A major component of successful sustainable farming is figuring out what strategy works best in your climate for which animals. Pastured poultry is one of the most difficult and unpredictable aspects of our operation here at Shady Grove Ranch. Everything loves to eat chicken: people, owls, skunks, dogs, coyotes, snakes, foxes… Only the first on that list are paying customers! Young chickens also like to die when it rains, when the wind blows, when it gets too cold, and when it gets too hot. It’s not easy being a chicken!

As a result, we are continually searching for the best combination of nutrition and genetics (just like with our pigs and beef cows) to ensure minimal losses and nice plump, healthy meat chickens. Our first batch of broilers are in the brooder now, working on growing their big-bird feathers, and almost ready to be moved to pasture. We purchased two different types of feeds and birds from two different breeders, so we have four combinations of broilers to test which combination performs best for us here in East Texas. Matt keeps close track of mortality rate, unusual events, and feed consumption rate, and will compare the input costs to final harvest in August.

Despite the severe weather patterns we’ve been experiencing over the 18 months, it’s important to maintain our standards without reducing the quality of our products. Matt’s and Jerica’s engineering degrees really come in handy around here where it’s all about learning how to fit the pieces of the puzzle together!