I just snapped this photo looking out my dining area doorway...

[Linked Image from i62.tinypic.com]

In this picture you can see:

* 48" Redbrand Sheep & Goat fence
* (3) Strands of 8800 volt polywire electric fencing
* Grass we're growing for hay
* Some of our chickens

The chickens in the picture include: Dominiques (blackish barred birds), Welsummers (brownish red birds), and Delwares (white birds). My wife selected these breeds after EXTENSIVE research on foraging drive, brooding instinct, food thrift, egg to meat ratio production, etc.

Currently we have eight laying hens that are averaging 7 eggs a day. We have another 16 Dominique pullets (hens too young to lay) brooding. We'll turn them out of the barn and into the protected pasture in about three weeks.

Our birds are feed 100% USDA organic feed as a supplement but are completely free to free range in their protected pasture and set themselves to roost in the evening. (We built a 6'-6" x 7'-6" x 12'-0" mobile coop...this allows us to spread the manure evenly across the pasture). At least we thought that's how we'd run the farm, but we've found that collecting the manure under the roosts in tubs and composting it for garden use (must compost one year) is better.

JYD #123 The great one formerly known as Architect.

I am now a fictional British television police officer (currently a Detective Sgt) at Thames Valley Station. My governor is Detective Inspector Fred Thursday and it’s 1969.