Design and build a sliding electric fence system for pastured poultry

Project Overview

FNC21-1275
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2021: $24,498.00
Projected End Date: 01/31/2023
Grant Recipient: Three Brothers Farm LLC
Region: North Central
State: Wisconsin
Project Coordinator:
Michael Gutschenritter
Email
Three Brothers Farm LLC

Information Products

Commodities

  • Animals: poultry
  • Animal Products: eggs, meat

Practices

  • Animal Production: animal protection and health, grazing management
  • Education and Training: on-farm/ranch research

    Summary:

    This project focuses on solving the problem of excessive labor needed within the pastured poultry industry.  The majority of pastured poultry producers use portable electric netting for terrestrial predator control. This requires regularly moving several sections of heavy fencing by hand. This process is time consuming and physically demanding. My plan is to design and build a fencing system that is attached to the poultry coop and mounted on lightweight plastic pipe. The fence will slide along with the coop as the coop moves forward on pasture. This system will eliminate the time currently spent picking up and resetting lengths of fencing. It will also completely eliminate the physical demands associated with moving poultry netting.

    Project objectives:

    1- Design and build a pastured poultry fence system that eliminates all strenuous fence-moving labor for farmers.

    2- Identify necessary modifications for the three major types of pastured poultry (Laying hens, broilers, turkeys).

    3- Document data associated with labor in terms of time and physical strain.

    4- Distribute findings and construction details to pastured poultry industry through articles, a written manual, forum discussion, and social media.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.