Misconception #2: Thats a big chicken!

We hear all sorts of things when it comes to the size of our chickens. Here is our explanation:

 

40 years ago it took a poultry farmer 12 weeks to grow a 4-6 lb chicken. The houses were obviously simple (no fans, curtain sided...) and the big thing: HAND FED! Trucks were brought in with the feed in individual bags, 100lbs each and it was put out by hand. Being that there was no computer system to run the feed, or control the temperature or lights the chickens were obviously not in as stable an environment as they are now housed in today.

6 years ago when our farm was raising a 4lb chicken, it took 36 days. Now, some may say it is all because there is some magical growing stuff in the feed... but really its the fact that farming has just grown and become even more efficient! 

Not to mention the fact that through the years they have managed to pick the best qualities and breeding them to get a larger chicken than back in the day. Just like people do dogs, cats and even plants... 

I LOVE this quote!

Hope you all have a great week! Check back next Monday!

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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Meet Your Farmer...

My reason for writing here is to simply share the story of our farm, debunk a few myths about farming and help bridge the gap between producers and consumers! Obviously, I can only speak for our farm and I may occasionally cite other websites or share articles from other places. This is just our story as a first generation farming family!

Here are a few pictures of our farm...

 

 

Brett the day he got his haybine.

I have decided to create a series based on common misconceptions regarding poultry farms as we see them... check back on Mondays!

 

Thanks guys!!

The Littles

Hello! I'm Jessica Little, Wife to Brett and Mother to Luke. We live in a little town in North Carolina. I met Brett when I was 19 and instantly fell in love with him and his farm. Brett was 23 and had graduated from NC State with a degree in Livestock management and had built 4 broiler houses. For those not familiar with that term, we have 4 poultry houses that we grow approximately 500,00 chickens per year. Brett had 3 cows when we met and within the last 5 years we have grown to 30 head. I prefer cows to the chickens. I would love to go back to school to learn livestock management and anything bovine related, but that will have to wait. Until then I am happy to stay at home and raise our son, and child/ children that follow. I enjoy tagging along to feed hay, or helping sort the cows or anything that gets me out on the farm really... although with a 14 mo that proves difficult sometimes. Last week L rode with his daddy in the tractor while I rode on the drill to even out the seed.

A family that farms together, stays together!

I previously worked as a birth doula and loved every minute and will work towards doing that again once we are done having our children and they get a little older! I joke all the time that my new ambition in life is to be a cow midwife. I am not passionate about a lot, but I sure love cows and birth! Some of my other interests are DIY projects and crafting. I don't have a lot of free time any more and I will be honest I really should have a clean house, but I would much rather work on a craft than do laundry!

Who wouldn't?! What would you rather do instead of laundry or any other chore that you dislike?

Have a great week!