens raised in humane and eco-friendly ways. Pastured chickens solve meet this specific need.
Customers pay more for eggs and meat that consider animal welfare and sustainability.
Raising pasture chickens sets your brand apart from others. It builds a strong branding identity based on quality and sustainability.
Chickens raised on pasture mostly eat greens, bugs, insects, and other natural stuff. These chickens are high in quality and nutrition as compared to closed coop-raised chickens.
Cons of Raising Chickens on Pastures
Below are a few drawbacks of raising pastured chickens:
1. High Predator Attack Risk
Chickens on the pasture are open to predators. They need protection from foxes, hawks, raccoons, and other animals.
Electric fences, guard dogs, and mobile coops or tractors can help. But these methods take time and money. Predators are smart, so some losses may happen.
You must find the right balance between letting the chickens roam and keeping them safe.
2. Various Weather Problems
Chickens outside have advantages and disadvantages depending on the weather. People need to provide proper care for chickens in bad weather, like rain, heat, or cold..
In hot weather, chickens cannot lay eggs, get sick, even die. Also, in cold or wet weather, chickens can get frostbite or breathing problems, so check them often.
Farmers need mobile houses for the birds during bad weather. It requires significant time and financial investment. It is harder to keep chickens healthy outside during changing seasons.
3. Inconsistent Forage Quality
Your pasture is very important for the health of your chickens. If you don’t take care of it well, the pasture can become bare or not provide enough food for your birds.
This means that they cannot find extra food for themselves, and they have to buy more feed which costs more.
Ensure healthy pasture by planning land usage, like rotating chicken grazing to prevent grass depletion.
You will also need to plant some new grasses to ensure the soil has the right nutrients. Constant attention is necessary for this.
If it’s dry or cold, the pasture may lack for chickens. At such times, you will still need to give them some food, which makes it even more expensive.
4. Labor Cost is Higher
It is pretty laborious to raise chickens outdoors compared to conventional systems. Move coops, provide food and water, monitor for predators, and watch out for bad weather.
Consistent daily work is the cause. Automated systems manage everything for housed flocks. So, pastured systems need more manual labor.
Therefore, you or your staff will spend more time with the flock, which increases the cost of doing business.
When managing large numbers of chickens, it can quickly become too much without proper planning.
Many people don’t realize how much time and effort it takes to care of a pastured flock, especially during tough seasons.
5. Variable Egg and Meat Production
Chickens raised on pasture produce eggs and meat according to the seasons. Production levels can fluctuate because of this.
In winter, there are fewer eggs since the chickens can’t wander about as much as in summer.
The same applies to the meat birds, which take a long time to grow heavy when they can’t scratch about for their food or if they become disturbed by anything.
So, if you rely on a steady supply of eggs for your customers or meat for sale, this can be a problem.
You must plan to ensure that your flock stays healthy while also providing some extra feed during lean times.
Note: Raising chickens on pasture is good. Despite the positives, it is crucial to acknowledge that there are difficulties that need to be addressed.
You must plan, work, and spend. Many farmers feel the benefits outweigh these challenges. But, you should know the downsides too.
Best Chicken Breeds For Raising on Pasture
Here are a few amazing chicken breeds for farming on pastures:
1. Rhode Island Red
Purpose: Dual-purpose (eggs and meat)
Overview: Rhode Island Reds are a powerful breed known for their ability to find food and adapt to free-range environments. They are prolific layers of brown eggs and can also provide a decent meat yield.
Why It’s Great for Pasture: Rhode Island Reds are famously hardy in many climates, including the cold trappings of winter, and flourish when they are free to wander and forage about. They are also fairly docile, making them less challenging to manage.
2. Red Ranger / Freedom Ranger
Purpose: Meat bird
Overview: Red Rangers are a common choice for pastured meat production. The Red Ranger is a slow-growing alternative to the Cornish Cross, better adapted to free-range environments.
