Introductions

I think it's time you met some of the individuals involved in our chicken project.

First in our list of contestants is the Red Ranger developed from American stock at S&G Poultry, a hatchery in Alabama. It is said to be a versatile bird and an excellent forager.

Next, we have the industry favorite, the Cornish Rock Cross. This hybrid was developed for rapid growth and is the breed behind almost all of the meat available in this country. Ours comes from Sunnyside Hatchery right here in Wisconsin.

These birds are known as Freedom Rangers. They were hatched by J.M. Hatchery from parent stock that was developed in France for the Label Rouge program, a label requiring farmers to follow strict production standards to achieve high quality meat. Most of Europe now uses this breed in its alternative poultry markets.




Next, meet the Silver Cross, perhaps the first alternative available to farmers. It is offered by several hatcheries now. We got ours from Noll's Hatchery in Pennsylvania. I would say it is the most independent minded bird we are raising.

These two chickens were also developed by S&G Poultry and are known as Super Dixies. They are also red broilers designed to do well on pasture, and are clearly very curious birds.

Our sixth and final breed, the K-22 from Moyer's Hatchery in Pennsylvania, is described as a hearty bird with resistant genetics coming from an Italian line of chickens.

Although there is no swimsuit competition we will be weighing them weekly along with the feed they eat, monitoring their health and, of course, watching their behavior on pasture. May the best chicken win!

In Search Of...

It all began because I was so dissatisfied with the chicken breed raised for meat in this country. It has been bred to grow so quickly that it's muscle growth outpaces the growth of its bones and organs leaving it very vulnerable to health problems. Temple Grandin, the well known animal behaviorist responsible for improving conditions for livestock across the country, has called this bird's very genetics inhumane. Most disturbing for me is that it no longer even acts like a real chicken.


In the last couple years hatcheries have begun to offer alternative breeds that will perform better on pasture. In my quest for a better bird I decided to run a trial raising a representative of each type of alternative side by side on pasture. I asked two other farms to join me in raising the same breeds in their pastured poultry systems which are different from the method we use on this farm. The USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant program is providing partial funding for this project.

By the end of the season I hope to know whether an alternative breed will work in a pasture system and which breed is the best match for our farm.

Field Trip

Yesterday's pasture walk was a success despite the threat of rain. A number of farmers came out to hear about the chicken breed trial and the low-input pasture renovation my project partner is undertaking with the help of her lambs, goat kids and chickens. Pasture walks are a great way for farmers to gather on each other's farms, see first-hand what is happening in the pastures, and trade ideas and experiences.

Jane is running the chicken breed trial simultaneously on her farm so we'll be able to see if the breeds perform uniformly in our very different pastured poultry systems. She uses what is known as the Day Range system and moves her floorless chicken pens daily within a fenced enclosure.

Each of her breeds is housed in its own pen within a separate fence so she can measure how much feed the birds are eating each day just as we are doing on our farm. We just have preliminary results so far. I'll be anxious to see how the breeds compare when all the data is in.

Her rooster was kind enough to join in the discussion as well, offering us his own valuable insights.