J and I attended the OSU Living on a Few Acres conference today. All I can say is, WOW. So much to learn. The focus of the conference was on pasture management and rumenants, but there were also classes on canning and season extension.
J and I both came back with lots of new ideas for our farm. The most inspiring things for me were the vast number of options for someone with land. We have started to look at permaculture in a different way. We are talking about windbreaks that serve also as wildlife corridors and cultivatable plants. We're looking into how greenhouses and covered gardens can extend our growing season by several months. We are designing ways to pasture our animals so that each can benefit from planted grasses, but also from the animals that graize before.
I had a weird idea (only weird because nobody else seems to do it). I want to figure out how to create pop doors for chickens to access all pastures through. There is really nowhere that chickens shouldn't be allowed to go. They are beneficial in almost all environments. My girls know to lay in the coop (something that I can encourage by keeping them locked in their pen until noon). Some people say that they mess up bedding in other animal pens, but I haven't seen a chicken do more damage than a pig or a goat.
Here's my thought. Create a small frame that is clamped onto the field fence (or gate) about 8-10 inches about the ground. Cut the fence out of the center of this frame (the frame is only about a 6x8 opening). The chickens can hop up and in or out but the animals on the inside of the pen cannot escape through the small opening. If there are small piglets or goats, either close the door for awhile, or watch to make sure they truly cannot get into the hole. Piglets wouldn't be able to get up 10 inches off the ground and goats wouldn't be able to get through the hole with their akward long legs. That's my idea. We'll see.
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