Common Misconception #1: Factory vs. Family

When talking about a farm, size simply does not matter! Frequently we are lumped in to the factory farm category just because we raise a large number of poultry. However,we are family owned and operated.

To learn more about this and more, I urge you to check out Common Ground!

 Although, we are considered a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) because from the time the chickens are placed (1 day old) until they are caught they are housed. Let me explain a little about what that means for the chickens exactly.

These are the chickens we raise, however we are currently on a break so we didn't have any to photograph. I used a photo from here.

Each house has a computer system that monitors and controls every fan, curtain, sensor, feed line, you name it, it is monitored! Each computer is linked to an alarm system that will call to let us know if something needs to be fixed. The house is sectioned by "curtains" into 3 sections. When the chickens are small and need more heat they are in 1/2 house. As they grow the curtains are raised to lengthen the house to 3/4 and eventually whole house. However, they are always free to roam the length of the house that is open. The use of migration fence is to keep them from overcrowding each other and to keep the house evenly distributed.  The chickens we raise are what you call broilers, and are raised to approximately 6.5 lbs. Our flocks are typically placed for 48-52 days. Within that time the chickens are kept safe from predators, being fed and watered while being kept at the perfect temperature. We typically get 5 flocks per year, with a 2 week "break" between being placed back. During that time everything is cleaned. The litter gets removed, the walls and fans get washed down and blown off, the floor gets leveled, waterlines get flushed, and all new feed is ran. 

While I understand from the outside looking in, our poultry houses may look like a factory farm. They are large, automated and efficient. You can thank modern technology for that but it doesn't change the fact that the chickens are being cared for by a family that is dependent upon the chickens well-being.

Check back next Monday for another common misconception about poultry houses!

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