Raising Poultry on Pasture

Raising Poultry on Pasture wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I'm still glad I checked out this compilation of a decade of GRIT articles.  Since the book is, essentially, a "best of" collection from the magazine, each chapter was written by a different poultry enthusiast, which strengthens the book by giving it a wide range of opinions and points of view.  Big names like Joel Salatin, Andy Lee, and Harvey Ussery are represented, but so are less well known authors writing from around the U.S.

The downside of the mixed points of view is that you should probably plan to read the whole book rather than dipping in to find one right answer.  Articles side by side contradicted each other, which is perfectly understandable --- every farm is a little different, so techniques that work in one area won't work as well in another.  Think of the book as primary research and draw your own conclusions.

Although I found lots of tidbits (which I'll flesh out in later posts) relevant to my own operation, I should also warn you that Raising Poultry on Pasture is written for folks running a commercial operation, selling hundreds of broilers and/or eggs.  If you're just trying to raise eggs or meat for yourself while keeping your chickens as happy and healthy as possible, you'll probably skim over large segments of this book.  I'd recommend that backyard enthusiasts check Raising Poultry on Pasture out of their local library while those of you considering a poultry business pony up the $45 to buy a copy.