Fertilizer

[TrenaryDucks]

If you had Tyson chicken operation nearby that needed to be rid of a few hundred tons of litter, you'd be golden.

I have a couple tons of it.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I have a couple tons of it.

Now thats the way to apply chicken $h*t,I new we were doing it wrong down south

 

[TrenaryDucks]

Now thats the way to apply chicken *t,I new we were doing it wrong down south

You guys have better weather for pastured poultry. For five months out of the year this is what it looks like:

 

[Jay4200]

You guys have better weather for pastured poultry. For five months out of the year this is what it looks like:

Are those "chicken tractors"? I've seen chicken tractors advertized on Craigs List a hundred times, but never had any idea what they were. Pardon my ignorance, but we only farm rocks up my way...

JayC

 

[TrenaryDucks]

Are those "chicken tractors"? I've seen chicken tractors advertized on Craigs List a hundred times, but never had any idea what they were. Pardon my ignorance, but we only farm rocks up my way...

JayC

A "chicken tractor" is more of a moveable open floored large cage that you raise meat birds in. These units are generally 10' W x 10' L x 2' H or so, and get moved to fresh ground once or twice a day.

What you see here are "mobile hen houses" or "eggmobiles". People often run these behind cows, sheep, and goats out on pasture. The chickens will pick through the manure piles and eat the undigested grain, flies and maggots. They will also chase down any other edible insects and eat tender grass. This will often result in a 20% reduction in food costs. Inside these units are roosts for nighttime and eggboxes for the hens to lay in. My operation also uses one acre of electric poultry netting and a livestock guardian dog for protection.

I was actually serious about using chickens to offset costs for fertilizing fields.

 

[foreman Etexas]

A "chicken tractor" is more of a moveable open floored large cage that you raise meat birds in. These units are generally 10' W x 10' L x 2' H or so, and get moved to fresh ground once or twice a day.

What you see here are "mobile hen houses" or "eggmobiles". People often run these behind cows, sheep, and goats out on pasture. The chickens will pick through the manure piles and eat the undigested grain, flies and maggots. They will also chase down any other edible insects and eat tender grass. This will often result in a 20% reduction in food costs. Inside these units are roosts for nighttime and eggboxes for the hens to lay in. My operation also uses one acre of electric poultry netting and a livestock guardian dog for protection.

I was actually serious about using chickens to offset costs for fertilizing fields.

I was thinking that maybe it didnt have a bottum in it and you just park it and they fertilize,then you pull it up and so on until you get the pastures done....

 

[Briar Hill Brittanys]

Uhm.....all this talk of chicken tractors made me think of this song by Ozark Mountain Daredevels, "Chicken Train".

Chicken train, runnin all day,
Chicken train, take the chickens away,
Chicken train runnin all day cain't get off cain't get on
Chicken train take the chickens away.........................

Now I've got that crazy tune in my head. :confused2:

This post qualify for (ahem) fertilizer?

 

[TrenaryDucks]

I was thinking that maybe it didnt have a bottum in it and you just park it and they fertilize,then you pull it up and so on until you get the pastures done....

Some mobile hen houses or eggmobiles don't have solid floors, but rather wire or expanded metal floors. In my case, the units are also their winter housing.

 

[AKfish]

Paid $744/ton last year for 20-11-11-6(sulfur) delivered. I'll gladly pay $510/ton this year!!!

AKfish

 

[jenkinsph]

Paid $744/ton last year for 20-11-11-6(sulfur) delivered. I'll gladly pay $510/ton this year!!!

AKfish

We use to buy it delivered and spread by the ton in medium duty fertilizer trucks from the local coop. Now I have to buy it in 40# sacks at a LOT higher price. So $744 sounds good to me.