Re: Pasturing chickens

["Gerry Hawkes" <ghawkes@sover.net>]

This is most helpful.  I may not be able to do all that you suggest, but will certainly aim toward a variety of plantings. 

We have been totally free ranging our chickens on worn out pasture and just confining them at night for their own safety.  They have been free to wander from the pasture to a wet wooded area of alders and willows and actually spend about half their time in the wooded area.  

After years of thinking about upgrading the pasture, I am finally getting to it and was thinking of reseeding to a mix of clovers come spring, but thought I would ask around first.  My definition of best is multifaceted, meaning what is relatively easy to establish and maintain, builds up the soil and provides good nutrition for the chickens.

Speaking of using peas for building the soil, I have been using perennial Lathco flatpea to rebuild soil on another area of hillside pasture that would only grow sparse grass before, but now grows flatpea so densely that it is difficult to walk through.  A few years ago I did a non-chemical vegetation control demonstration project for Green Mountain Power under their transmission lines in Waitsfield and had excellent success planting flatpea in stands so thick that woody brush would not regrow.

About the most exciting and gruesome action I have ever seen was when we (meaning the chickens, my daughter and I) discovered a nest of mice in the winter chicken house.  

Watching chickens sure is a fascinating activity.  Back about 14 years ago, when our son was only 2, our whole family was sitting on the deck one Sunday afternoon just watching the chickens.  We were sitting so still that a spider spun down from the overhang right down onto my son's head.  Immediately he recited,  "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curves away" .  As you can see we had not taught him cheese making (nor did we teach him this version of the nursery rhyme).

Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to send me this information.

- Gerry

ghawkes@biketrack.com





-----Original Message-----
From: Claude Genest <genest@together.net>
To: permaculture <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Date: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 12:09 PM
Subject: Re: Pasturing chickens


    Hi Gerry,
    
    I also live in Vermont,  and use Chickens extensively in my PC setup, so felt I should reply to your query at length.
    
    Not quite sure what parameters you want to use to get "the best", but I can share some PC ideas to help you get "optimal" forage.
    
    The difference is one looks only at output/yield (Most/best/highest), the other considers inputs 
    ( upkeep/maintenance/work/investment/resource use/energy loss etc).
    
    Too often, a reductionistic understanding of "best" leads to the notion that feeding your animals lots of the best and only the best, would be best - but in fact, what they need, want and left to their own devices choose is a diverse diet from the wide range of fabulously nutritious plants and grasses that grow so well here. Keep in mind that our State flower is the Red Clover, 
    ( would you believe it's not a native !?)  try to NOT grow that in Vermont, and what could be better than fresh dandelion greens, nettles, plantain, chicory, rye grass, and other assorted "weeds"?
    
    The other thing is, what's "best" in May, ain't necessarily what's best in August.
    By simply observing my totally free range chickens ( worth the price of admission alone) I've noticed that they like different plants at different times, and that their diet is by no means restricted to green material,  they do love their bug proteins, and of course grit, not to mention kitchen scraps, orchard gleanings, compost piles and notably frogs, who seem to bring out the worst of their raptor lineage, I mean they go  beserk !
    
    Another thought is, I get the impression that when we use the word "pasture" we immediately conjure up images of flat treeless, and usually degraded former cow pasture. May I suggest you look into Permanent Chicken tractors where we use the PERMACULTURE of tree crops ? 
    
    In my set-up, I ring the chickens with highly nutritious edible, nitrogen fixing, hardy, windbreak/protection/barrier plants like Siberian Pea, Russian Olive, Buffaloberry, Black Locust, and some wild rose as well - Also interplant lillies and comfrey etc etc.
    
    Finally, if the land is really degraded, build up the soil with a mix of  field peas, oats, and Vetch. Peas come up first, fix nitrogen for the oats, which provide support for the peas, the vetch pulls the whole lot down. Works great, tons of food for the chickens too.
    
    Good luck,
    
    Claude Genest
    
    "The Greatest Fine Art of the future will be the making of a comfortable living from a small piece of land."
    - Abraham Lincoln 
    Green Mountain Permaculture : Solutions, Sustainability, Sustenance.... 
    
    
        
        From: "Gerry Hawkes" <ghawkes@sover.net>
        Reply-To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
        Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2001 12:29:21 -0600
        To: "permaculture" <permaculture@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
        Subject: Pasturing chickens
        
        
    
    
        Does anyone have suggestions for the best forage mix to plant for pasturing chickens?
        
        Gerry Hawkes
        Woodstock, Vermont
        
        ghawkes@biketrack.com
        
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