Nou and Lormung Lo came to Arkansas for a vacation and, at the urging of other family members, moved to Lincoln, Ark., in 2004 to become part of the poultry industry. While her husband ran a tax business, Nou ran six chicken houses for George’s with money from their 401K, the sale of their home in Omaha, Neb., and some borrowed and long since paid back to family members.
Nou raises chickens to less than four pounds in 37 days with 10 to 16 days in between flocks. She uses an intensive compositing process which provides an efficient and green byproduct for use on her 40 acres. Each chicken house holds 22,000 chickens. Nou’s husband died unexpectedly last year, so now Nou runs the business by herself. She makes three rounds a day through the chicken houses checking chicken health and equipment, as well as, water and feed. While George’s supplies the feed, water for the chickens comes from a well that was on the property when they purchased it. The water is tested frequently and treated with an automated system providing chlorine and other additives as needed.
Nou said, “Propane has become a huge expense, and I can’t do many of the repairs myself.” She said that one of the keys to success is paying very close attention to the chickens to identify when they are just beginning to not feel well and to take immediate action, which helps both the individual chickens and the flock in general. Nou said, “Fortunately, I haven’t had health problems with my flocks because my chickens have remained consistently healthy. However, some groups of chicks come in much stronger than others.”
Nou is accustomed to living off the land. Nou has carried the personal gardening she learned in Thailand to raise a small garden for personal use in Arkansas. She raises kale, tomatoes, green beans and Mung cucumbers, which have thicker skins and are longer and wider with few seeds.
She also maintains a herd of 12 mixed cows and one bull for family use and occasional sale. When she is ready to sell, she sells at the auction house in Siloam Springs, Ark. She supplements hay and grass with cubes and enjoys driving her blue tractor whether it’s bringing hay to the cows or working in the chicken houses.
