Brian and Stephanie Reynolds of Wharton, Ark., met on a school bus when they were 11 and married almost 15 years ago. They built their first two chicken houses in 2001 on a farm they bought in 2000 at a reasonable rate from his grandfather and their last three in 2010. They have been witnessed to and partnered with the great strides made in the poultry industry towards increasing profitability by becoming more green. Substantial differences between the two sets of buildings demonstrate this trend and its importance.
The most observable difference is in size. The oldest of their seven chicken houses are 43′ by 500′ while the new ones are 54′ by 500′. This means the newer houses hold a 25 percent larger flock, a significant increase in potential income per house.
Originally the older houses had curtain walls and the new houses have solid side walls with tunnel doors, which are insulated hinged inlet doors that open in place of the curtain with cool cell pads on the outside. The house is cooled by pumping water through the cardboard-like cool pads. As the water drips down, it evaporates in the hot summer air thus cooling the house. Excess water is collected in a trough at the bottom of the pads and recycled. Air blows through the pads which then helps the large exhaust fans down at one end draw the cooler air through the house.
These same exhaust fans also pull air from the hot attic area through vents. This air is first moved through stir fans in the ceiling of the house so that the exhaust fans can then pull that hot air out. The exhaust fans have 54 inch blades. One, the most energy-efficient fan, runs all of the time and is made out of plastic except for the blades. The others are galvanized fans but also energy-efficient.
Another aspect of energy efficiency is the lighting. The lighting inside the chicken houses is provided by fluorescent and LED lights. The fluorescent lights are used only for the first 10 days, and while energy-efficient they are not nearly as efficient as the LED lights which can increase efficiency by as much as 80 percent. In addition to calming the chickens, the LED lights provide a significant decrease in energy expenditure. Brian said, “The more energy-efficient systems save me 40 percent of my total energy cost, and that’s important because I am in competition with other growers and those with the lowest production cost per pound are paid more per pound.” The Reynolds were the Grower of the Year in 2005 for Tyson and consistently do well.
While energy costs and good quality chicks are significant contributions to their success, so is their attention to detail. Success also depends on taking corrective measures as soon as an issue becomes apparent such as waterer and feeder height adjustments. Another factor is the isolated location of their farm. By being several miles from the closest poultry farm, disease is much less of a problem. Brian said, “Fortunately we’ve never had a disease issue here.” A final factor in their success is that the water supply for the chicken houses comes from three wells that have been dug through the years as the need for more water increased with the increasing number of chicken houses.
Currently their broiler houses produce seven pound birds in seven weeks. Tyson changes the size of birds according to customer demand. Recently the size has dropped from eight and a half pounds to seven pounds which, in Brian’s opinion, has decreased the mortality rate. Brian said, “By decreasing the size of our end product, the birds’ skeletal structure can more successfully handle weight gain. Sometimes the bigger birds got too big too fast and started having leg problems.”
Chickens are only half the picture on the Reynolds farm. They also have a black commercial cattle herd of 50 mommas and 50 replacement heifers. They currently have one Angus and one registered Hereford bull but are expecting to purchase more from a local breeder. Breeding is controlled into two seasons with most calves being born in the spring to avoid severe winter weather and take advantage of spring grasses. Stephanie said, “Our biggest challenge with the cattle is keeping an especially close eye on heifers who are about to calve because they’re first time mommas and can need more help.”
Seven-year-old Erika is starting her own herd with five heifers, three of which she bottle-fed. She also has a Longhorn and a horse. Erika helps out by picking up dead chickens and preparing the houses for chicks by putting out feeding pans. She also sometimes works with her mom and dad to feed the cattle. Erika said, “I love to garden especially the flowers and am really glad we don’t live in town.”
