Farm Help

Potential chicken producers need to determine why they are growing the chickens, for hobby or profit. “They also need to realize that growing birds in a free-range situation is a choice about how they produce birds and not on the quality of the finished product; scientifically there are no major differences between birds reared conventionally and those from free range farms,” said Jon Moyle, research associate for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Arkansas Research Service. “They also need to know that they will have to use more feed in order to grow the birds, as birds will typically grow at a slower rate and they gain little nutritional benefit from outdoor ranges.”

Keeping cattle fed right and properly cared for can be the difference between winning and losing.