Why It’s Great for Pasture: Because of their muscular legs and more active nature, people can successfully tend to and raise them in pasture. Regular exercise and an active lifestyle help chickens develop stronger muscles and healthier meat.
3. Leghorn
Purpose: Egg-laying
Overview: Leghorns are superb in egg production and are also supposed to be the most efficient layers of large-sized white eggs to date. They are lightweight and active, which makes them well-suited for pasturing.
Why It’s Great for Pasture: Small birds are great foraging and roam in the open. Their smaller body size means that feeding them is cheap; they also produce a high number of eggs, thus being the most economical birds.
4. Plymouth Rock (Barred Rock)
Purpose: Dual-purpose (eggs and meat)
Overview: Barred Rocks are a sociable, hardy breed, that thrives in any atmospheric environment both as a layer and a meat bird. People know them for their steady egg production and ability to thrive in a variety of conditions.
Why It’s Great for Pasture: These chickens persistently forage and adapt to all weather, allowing efficient year-round pasturing in most regions of the U.S.
The Barred Rock chickens can also persistently forage and adapt to all weather conditions, so we should consider them separately.
5. Australorp
Purpose: Egg-laying
Overview: Originally from Australia, the Australorps are very prolific and lay the big brown eggs. This breed has a well-known reputation for being calm and gentle, making it a brilliant choice for yard and pasture systems.
Why it’s great for pasture: The Australian are very active foragers and can adapt to high and low temperatures well. They are also hardy, low-maintenance birds that keep laying even during the cold winter months.
6. Cornish Cross (with caution)
Purpose: Meat bird
Overview: Cornish is the most popular meat bird in the industry thanks to its speed and big breasts. However, in competition with the slow-growing breeds, this breed lacks adaptability.
Why it’s great for pasture: You can keep the Cornish Cross on pasture, but it needs careful management to prevent leg problems and health issues caused by their rapid growth. Farmers usually prefer to raise more slowly growing one’s like Red Ranger, which is well accepted in the pasture.
Factors to Consider in Raising Pastured Chickens (With Solutions)
To raise chickens on pasture, you are required to manage and plan well. It guarantees the health of birds and the productivity of land.
I’ve learned that paying close attention to the following factors makes all the difference for raising chickens successfully.
1. Climate and Weather
Why It Matters: Chickens are deceptively resilient animals, but while they are out on pasture, the weather may either make or break your business.
Extreme weather such as very hot, very cold, or heavy rain can stress your flock, making them unhealthy and less productive.
What to Do: You should first test out the ability of your pasture setup to adapt to your local climatic conditions.
Unlimited shade and water are necessary for chickens in hot areas, while windbreaks and portable barns are essential in cold regions.
In harsh weather, like ice or wet ground, you may have to give more food since chickens can’t find their own.
To avoid diseases and foot problems, have a well-drained pasture that doesn’t accumulate deep water or wet moisture.
2. Predator Management
Why It Matters: Foxes, falcons, raccoons, and stray dogs are the major predators that make it difficult for chickens to graze in the pasture.
The latter method is more confined, while the former offers less protection and poses a risk to chickens.
What to Do: The fence should provide the primary defense. Electric poultry fencing can beat efficiently ground predators.
For birds of prey such as hawks, netting in the entire area, or using natural protection by trees or shrubs, is a suitable solution.
Some farmers have found livestock guardian animals like dogs, geese, or even donkeys effective in deterring predators.
3. Pasture Management and Rotation
Why It Matters: Chickens are creatures that naturally look for food, but if they are in one place for too long, they will destroy the grass.
Should this occur, the land may lack plants, sunlight, or scattered nutrients.
What to Do: Using systematic harvesting can prevent the soil and animal health. It means, therefore, the relocation of the chickens to the next fresh pasture is made.
A mobile coop, better known as a chicken trailer, simplifies this process. Ask them to rest after your chickens spend some time in it rather than continue the correction on the rested land.
