Chickens.... Pigs & Bugs

A small number of the right livestock are a key component in establishing a food forest quickly. Animals turn insects and grass into food!

If there is an odor to your farm, and there is bare soil & mud everywhere, that's the look and smell of ... your mismanagement.

A four chickens can patrol a couple of acres or more, eating a tremendous number of slugs, caterpillars and bugs. Especially Japanese beetle grubs. They don't need much feed in the summer. We feed our chickens a mixture of oats, corn, sunflower seeds and a bit of puppy chow. Typically, 10 pounds of feed will last 6 free range birds, 4 summer months and 25 lbs for the winter months.

The most carefree chickens that we've found is the Blue Plymouth Rocks, available at most farm stores. They are a simple cross between two solid Heritage Breeds. The Parent Female is a Barred Rock one of America's oldest chicken breeds. It was first seen in Massachusetts in 1849. Rocks got their name in great measure because they are thought to be ancestors of Plymouth Rock. The Blue Plymouth meat is a bit darker and the eggs are brown.

As they free range around the farm, scratching and leaving behind free poop (fertilizer). We close them up at night in their portable chicken tractor at night to protect then from owls and other fury predators.

KuneKune pig are a good Herbivore option at about one animal per acre. They are easy going, excellent grazers and pasture managers in places like orchards and vineyards. The pigs will eat grass and the bug infested fruit that falls from the fruit trees, interpreting the pest growth cycle.

They also make excellent quality meat. As a heritage breed, the KuneKune meat is RED and deeply marbled, almost like fine steak. They also produce fine lard which can be used in cooking, baking and soap making.

Controlled Rotational pig grazing is a must... The will munch on tender tree transplants and they love garden vegetables. So plan for a two-strand electric fence to contain them. Again, rotationally pasture management so your animals only visit the same pasture once every 45 days. Leaving behind their little blessings, building healthy soils, no animal odor and feeding the earthworms.