Moving the portable pens

Chickens raised in pens on the pasture instead of in confinement are called pastured poultry. The pastured poultry method leads to healthier chicken and seems to be a more humane method than confinement. Joleen Marquardt of Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, is starting up a pastured poultry business on the family farm thanks to a Western SARE Farmer/Rancher grant. According to Marquardt, the pastured poultry method of raising chickens is prevalent in the East. She wants to show that a sustainable chicken operation is viable for the West.

The Marquardts will raise the chickens first in brooding pens and then in portable pens on the pasture. The 15 ft by 8 ft pens are made of PVC pipe and chicken wire, with about a third of the pen covered in canvas to protect the chickens from the weather and sun. These pens can be moved by hand. The Marquardts will butcher the chickens on their own farm and sell them in the area. During the project, they will be distributing flyers to businesses that have expressed interest in helping them sell their fresh fryers. The Marquardts hope to sell 5,000 fryers during the season.

A view of the Marquardt's pastured poultry pens	Pens lined up in the pasture
The Marquardts are also conducting research on the ability of the grass to be grazed every year, the number of pounds of manure a chicken produces in a day, and the number of acres required to produce a certain number of pounds of chicken. Their findings will be published by the Extension service and forwarded to ATTRA. They will also welcome schools and 4-H groups to the farm for demonstrations.