American Pastured Poultry Producers Association www.apppa.org
APPPA Grit issue 26, late summer 2003
Eggs on Pasture? A Kansas story. Jody Padgham
There are not a lot of people in the country doing large-scale pastured egg layers, but Dan
Bennett and family have found layers to be a satisfying way to augment their pastured
broiler and beef business. Dan spoke this past December at the ACRES USA conference in
Indianapolis, IN about their egg laying operation.
During the 2002 season, the Bennetts ran 2000 laying hens and produced 14,000 broilers
and 24 beef steers on 50 of their 210 acres in rural Kansas. They direct market eggs, beef,
pork and chicken to neighbors and stores and food co-ops in nearby cities (Lawrence, Kansas
City). (For more on the overall Bennett operation, see GRIT! Issue 19 “Producer Profile” and
the Bennett Ranch website at www.bennettranch.com.)
The 50-acre pasture, gently rolling as only Kansas can be, is divided into 5- 300ft wide
paddocks with a permanent single wire electric fence. 400-500 lb yearling beef calves are
bought in the spring, and rotationally grazed through the paddocks to enjoy and condition
the grass ahead of the chickens. At times Dan has to mow the early season grass, as the
cows can’t keep up with the spring flush in all the paddocks. Broilers in pasture pens and
hens in hoop houses with a day-range system follow the beef.
600-day old pullets are brought into brooders twice a year. Pullets (young laying hens) must
grow out six months before they lay, farmers must adjust for this lag time in their
production plans. Dan broods all his birds on the farm and insists that bringing in older birds
spells disaster, as you run the risk of bringing disease in with mature birds, generally not a
problem with day-old chicks. The chicks stay in the brooder, with clean dry bedding, fresh
food and water, for 3-4 weeks. Dan feeds chicks supplements of grass, sand and beef liver
to ensure health and stamina in the birds.
12x24 ft temporary garages (“Cover-it” brand) are used as pasture hoop houses for the
laying flock. With one end closed and the other left open, 500 birds use the hoop and the
pasture around the house created by 450 feet of ‘feathernet’ electric poultry netting. In
the summer the houses and netting are moved every week so that the birds get regular
access to new grass.
Even in the rough Kansas winter (windy and chilly) the birds stay out- but the pens are
pegged down in one place for 4 months. For winter pasture, a ring of electrified net is run
around each house, creating a ‘staging area’ that must be covered with bedding as the grass
is soon worn away by bird traffic. From this staging area, a portion of the fence is lifted so
the birds can access a “petal” of netting, which radiates out at an angle from the house.
Planning on 8 “petals”, Dan moves fence to access new pasture every week, making two
rounds around each house during the 4 month winter season. In winter the hoop house is
bedded with wood chips, with new chips added each week. By the end of the winter the pack
is about a foot thick. Frost free hydrants are installed next to each of the four winter
house locations to give birds access to water. In addition to trenching in the water line,
electricity was also installed at each house location which allows electric heaters in each
waterer to keep the ice away.
Nest boxes in the hoop houses are a 1940’s vintage hanging roll-out nest. 56 nests are
placed for 500 hens, with 4 units of 14 hung from the top of the hoop house. Family
members go into the houses every afternoon to collect eggs from the roll-out. The Bennetts
collect directly into cartons, and candle the eggs right through the cartons. They have
found the roll-out nests keep the eggs clean, and reduce egg-pecking and other problems
found with bedded nests. They do end up washing a few eggs each day, and do so by layering
eggs in a wire egg basket and soaking in hot water with a little soap. Eggs are then handdried. Bulk eggs are packed by flats into 15dozen boxes. New cartons are purchased in bulk
quantities from www.eggcartons.com.
Dan feeds his hens a layer mix utilizing the Fertrell Poultry Nutribalancer (allowed for
certified organic systems). He also offers free choice oystershell and kelp. Dan takes feed
out to 175# capacity range feeders he got from Brower, Inc., using an old auger box on the
back of his truck to haul from the bulk storage to the field feeders every day. During the
summer months, an above ground water system of permanent black pipe with hook-ups every
200 feet fills rubber tubs with clattel float valves.
Unlike many others, Dan does not use supplemental lighting in the winter. The white hoop
house walls let in a lot of natural winter lighting, and Dan also likes to give the hens a rest in
the winter. Production peaks in the summer at about 110 dozen a day, but can drop to a low
of 40 dozen a day in the winter for the 2000 hens. They average about a 50% lay rate over
the year.
On any pasture operation, disease problems almost always originate in the brooder. By
maintaining extremely careful and clean brooder management, the Bennetts have very few
losses. Raw cows milk is used to strengthen the chicks if any disease problems erupt.
Predators are well controlled by the electrified poultry netting, which also must be
carefully monitored and maintained. Dan brings in 1200 new chicks each year, (which costs
$1300-1400) and culls birds after two years. Spent hens can be sold for stewing hens in
some ethnic communities for $2-3.00 each, or to hobbiests as pet layers for about the
same. Dan alternates colored breeds, so he can easily sort by age as the birds mature.
The Bennetts have found a strong market for “natural pastured eggs” at the food co-op in
Lawrence, about 30 miles away. (Though raising birds using organic practices, they are not
certified). They deliver eggs once a week in their truck with a refrigerated plug-in
compressor cooling the box, and charge $1.89 per dozen, wholesale. They started selling
eggs at farmer’s markets, which is a great way to get initial contacts and customers that
then will come out to the farm. The Bennett’s have found that eggs are a great way to
develop customers who will then come to the farm to also buy beef, pork and chickens.
Dan has kept a very close watch on the numbers of Bennett Ranch’s egg operation. By the
first year, raising 500 hens, the revenue of $11,700 was outpaced by expenses of $14,200.
The loss of $2,500 was seen as the initial “investment in infrastructure”, which included
pens, watering system, electrical work and feeding equipment. In the Bennetts second year,
moving up to 2000 layers, gross income jumped to $36,600, expenses were at $21,700,
allowing for a $14,900 margin (which goes to cover labor time.) Dan feels this is a
sustainable figure, which can improve over time. Now starting their fourth year, the
Bennetts are happy with their egg system and the income it brings into their overall
operation. Dan and family continue trying new refinements and modifications to create time
and money savings in their farm system.