Abbott Farms - Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable Poultry Management

 

When we first started with chickens, we determined we wanted a sustainable system to produce both meat and eggs.  When we added turkeys later on, we followed the same model.

 

First of all, certain breeds of chickens have been developed for the commercial egg and meat industry.  These breeds are available at local hatcheries for you to raise, but since they were specifically bred for commercial, industrial production, you will find they will not be able to breed naturally and reproduce to keep your system going without buying new chicks to replenish your flock.

 

We did our research before starting with poultry.  Our main resource was "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens", which I still think is the best resource for sustainable chicken raising.  Based on our research we chose to raise a dual-purpose or "old fashioned" breed of chicken.  There are several choices, we chose Buff Orpingtons for several reasons, one of which was a calm temperament.

 

Initially we bought 50 chicks directly from the hatchery.  We bought them "straight-run", which means as hatched - approximately 50-50 male and female.  This is the most sustainable way because people want only females for egg laying breeds and only males for meat birds and the rest get routinely destroyed at hatcheries.

 

We raised them all together until the pullets (young hens) began to lay around 5 - 6 months.  At that point we saved out what we considered the best roosters based on temperament and whatever we wanted in our flock - enough for one rooster for around 8 hens, which for us was four roosters.  The rest we separated out and raised until they seemed large enough for butchering, around 8 months.  We butchered our own for the first time in the fall of 2023.

 

Each spring we either hatch our own eggs or buy replacement chicks from the hatchery,  When we buy from a hatchery, we get 25 straight run and 25 more just males. We separate out the pullets (young hens) in the fall and put a colored band on their legs designating which year they were hatched. The pullets are integrated into the laying flock at that point. We take out old hens that are three years old and butcher them with the extra roosters.

 

Our turkeys are heritage breed birds that can naturally reproduce and lay eggs. We currently have Narragansetts, and plan to hatch our own replacement turkeys. We have found that older turkeys do not get tough like older chickens, so it really doesn't matter how old they are when they are butchered.

 

It has been our experience that you have to cook older chicken differently, but after you learn how, we have been able to have all the chicken we want and all the eggs, with plenty left over to sell, without ever raising meat birds or production laying hens.  Cooking tips will be found under our "cooking" tab.

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