Sixteen-year-old Kou Thao and his family fled from Laos and war in 1979, first taking refuge in Thailand but eventually forced out because Thailand was unable to support all of the refugees. U.S. Immigration allowed the family to come to the United States. After living in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, Kou disliked the climate and took a vacation in 2002 to Arkansas with the intent of finding a farm.
Kou’s family and extended family moved to Arkansas with each purchasing separate properties in Decatur, Ark. In 2012, Kou and his wife Xai Vang purchased a chicken farm and 147 acres from his uncle. The land was in two pieces, the larger with three breeder houses and the smaller with two broiler houses and a home.
Last year heavy snow took down one of the breeder houses which Kou hopes to rebuild in five years. Each of the remaining breeder houses holds 8,800 hens and 1,000 roosters. Chickens are brought in when they are 20 weeks old, about 6 pounds and ready to lay eggs. They stay for about 8 1/2 months and weigh 10 to 11 pounds when they leave. Peak laying occurs when they are younger producing 7,200 eggs per day per house which requires harvesting three times a day. By the time the flock leaves, the hens are producing only 2,000 to 3,000 eggs per day per house and are collected twice a day. Harvested eggs are stored in a temperature controlled cooler which keeps the eggs at 65 degrees to 70 degrees in the summer and 50 degrees to 65 degrees in the winter so the eggs can be hatched at another facility. They are picked up by Simmons twice a week.
Kou goes through the houses once in the morning to check feed and inspect all of the equipment as well as to pick eggs up off the floor. Kou said, “As the chicken get older, they get lazier and lay more eggs on the floor rather than going up to the nests.” When the flock leaves, litter is removed and the houses are cleaned and disinfected. Transition time lasts about two months which means a full cycle lasts a little less than one year.
A broiler cycle is 46 days with 14 to 15 days for transition. The birds come in as chicks and leave at about 6 pounds. Broiler houses are much more labor intensive. When the chicks are small, the height of the waterers must be changed every two days and raised about a 1/2 inch while feeders are raised 3/4 inch every five days. In addition, broiler houses have to be cleaned six times a year.
Chickens and cattle are a natural pairing for a farmer because chicken litter provides fertilizer for pastures. Kou’s soil is tested annually and spread according to governmental guidelines. Surplus litter is sold to a company who collects and resells it. Even with litter as fertilizer, Kou’s acreage is insufficient to support his herd. He buys hay locally and supplements with high-protein grain from a feed store in Siloam Springs. The pasture in each of the two locations are divided in half so Kou can move the cows weekly to keep the pastures healthy and the grass fresh.
Kou’s herd is divided between the two locations. He has 50 mixed commercial cows with Black Angus and Black Limousin influences and two Angus bulls. Kou keeps all of his heifers as replacements and sells his bull calves at 500 plus pounds depending on the market. The cattle are worked by a vet who administers a vaccine protocol for disease prevention.
Kou’s two youngest children, Michelle who is 16 and Andy who is 14, help in the breeder houses after school, on weekends and during the summers. Two older boys live and work in Fayetteville and Bentonville, Ark. Kou said, “Maybe someday one of my children will show an interest in farming, but for now I am very happy with what I do and time flies. I have been doing this for 13 years and it only feels like two.”
