Livestock, like chickens, aren’t inherently bad for the environment. They can actually be beneficial if managed properly. 🌱 🌿 🌳
‘Full-circle Chickens’ is the fun name for how we manage our chickens at Realize Homestead.
Instead of replacing the native ecosystem with a giant warehouse to raise the chickens in (as is done with conventional poultry farms) we raise them in a movable pen, on pasture.
By moving their pen often, the plants are able to quickly rebound from the chickens impact, and even thrive from the added fertility and disturbance!
In addition to the plants 🌱 and bugs 🪱 they forage, we also supplement their diet with expired produce from the local food co-op, Oryana. This diverts food waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill.🍌🥦🥬🥒🍎
They eat healthier than me! 😋
This provides almost 100% of their diet so they don’t rely on grain feed grown in industrial monoculture farms.👎🌽🌽🌽🌽🌽👎
Like where veggie burgers come from 😉
The breed is Black Jersey Giants; a dual purpose breed for both eggs and meat. After work the other day, I processed 13 chickens, about half the flock, with the help of my neighbor Kylie.
Death is part of the ‘full-circle’ too. And we ourselves wont escape it. I hope I’m tasty and nourishing when my time here is done! (Not trying to seriously get into ethics though. It’s personal and I respect all different perspectives)
The average american eats a whopping 26 chickens per year, while the global average is 6 per year. While we learn to manage livestock better, it’s also sensible to consume less.
In the spring, the cycle begins again when we incubate some of their eggs and hatch more baby chicks! 🐣🐤🐥
Providing both eggs and meat, Chickens are a great staple to start with if you find yourself driven to grow your own food. Just focus on supplementing their diet or else the feed costs will kill any savings! 💲
#FullCircleChickens #SustainableFarming #LivestockManagement #PastureRaised #EcoFriendlyLivestock #RegenerativeAgriculture #ChickensOnPasture #LocalFood #FoodWasteReduction #EthicalEating #SmallFarms #BackyardChickens #Permaculture #homesteading