Rotating land frequently helps keep it healthy, reduces parasites, and allows for natural fertilization with animal waste.
4. Shelter and Housing
Why It Matters: Providing a shelter is essential for the health and safety of chickens in a pastured system.
What to Do: The team changed the coops used in Pasture management, similar to the tech models, to incorporate movable low technology.
Would it be ideal for the coops to have a transparent design, be movable and durable?
The house should have sufficient ventilation. Good house ventilation is important for both humans and birds. It helps with breathing and provides a good place for nesting.
Use animal-friendly home design for security and convenience.
5. Feed and Water Access
Why It Matters: Gardeners can find meat from chickens used in the pasture as a considerable source of their nutrients. To lay more eggs or grow properly for meat, chickens need additional food.
What to Do: Always provide a high-quality, well-balanced feed besides what they forage.
Chickens are omnivores, and while they’ll eat insects, grass, and seeds, their foraging alone won’t be enough to sustain their full health.
Have feed and water stations spread around the pasture. Clean, fresh water is a must, especially in hot weather.
You may need to move the feeders and waterers regularly to prevent trampling and overgrazing in one area.
6. Parasite and Disease Management
Why It Matters: Chickens that roam on pasture face exposure to various parasites and diseases that are not as prevalent in confined environments. Worms, mites, and lice can quickly spread if you’re not careful.
What to Do: Rotational grazing helps a lot in breaking parasite life cycles, but regular health checks are still necessary.
Dust baths, where chickens can clean themselves in loose soil or sand, are essential for keeping external parasites in check.
You can also have them use diatomaceous earth in their dusting areas. You can also deworm your flock on a regular schedule, or use natural preventatives to help control internal parasites.
Marek’s disease and Newcastle can be prevented in poultry through vaccinations.
Keeping the pasture dry and well-drained will help to prevent the risk of coccidiosis, which thrives in wet, dirty areas.
7. Breed Selection
Why It Matters: Not all chicken breeds are well-suited for pasture-based systems. Some breeds thrive when foraging, while others are less able to take advantage of the freedom or harsh conditions.
What to Do: To start, we need to decide which breeds to select based on their hardiness, foraging skills, and adaptability to pasture conditions.
For egg-laying, one may look at breeds like Leghorns, Australorps, and Rhode Island Reds. If you raise chickens just for meat, then slower-growing birds like the Red Ranger or the Freedom Ranger are better options; they will be capable of surviving in the pasture, unlike the fast-growing Cornish Cross, which can be sick if they are too active.
Dual-purpose breeds like Plymouth Rocks or Sussex give you the freedom to raise your chickens for even both eggs and meat. The best breeds are the ones that are well-suited to your climate and production goals.
8. Labor and Time Investment
Why It Matters: Poultry that is pastured can cost more labor than those that are confined. Monitor the flock more carefully, move them to new pasture areas, and deal with things like predators and changes in weather.
What to Do: First, spend more time taking the care of chickens. Moving shelters, refilling feeders and waterers, collecting eggs, and doing health checks all add up in time.
A close watch on pasture conditions and frequent movement of your flock are necessary too. Using tools like automated waterers, solar-powered electric fencing, or getting help from farm hands can be a helpful solution.
The creation of an efficient system for flock movement is crucial in labor management.
Step By Step Guide For Raising Pastured Chickens
To raise chickens on pasture, you need to plan well. Take your time to choose the suitable breed.
Manage pasture control predators and look after their health. This guide helps you, be it your first or later time.
1. Selection of the Right Chicken Breed For Pasturing
When raising chickens on pasture, choose breeds that are good foragers, hardy, and adapt to the outside. Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, and Plymouth Rocks are great for eggs and meat.
For meat, the Red Ranger grows slowly and is active and healthy. Sussex and Barred Rocks produce both eggs and meat well. Consider your flock’s purpose, climate, and space before choosing.
