Bart Saelen and his wife Maryann own and run O’Naturel farm, a small-scale agricultural business centered around 250 laying hens that produce about 200 eggs/day. They follow a model of rotational grazing pioneered by U.S. farmer Joel Salatin and which is also used by Richard Perkins of Ridgedale Permaculture in Sweden.
They originally moved the chickens everyday however found that they would simply trample the grass which wasn’t good as the chicken poop should fall in between the leaves of the grass for maximum impact in returning to the soil. So the couple acquired some cows which are moved everyday and mow the pasture before the chickens follow suit.
The chickens are introduced to the field 4-5 days after the cows have been moved, which gives time for fly larvae and other bugs to hatch from the cow dung which the chickens can then use as chicken food. This also means less parasite problems for the cows. Check out their nice little operation below for some more great insight…
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