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  • From: "Marlin Burkholder" <glenecofarm AT planetcomm.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.metalab.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Use of chickens to enrich soil.
  • Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2002 20:22:38 -0700

Hi Franklin,
 
I keep around 50 chickens in a 10' x 12' trailer mounted range shelter surrounded by 225' of electrified poultry netting in my 2 acre market garden during the winter months.  Moved about once weekly, I can pretty much cover the entire garden area with the foraging chickens til spring.  In addition to making their little contribution to garden fertility, they do a decent job of breaking down old mulch and garden residue, and cleaning up overwintering pest insects, especially grubs.  Since I started parking my chicken shelter along my raspberry rows for a few weeks every winter, I have seen a noticeable reduction in Japanese and Colorado potato beetle pressure during the summer months, enough so to make it unnecessary to spray or spend much time trying to physically remove these pests.  I like to start around 75 new chicks in December, get them out to the garden in a pasture poultry pen in March, and add them to the flock in late April or early May just as they begin to lay.  Then as the garden and adjacent hay field begins to really take off,  they all go out to the cow pasture behind the house to scatter cow piles and to do their little thing to build up pasture fertility, to reduce the cattle fly pressure, and to feed the red tailed hawks. Typically I begin the season with around 125-130 hens and end up the season with around 100 after the summer's predation and hot weather casualties.  I then sell off or eat the oldest half of my flock and carry the rest over winter to keep my household and a few dedicated "on farm" egg customers supplied until the new bunch kicks in with fresh pullet eggs once the new farmers' market season is up and rolling.
 
Marlin Burkholder
Virginia
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 5:18 AM
Subject: [market-farming] Use of chickens to enrich soil.

    Hi all...do any of you use chickens to enrich your soil...and if so...how do you use them?  Franklin
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  • Use of chickens to enrich soil., Franklin W. Davis, 08/13/2002
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • Re: Use of chickens to enrich soil., Marlin Burkholder, 08/28/2002

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