I have a conversation with Chrislyn Wood, DVM, about the threat of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and pasture raised flocks. Dr. Wood is a veterinarian with USDA APHIS and she is involved first hand with HPAI monitoring and response e

Pastured Poultry Talk Meetup

Dec 28th, 2021 5m 51s

I'm still here. Plus, I'd like to invite you to attend APPPA's Professional Pastured Poultry Conference (https://apppa.org/Conference) from January 16-18, 2022. At this year's conference, I am teaming up with John Suscovich and Luke Groce to h

The Days of Wholesale Pastured Chickens are Over

Mar 13th, 2021 1h 1m

Greg Gunthorp joins the show to talk about his decision to step away from pasture raised chickens. Covid plays into the story, of course, but the challenges started long before this virus came to be front page news. We also dig into some proce

Turning a 20 year chicken hobby into a farm with Cynthia Capers

Feb 9th, 2021 1h 4m

Cynthia Capers, Heniscity Farm in Tennessee, shares her 20+ year journey from hobby chicken keeper to poultry farmer. Twenty years ago, the sight of six Black Australorps brought tears to her eyes. Today, she's serving her community through egg

Small Layer Flock Profitability

Nov 28th, 2020 56m 48s

I answer a listener question, "How can I make my small laying hen flock more profitable?" With feedback from the community, insights from The Fighting Farmer, and personal experience, we dive deep into ways to prosper from your small flock of l

Perdue Acquires Pasturebird

Oct 23rd, 2020 33m 19s

Perdue acquires Pasturebird and becomes the biggest producer in the space. I unpack what it means on this episode and walk through some history.

Maintain Production with All In/All Out Rotation for 5,000 laying hens

Oct 9th, 2020 19m 31s

Listener Chris asks how to utilize an all-in/all-out pullet replacement strategy without duplicating infrastructure while maintaining egg production. To help answer the question, I share insights from Mark Harrison and Dave and Ginger Shields.

Feed Management Tips to Reduce Waste & Maintain Egg Production

Sep 28th, 2020 11m 58s

In Pastured Poultry Talk episode 110, farmer Matt Steinman discussed how he used fermented feed as a solution to feed waste and fines. While fermentation can be a viable solution for some people, it's not the only way to deal with fines. T

Is Fermented Feed Worth the Time for 1,000 hens?

Sep 16th, 2020 50m 49s

Farmer Matt Steinman (Foothills Farm in Sedro-Woolley, Washington) and Dr. Louisa Brouwer (technical advisor on the trial) share the results of a SARE-funded trial that sought to understand the economic impacts of feeding fermented feed to layi

Community Q&A PIus a Heritage Poultry Monologue

Aug 22nd, 2020 1h 10m

I close out the pastured poultry training series with a live streamed Q&A between Terrell Spencer from The Fighting Farmer and myself. We went live on Facebook and fielded questions from our listeners, and this episode of the podcast includes

Perspectives on Pastured Poultry Shelters and Pasture Management

Jul 22nd, 2020 1h 17m

When you put chickens or turkeys out on pasture, there are two fundamental questions you need to consider. Why pasture and how do you house the birds? If you fully grasp the why of the pasture model, you won't take shortcuts in your housi

Successful Brooder Management for Chicks & Poults

Jul 6th, 2020 57m 58s

Did you know a commercial meat chicken or turkey may spend up to 40% of it's life inside a brooder? Layers, by comparison, spend approximately 5% of their first lay-cycle in the brooder. For all our poultry species, the time in the brooder i

9 Practical Tips for Feeding Your Pastured Poultry (PPT106)

Jun 10th, 2020 1h 8m

Feeding your pastured poultry is a huge topic, and it can quickly overwhelm you. As a beginner to pastured poultry, I provide nine tips for feeding your flock that can help you get off to the right start. I'll cover universal feeding advice as

Evaluating Breeds for Pastured Poultry and Understanding Genetics, Performance, and Cost

May 5th, 2020 1h 4m

This episode has a downloadable worksheet to help you apply the concepts discussed in the podcast episode to your situation. Get it by email here. I assume that when it comes to choosing a breed of chicken for your pastured poultry flock, you w

Pastured Poultry Training: Planning & Discovery

Apr 13th, 2020 43m 28s

Download the worksheet for this episode to help you apply the concepts discussed in the podcast episode. Get it by email here. One of the biggest mistakes pastured poultry growers make is that they make impulsive decisions, which often go like

103: Catching Up on Corona Virus from a Pastured Poultry Perspective

Mar 29th, 2020 33m 40s

I've shared some Covid 19 corona virus updates via the APPPA channels in recent weeks, so I thought it was time to circle back to the podcast with an update. I cover a lot of ground, including how the Badger family is affected, how the pastured

Luke Groce Shares His "Day" Range Setup for Pastured Poultry

Mar 14th, 2020 13m 29s

In episode 101 of Pastured Poultry Talk, Randy Kleinman mentioned Luke Groce and cited a very popular video that featured his range model. A lot has happened since that video was filmed on Luke's farm. I give Luke an opportunity to update us on

Pastured Poultry Research: Feed Conversion, Labor, and Nutrition

Mar 13th, 2020 56m 46s

There is no secret that pasture-raised chicken meat is more nutrient dense than non-pasture-raised chicken. More and more farmers are testing their products and posting the results for their customers and the world to see. Randy Kleinman, who f

My Pastured Poultry Path - Celebrating 100 Episodes

Mar 6th, 2020 41m 50s

My journey to 100 episodes of Pastured Poultry Talk started long, long ago. Celebrate the podcast milestone with me, as I recount the significant events in my life that led me to pastured poultry and and back to faith. I tried very hard to make

USDA Greenwashes Pastured Poultry

Feb 18th, 2020 29m 26s

The Pastured Poultry Talk podcast is back in 2020 with an episode about label deceit, also known as greenwashing. I tie the USDA's updated label guidelines, the APPPA conference, and some recent greenwashing misidentifications from the pastured

A Personal Invitation to Join Mike in Jacksonville

Dec 13th, 2019 18m 13s

As a Pastured Poultry Talk listener, it's incredibly important to me that you know about the APPPA Conference in Jacksonville from January 19-21, 2020. This episode explains that the Professional Pastured Poultry Conference is and how it came t

Looking forrward to Goose Day with Cotton Patch Geese

Dec 11th, 2019 32m 24s

I'm a cotton patch goose breeder. Well, I have geese that are old enough to mate. We'll save the moniker of goose breeder until we have some deliberate success. The cotton patch goose is a historical landrace breed originally used to weed cotto

Troubleshooting Turkey Processing: Is It Possible to Get a Clean Pluck? PPT096

Oct 11th, 2019 24m 1s

This is an edited version of the article I published in Issue 113 of the APPPA Grit, which was based on the conversation in this podcast. Not a member of APPPA? Go check them out. Last fall, I had the pleasure of consulting with a producer on

Evaluating A Started Turkey Business as a Buyer and Seller

Sep 27th, 2019 28m 5s

Turkeys are one of the most adored birds in the pastured poultry community with a strong emotional tie to family Thanksgiving; however, they can often be challenging to raise because they require more time and attention than a chicken. Those c

What podcasting teaches us about marketing pastured poultry

Aug 28th, 2019 9m 8s

It's no surprise that I'm hot on the podcasting medium. Pastured Poultry Talk is a podcast, after all. In Episode 93 of the show, Kenny Troiano referenced his podcast, Bred to Perfection, as a primary marketing asset for his membership site. T