Day Range Poultry:
Every Chicken Owner's Guide to Grazing Gardens and Improving Pastures
Including the Management of Breeder Flocks, Egg Handling, Incubating Secrets,
Hatchery Efficiency, Building Shelters, Marketing, Advertising, Soils Regeneration,
Processing Poultry Humanely and Efficiently,
and Much, Much, Much More!
Table Contents
Recipe for Day Range Poultry
The Difference Between Day Range Poultry and Chicken Tractor
Foreword by Gene Logsdon
Introduction, by Tim Shell
Chapter 1: Why Raise Poultry on Pasture?
Why People Pay Premium for Home Grown-Food
Zero Mortality: A Compelling Design
FREE Ranging or DAY Ranging?
Chapter Two: How Day Ranging Got Started
Free-Range Turkey History
Chapter 3: Day Range Poultry as a Business
Are you a part-time or full-time poultry grower?
Planning your farm future
How to Get Folks to Buy from You
Selling Live Poultry & Livestock
How Else to Promote Products?
Will Direct Mail Advertising Work for You?
What about Competition?
Marketing & Business Management
To Insure or Not to Insure - Legal Ramifications
Chapter 4: Consider a Poultry Producers’ Cooperative
Grower Guidelines and Standards
Chapter 5: Designing Day Range Shelters
Design Factors for Turkey Day Range Shelters
Construction Materials
Chapter 6: Egg-ribusiness
Grading, Sorting, and Storing Eggs
Adopt a Hen - Increase Egg Sales
Hens Eating Eggs and How to Stop Them
Remedies for Hen Egg Destroying – Don’t Delay
Common Egg Problems You Might See
Fertile vs Infertile Eggs for People Food
Cooking with Eggs – Be an Egg-spert
Be Egg-stra Safe!
Chapter 7: Day Range: Fencing the Flock Not the Field
Fencing Materials
Tips and Tricks to Installing Poultry Netting
Field Waterers
Feed Troughs & Range Rafts
Layaway Shelters for Laying Hens
What Kind of Layers?
Day Range Broilers
Day Range Turkeys
Shelters, Mini-barns, & Hoop-houses
Catching Birds for Processing
Turkey Shelter Systems
Multi-cropping Poultry with Vegetables & Hay
On-Farm Research
Chapter 8: Flock Management
1. Broiler Flock Management (Meat Production)
2. Layer Flock Management (Egg Production)
3. Turkey Flock Management (Meat Production)
4. Turkey Breeder Flock (Next Generation)
The Sweet Grass History
Turkey Breeder Pens
Turkey Nest Boxes
Trap Nest Boxes
Record Keeping & Tracking Who’s Who in Your Flock
Turkey Genetic Management
Turkey Egg Production and Natural Mating
Selection of Turkey Breeding Stock
Winter Care of Turkey Breeders
5. Broiler Breeder Flock (Next Generation)
Chapter 9: An On-Farm Hatchery
Additional Income from Incubating
Local or Regional Chick Supply
Compatible with Other Farm Chores
Healthier Poultry and Bio-security
Genetic Diversity
Incubating Eggs & Incubator Basics
The Incubation Room
Collecting Eggs to Hatch
Holding Eggs Before Incubation
Batch & Hatch – Setting Eggs
Monitoring the Incubating Eggs
Weight Loss Monitoring
The Hatch – Here They Come!
Causes of Low Hatch Rates
Suggestions for Healthy Hatching
Problems with the Hatch
Chapter 10: Ordering & Brooding Chicks
Broiler Chicks
Layer Chicks
Turkey Poults
How to Design and Build a Proper Floor Brooder
Battery Brooders
Receiving and Caring for Chicks and Poults
Chick Feed & Grit
Chicken Whispering
Chapter 11: Feeds, Feeding, and Water
Pasture Layers 16% protein
Pasture Broilers 18% protein
Pasture Broilers Starter 20% protein
Turkey Starter 28% protein
Turkey Grower 22% protein
Nutritional Supplements
Water and Dealing With Coccidiosis
1. Clean Water
2. Clean Bedding
3. The Double Whammy — Out of Food and Water
4. Sunlight and Coccidia
Symptoms of Coccidia
Treatment of Coccidia
Chapter 12: Pasture & Forage Management
No-Till Market Gardening
Harvesting and Storing Water
Chapter 13: What You Don’t Know About Electric Fence Can Be Shocking
Know the Theory - Understand the Flow
Electric Fence Testers
You’re Grounded!
Guidelines for Grounding Your System
Testing Your Ground
Connecting Two or More Fences
Chapter 14: Processing Poultry
1. Smallest – for One or Two People
2. Small – A Four-person Processing Facility
Detailed Description of Processing
3. USDA Inspected Facility
4. Portable Processing Unit
Processing Turkeys
Chapter 15: Predator Prevention & Control
Andy’s Hunting Advice
Turkey Breeds versus Varieties
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Why raise poultry on pasture?
Q: What are the real benefits of pasture poultry?
Q: Are there feed savings with pasture poultry?
Q: How much can I earn with pasture poultry?
Q: What does it cost to raise poultry on pasture?
Q: What does it cost to process poultry?
Q: What methods are used in pasture poultry?
Q: What are the advantages of day range?
Q: What are the disadvantages of day range?
Q: What are the advantages of the pasture pens and chicken tractors?
Q: What are the disadvantages of pasture pens and chicken tractors?
Q: What are the advantages of free range?
Q: What are the disadvantages of free range?
Q: Why did the chicken cross the pasture?
Resource Guide
Poultry Producers & Equipment Dealers
Nutritional Supplements & Soil Amendments
Associations to Join
World Wide Web & Internet Resources
Periodicals and Internet Discussion Groups
Other Supplies & Equipment:
Bibliography
Index