2. Designing a Rotating Pasture System
To keep chickens healthy, design a rotating pasture system. Divide the pasture into sections, and plan the grazing schedule. Chickens use each section for several days before being moved.
This allows the grass in used areas to regrow and helps prevent overgrazing. It also exposes the chickens to fresh feed.
3. Shelter and Housing for Pastured Chickens
Chickens need protection from predators and the weather. Select a coop that is mobile or stationary. Mobile coops are lighter and help in the rotational grazing system.
A chicken tractor is one such kind of coop. You can easily move mobile coops to fresh pasture regularly.
The coops must be secure so that they can defend against predators. Coops that are stationary and cannot be moved offer more robust protection.
Chickens require manual relocation to various areas. Mobile coops keep birds and pastures healthier. The coop should have the shade, roosts, and nesting boxes that chickens require.
4. Feed Management For Pastured Chickens
Even though chickens that are on the pasture eat a lot of grass and insects, they still require extra food for their nutrition. In winter or dry conditions, when there is little grass, it is important.
A good feed contains protein, vitamins, and minerals that promote growth and egg-laying. Select organic grains, layer pellets, or grower feed based on the age of the chicken.
Always give them plenty of clean water, particularly during hot weather, or else they will experience heat stress. Ensure the water containers are clean and accessible for the birds in the pasture.
5. Health and Biosecurity Practices
Chickens raised in pasture are healthier than those in confinement. However, they face health risks, such as lice, mites, worms, and coccidiosis. Use a good quality dewormer for your chickens.
Regular health checks and clean pens are vital for preventing issues. Vaccines protect against Marek and Newcastle.
Rotate pastures to break the parasite cycle. Follow biosecurity measures to stop disease spread. Always watch for sick signs and react fast.
6. Stopping Predator Attacks
Keeping pastured chickens safe from predators like foxes, raccoons, and hawks can be tough.
You need strong fencing like electric netting to keep them safe. Guard animals, such as dogs or geese, help deter predators too.
If there are problems, you could move them or use lights or noises to scare them off.
Always lock up the coop at night and use coop cameras for extra security. A guard animal can provide extra security.
7. Seasonal Care for Pastured Chickens
Give shade and water for the chickens when it is hot outside. Give them electrolytes in the water during heat waves.
If it is cold, build windproof shelters and insulated coops so that the chickens can keep warm.
Increase the feed that the chickens eat so they will generate more body heat. Provide chickens with shelter from the weather.
8. Processing and Harvesting (For Meat Chickens)
When growing chickens for meat, they need to be processed when they are 2-3 months old. Each state has its rules about how the processing should be done.
Farmers can do this on their farms sometimes. It is important to clean your tools and follow the regulations.
If you have never done chicken processing, attend a training or go to a local processor whom you would learn from.
9. Marketing and Selling Pastured Chicken Products
Eggs and meat from pasture-raised chickens can make money. Customers like these products since they are healthy and good for them.
Spread awareness about the benefits of pasture-raised eggs and meat. More nutrients, better treatment for animals.
You can sell them at farmer’s markets or online. Set prices that cover your costs and give you profit.
People are curious about the making of their food. Be clear about your farming practices. This will get you loyal customers who care about such matters.
Summary
Raising pastured chickens is much better for the birds and the land. Start by picking good breeds for meat or eggs.
Provide sufficient room for grazing and roosting. This keeps chickens healthy and happy. It is important to rotate the pasture to prevent overgrazing.
A safe place is necessary for protecting chickens from predators and weather. Provide additional food, but allow them to find their own as well.
They must always have water under the shade, especially when it’s hot. They need egg-laying and sleep spaces.
Check regularly for diseases or worms. Protect them either from fences and stray dogs. Adapt to the weather, like keeping them cool in summer and warm during winter.
Chickens on pasture improve soil and farms more than factory raising does. The chickens feed people healthy eggs and meat with no need of chemicals.
Farming this way works well if done carefully. The fast-growing market may pay good money to any farmer raising chickens on pasture.
