Polyface Farm Tour~Salatin~My experience (pics on page 3).

[Buster]

People traveling from all over the world is the major reason we now have pandemics in the human population. A person could very well visit an infected poultry farm in Asia, board a plane and then visit Polyface wearing the same shoes within the short time of only a couple of days. The airports of the world can barely prevent people from traveling with weapons much less dangerous pathogens in the cracks of their shoes! NORMAL people like us just don't have that kind of visitor, but due to his wide spread fame Salatin just might! Then others visiting could spread that pathogen back to their respective states. Heck someone MIGHT just do this on purpose. (Being paranoid here I know,

Ummmm...

 

[Buster]

Buster your net system sounds rather interesting. Can you post some pics on another thread? I would love to see the set up.

gina

Will do. I use a combination electric poultry netting and a tractor with door (for housing).

Here is the netting I am using. You might get the idea looking at their site.

http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=44094

 

[freemotion]

I often wondered if you have to mow almost to bare ground for the netting so as not to short it out.

Would it keep rats away from chicks? I cannot get my meat chicks this year because of the stinkin' rats that came from a couple of houses that were demolished nearby and took up residence....and population explosion....in my barn and coop. I have killed dozens and yet they still breed faster than I can kill them. I am horrified and resentful that I can't keep chicks alive.

I would scrounge the $200 for it if it meant I could order chicks.

Blatant hijack.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Buster, i've been trying to get some of that netting ordered, but they are on perpetual back order.... do you have any problems with fly-overs? i haven't had any of my birds get over the 6' fence, but a couple can get almost that high with little effort, so i worried about 4'. i guess with 1600 sqft of grazing space, they'd have little incentive to leave though!

what kind of battery/charger system do you use?

 

[DrakeMaiden]

BTW, Polyface translates into the farm of many faces, as in multifaceted.

Yes, that is great, but in our culture, use of "face" in that sense also has connotations (it is very close to "two-faced" which I think we all are aware of the meaning of). I'm just sayin'. When you choose a name, you need to be careful about 1) it's proper meaning and 2) what the words may evoke that are outside of it's proper meaning. To me, "Polyface" never settled right because of it's similarity to "two-faced."

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I also agree with FarmFresh about biosecurity. Did you know that poultry inspectors in California spread Newcastle disease around? They didn't realize it right away but they were the vector that caused the spread of the disease they were trying to prevent.

The larger the sampling of people who are coming to your farm, the higher the probability that someone will bring a little something uninvited along.

 

[country freedom]

In 'Hit by a Farm' the author tries a lot of his ideas on a large scale, and she found they didn't work very well. She suggested JS makes more money by selling his ideas than actually using them.

It seems to me that overcrowding in the chicken houses makes more work, as you would have to hunt for all the hidden eggs, and wash them all. I wonder about the freshness of his eggs.

I bought eggs from the Farmers Market a few years ago, and one had a developed chick in it. When I complimented the farmer on his luck on having a broody hen, and he said it couldn't possibly be, that I was mistaken, or that it had 'taken a long time to be laid' and had started developing in the hen. This indicated to me that he had poor management, and was selling eggs that were old. Also, a basic lack of respect for customers by lying to them. It sounds like JS does the same.

Maybe, next time you buy eggs from the same guy, you should take an egg candler with you and check the eggs before you buy them - just to make that point.

 

[Buster]

BTW, Polyface translates into the farm of many faces, as in multifaceted.

Yes, that is great, but in our culture, use of "face" in that sense also has connotations (it is very close to "two-faced" which I think we all are aware of the meaning of). I'm just sayin'. When you choose a name, you need to be careful about 1) it's proper meaning and 2) what the words may evoke that are outside of it's proper meaning. To me, "Polyface" never settled right because of it's similarity to "two-faced."

Well, you're entitled I reckon. But I'm thinkin he wanted something mysterious. Something that has a clear meaning that isn't quite obvious, that makes you think about it, leading to conversations and explanations. Personally, I think it is a great name.

And I also think anyone who thinks there is anything two faced about Joel Salatin doesn't know anything at all about the man. He is nothing if not straightforward.

To a fault. WYSIWYG

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I personally never said Joel was two-faced. I was just commenting on his choice of farm name and what sort of conversations could be had (and already are being had here) about it.

 

[Blackbird]

Gosh Bee, if you weren't so darn challenging! Or maybe it was because he couldn't understand your accent..? Thick accents must be glare-worthy..
I'm teasing! Here I thought being humble was once a desired trait!


Yes Buster, that is great, isn't it, we are all entitled to our own opinions.
My opinion, as others have also said, is that he is human too. And it is foolish to put all of one's trust, honor, and support in a human being, because they too, make mistakes and are not perfect. Especially if someone has never met the person.

Bee, you mentioned that one hen was broody, but were there any roosters in sight? Just curious. I have a couple of hens that look like those in the picture and they are all free-ranged, but we also have roosters... 10.. 20.. 30... Never mind.