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Mortality and Predation, cont.
When buying stock from hatcheries, remember:
 Choose
a hatchery nearby.
Arrange
for overnight deliveries.
Get
guarantees from the hatchery that chicks arriving dead or obviously
weakened by stress will be replaced at no cost.
Realize
that airline companies may further curtail the already limited
flights that ship live chicks as mail and seek high-quality hatcheries
within a day’s drive.
Learn
as much as possible about the parent stock.
It’s common, especially among inexperienced pen producers,
for birds to be crushed or injured when field pens are moved to
a new stand of grass. This is less of
a concern for producers using one of the systems that do not require
moving the housing so frequently. As producers become more experienced,
and as a flock matures, crushing becomes less of a concern because
the birds become accustomed to frequent movement of their pens and
learn to walk with them.
The other major factor in premature loss of birds is predation.
Flocks raised in a field pen system tend to be safer from daytime
predators such as dogs, hawks and the occasional eagle because they
are securely enclosed. Nocturnal predators such as raccoons, foxes,
coyotes and skunks, however, will exploit even the smallest opening
in the pen. Even most experienced producers say they have lost a
few birds.
Other range poultry producers, on the other hand, are much more
vulnerable to avian predation. Alabama Day Range producer Charles
Ritch, for example, says hawks and owls are “a big, big problem,
and they have been ever since I started.” He pegs his predation
losses at about 5 percent each season.
Most producers expect some premature loss from each flock despite
working to reduce mortality. To
minimize loss:
Provide
sufficient warmth, water and feed, especially in the crucial first
days after you receive your shipment of chicks.
Place
pens well inside pastures rather than along wooded fence lines
because many predators will be reluctant to travel across open
territory.
Consider
installing electric fences or using a trained dog.
Check
the ongoing dialogue among producers subscribed to the Internet
listservs listed in “Resources,”.
On-Farm Processing
Consider slaughtering and processing arrangements early on because
commercial processors that handle small numbers of birds are hard
to find. If you want to sell through grocery stores or to restaurants,
you must process in a government-approved facility, but those who
sell directly to the public may be able to slaughter on farm.
Tom Delahanty, the New Mexico farmer, cautions that a fledgling
poultry producer be sure to have lots of help with strong stomachs.
“You can’t do it alone, and if any members of your
family or people you hire are going to have a problem with the pace
of the work or with killing, plucking and gutting chickens, you’d
better know about it before you ever get started in the business.”
For a typical on-farm dressing operation, you will need:
Kill
cones
A scalder
(to loosen feathers) purchased or constructed from a stainless
steel drum and a two-burner gas cook stove
A plucker
to remove feathers
Stainless
steel tables for eviscerating
Running
water for washing
Plastic
tubs or a stainless steel tank to chill carcasses prior to packaging
Supplies
such as sharp knives, ice and bags
Joel Salatin and his family continue to process nearly 10,000
broilers each year outside, a practice that has worked well for
other farmers. Using equipment similar to what’s listed above,
Salatin works on a concrete slab beneath a simple corrugated fiberglass
roof. Salatin’s waste water is then pumped to the farm’s
vineyards for nutrient-rich irrigation.
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