Operational challenges and opportunities in pastured poultry operations in the United States.

As pastured poultry production has gained increased popularity in the United States in recent years, there is a growing need for research and outreach efforts aimed at this sector of poultry production. In order to get familiarized with American pastured poultry producers, we conducted an online questionnaire aimed primarily at evaluating what operational challenges are faced by producers and what educational opportunities should be initiated by researchers. Results showed that pastured poultry farms largely vary in total number of acres farmed and total number of birds kept. The vast majority of farms (96%) rotate their flocks on pasture and include livestock species (78%) in their rotation systems. Mobile coops are the preferred housing option provided by producers (88%). The most common source of mortality listed by respondents was predation (52%), followed by "other" (32%). However, predation was not selected as the most important challenge by the majority of respondents. Sixty-four percent of participants instead mentioned providing adequate feed at reasonable cost as the major challenge in raising poultry on pasture, followed again by "other" (52%) and lack of processing facilities for small numbers of birds (40%). Finally, the topics considered by respondents as the most helpful to learn more about were how to improve egg production rate and/or feed conversion ratio (67%), followed by how to improve pasture condition and optimum vegetative cover all year round (62%). Despite its small sample size, this study's results provide some valuable insights of challenges encountered and information needed on pastured poultry farms.

Backyard chickens in the United States: a survey of flock owners.

Although it has become increasingly popular to keep backyard chickens in the United States, few studies have provided information about these flocks. An online survey of backyard chicken owners was conducted, advertised through Master Gardeners' websites, social platforms, and other sites. The survey had 56 questions about flock history, husbandry, health care, and owner attitudes and demographics. Surveys received (n = 1,487) came almost equally from urban, suburban, and rural areas. Most (71%) respondents owned fewer than 10 chickens and had kept chickens for less than 5 yr (70%). Major reasons for keeping chickens were as food for home use (95%), gardening partners (63%), pets (57%), or a combination of these. Rural respondents had larger flocks (P ≤ 0.001) and were more likely to keep chickens as a source of income or for show (P ≤ 0.001) than urban and suburban respondents. Owners thought that eggs/meat from their chickens were more nutritious (86%), safer to consume (84%), and tasted better (95%) than store-bought products, and also that the health and welfare of their chickens was better (95%) than on commercial farms. The majority (59%) indicated no flock health problems in the last 12 mo. However, there was a lack of awareness about some poultry health conditions. Many knew either little or nothing about exotic Newcastle or Marek's disease, and most (61%) did not vaccinate against Marek's. Respondents wanted to learn more about various flock management topics, especially how to detect (64%) and treat (66%) health problems. The Internet was the main source of information (87%) used by backyard flock owners, followed by books/magazines (62%) and feed stores (40%). Minimizing predation was the most cited challenge (49%), followed by providing adequate feed at low cost (28%), dealing with soil management (25%), and complying with zoning regulations (23%). The evidence obtained from this survey will help to determine what information and resources are needed to maintain good biosecurity and improve the health and welfare of backyard flocks.