Our Sustainability Practices
Sustainability: avoidance of depletion of natural resources; the practice of meeting your own needs without negatively impacting future generations.
For the poultry industry, sustainability means being responsible stewards of our land, water and feed management, and maintaining and advocating for the humane treatment of poultry. We take this responsibility seriously and have always desired to take only what we need and leave our land better than we found it. Poultry farming offers lots of fantastic and simple opportunities to practice sustainability.
Our Nook of the Woods Sustainability:
Feeding all food scraps: Any uneaten meat, fruits, vegetables or grains, small food particles from the sink strainer, stale leftovers, slightly wilted greens, sourdough starter discard…etc. As we reduce our food waste we supplement our bird’s diets with greater variety.
Reusing crushed eggshells: When we eat chicken or duck eggs, we thoroughly rinse the inside and outside of the used shells. Once they dry on a towel, they get stored in a large glass jar until it’s time to crush or grind them down and re-feed them back to the birds for calcium. Hens need plenty of calcium to lay eggs and produce thick, strong shells.
Soaking & fermenting feed: During the warmer months, we use 5 gallon buckets to soak and ferment grains for the birds. We just add a splash of apple cider vinegar and water, stir it and let it soak for a day or two. Soaking and fermenting reduces overall feed consumption, helps the birds to digest better, and boosts their immune system.
Composting bird bedding and waste: All wet or soiled pine bedding is added to a large compost pile along with food scraps and garden waste. Once it breaks down, it creates valuable nutrients for our soil.
Allowing garden access: Certain times of the year, chickens can be allowed into the garden to aerate the soil by digging and foraging for soil-borne insects. Ducks are a helpful addition as well, as they love to find snails and slugs. Unlike chicken waste, duck waste does not need to be composted, but can be applied directly to garden soil.
Water-glassing eggs: Water-glassing is an old homesteading practice of preserving eggs in a mixture of hydrated lime and water. It creates a ‘glass-like’ layer of protection over the egg so that the shell is no longer porous. Eggs can be preserved and stay fresh in this way for months or even years! Water-glassing helps us to avoid wasting any eggs when we have extra. It also helps us to avoid purchasing any eggs during the colder months when birds lay less.
We are lucky enough to have natural water sources on our property, but if your birds do not have access to springs or ponds, we suggest harvesting rain water when possible. We are also working on solar panels to supplement our own electricity and use solar batteries for rotating electric fencing areas.
