Oh thank you for sharing your experience! And the recipe! I am not sure I will ever get to visit but I absolutely admire Joel Salatin, polyface, and their mission. I'm particularly looking forward to your writing about it not stinking or full of flies. I live in a suburban neighborhood in San Diego county, of irregular size and shaped lots averaging .25-1.25 acres. Because of this people think they can raise chickens, goats and more. Unfortunately this has created a situation that can be stinky and it's definitely increased the flies! I am surrounded by backyard chickens and the flies that moved in. There are about 30-45 chickens between three properties around me. Where the city limits the number to 4/home. I'm all for people growing their own food or having fresh eggs but in this environment it attracts flies and rodents. Perhaps it's time we move🤔 as I don't want to impose upon my neighbors with city ordinances...but they've imposed their mess upon me! One used to share eggs with us, now they charge us! Anyway I'd love to learn more from polyface for they really know, understand, and practice how to create a wonderfully symbiotic and healthy ecosystem that aught to be the norm rather than the exception.
Well, a lot of it has to do with rotating the animals. So the chickens will have one field for a while, in their movable chicken pens, and they'll poop and eat bugs and the poop will fertilize the grass. Then they get moved to where the cows were, and the cows come where the chickens were and graze there. That's just one part of it, and I'm not sure how it would apply in an environment like yours, but I bet there is a way to implement some of what he is doing there in your neighborhood, if you can get others on board. He might go into more detail in his books?
Oh thank you for sharing your experience! And the recipe! I am not sure I will ever get to visit but I absolutely admire Joel Salatin, polyface, and their mission. I'm particularly looking forward to your writing about it not stinking or full of flies. I live in a suburban neighborhood in San Diego county, of irregular size and shaped lots averaging .25-1.25 acres. Because of this people think they can raise chickens, goats and more. Unfortunately this has created a situation that can be stinky and it's definitely increased the flies! I am surrounded by backyard chickens and the flies that moved in. There are about 30-45 chickens between three properties around me. Where the city limits the number to 4/home. I'm all for people growing their own food or having fresh eggs but in this environment it attracts flies and rodents. Perhaps it's time we move🤔 as I don't want to impose upon my neighbors with city ordinances...but they've imposed their mess upon me! One used to share eggs with us, now they charge us! Anyway I'd love to learn more from polyface for they really know, understand, and practice how to create a wonderfully symbiotic and healthy ecosystem that aught to be the norm rather than the exception.
Well, a lot of it has to do with rotating the animals. So the chickens will have one field for a while, in their movable chicken pens, and they'll poop and eat bugs and the poop will fertilize the grass. Then they get moved to where the cows were, and the cows come where the chickens were and graze there. That's just one part of it, and I'm not sure how it would apply in an environment like yours, but I bet there is a way to implement some of what he is doing there in your neighborhood, if you can get others on board. He might go into more detail in his books?
How did we not get a selfie?!?
So wonderful to finally meet you in person though!!!
Agreed! I will definitely return next year.
I'm planning on it too!
AAAAAKKKKKKK!!! How indeed???