Poultry Your Way - Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems ...

MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES
PASTURE: DAILY MOVE PENS
Problems noted by those who have used the Salatin pens include:
• Low roofs can trap heat and kill birds
• Birds crowd in corners for shade (can cause suffocation)
• Messy pens due to overstocking
• Non-uniform bird sizes result from uneven foraging
Recommended modifications to make pen movement easier and to create more shade for the birds include
covering the entire roof to create more shade, adding wings that close at night for protection, raising the roof to
three or even four feet to increase air flow, and adding wheels to make the pen easier to move (Lee and Foreman,
2002). Another common design modification involves shrinking the pens to accommodate small flocks. If you
do so, be sure to provide adequate pen space, particularly during hot summers, since the pens don’t have fans or
other reliable ventilation (Manitoba Agriculture and Food, 2002).
Layer pens and the “eggmobile.” Salatin has successfully retrofitted his broiler pens to accommodate laying flocks
by adding nesting boxes and modifying the roof to make egg collection possible. The nesting boxes are 1 ft by 1
ft by 1 ft each, made from pressure-treated lumber and the boxes are filled with nesting material. A 3- to 4-inch tall
board across the front of the boxes prevents bedding loss when hens scratch. All of the boxes hang from one 6-ft
piece of lumber that attaches to the back of the pen under the enclosed roof. Salatin stocks the same 10 ft by
12 ft by 2 ft pens with 40 to 50 hens (2.5 square feet per bird). Salatin also developed what he calls the
“eggmobile” — a larger, sturdier, portable hen house for use on pasture. The eggmobile is 12 ft by 20 ft and
accommodates 100 hens (2.5 square feet per bird). It is equipped with nesting boxes, feed trays, and waterers.
Birds have unlimited access to range (they are free-range) and the house is moved every two to three days behind
a cattle herd.
Turkey pens. Turkeys can be successfully grown and finished on pasture using the Salatin-style daily move pens.
One producer who uses the Salatin method for his turkeys has found that the 10 ft by 12 ft by 2 ft pens allow
adequate space and foraging material for about 30 turkeys. This same grower experimented with taller pens to
accommodate the bigger birds, but found 3-ft high pens too cumbersome to move and noted that turkeys do as
well (and become a little more “subservient”) in 2-ft high pens.
Feed and Water. Salatin’s feeding regimen for brooders, broilers, and layers is described below.
Brooders. Salatin encourages baby chicks to develop their foraging skills early on by supplementing high protein
feed (which he formulates and mixes on the farm) with fresh grass clippings, dandelion blossoms, ragweed seeds,
or vegetable matter in season. Chicks are given access to these fresh greens for only 10 to 20 minutes to prevent
overconsumption of what Salatin calls “low octane” feed. He also feeds creek sand and aggregate to introduce
silica and grit, rather than commercially manufactured grit. By feeding sand and aggregate, which contain bits of
roots and bugs, along with hay chaff, Salatin says the chicks learn to scratch in search of food while consuming
a diversity of minerals. Linear feeders and waterers are used. Salatin advises providing enough feed and water
space to accommodate 35 to 50 percent of the flock at one time.
Broilers. More than 80 percent of Salatin’s prepared feed consists of corn and roasted soybeans. Roasting is said
to preserve the natural fat and oil content of the beans and more important, is necessary to destroy anti-nutritional
compounds. In addition, Salatin feeds crimped oats, fishmeal, kelp meal, feed grade limestone (calcium), and
Fertrell’s “Nutri-Balancer.” By adding the balancer to his ration, Salatin says the birds taste better, gain well, and
produce a more balanced manure that is good for pasture quality (see Resources under Feed and Diet and
Suppliers).
Poultry Your Way 79
MANAGEMENT
ALTERNATIVES