Pasturing the Flock
*Table of Contents for Pasturing the Flock Section is at bottom of this page.*
The best thing we can do for our poulry flocks is: Put them on pasture! Wild relatives of our domesticated fowl roam freely in the outdoors, enjoying freedom of movement, sunshine, and opportunity to forage natural foods. They are not tightly confined to a crowded, artificial environment, dependent exclusively on artificial foods from our hands.
Even if you don't have pasture to offer your birds, you may well be able to rotate them over your lawns. They will be grateful, and will do much better than if confined to a static, denuded chicken run accumulating an ever-greater load of poultry droppings.
Not everyone who pastures his birds uses electronet, but for me, it is an essential management tool. If you do pasture your birds in electroneted pasture areas, you will need pasture shelters. There is lots of information on both subjects in this section.
Table of Contents for Pasturing the Flock Section
- “Managing Poultry on Pasture with Electronet”
- “Designing a Pasture Shelter”
- “Building a Pasture Shelter”
- “Going Mobile at the Small End of the Scale”
- “Mobile Shelter: The Classic Polyface Model”
- “Chicken Tractor: A Tribute to Andy Lee”
- “Pasture Shelters for Market Layer Flocks”
- “A Drown-Proof Waterer”