The overriding spirit amongst regenerative farmers is one of collaboration.
Herewith my attempt at sharing what I have learnt in 6 years of outdoor egg production. (Please note that we don’t use the term free range as this has been abused by national retailers and the egg industry. Their eggs are barn raised and not free range. More on this here.)
If you embark on this farming venture know that you will be providing the most nutritious eggs on the market, you will be freeing hens from cages (96% of the hens in South Africa live in metal cages up to 8 levels above each other), you will be providing employment and your chicken manure will be fertilising the farm as you move the Eggmobiles daily, which is in stark contrast to the “free range” and caged systems where the hens are above their own manure for their entire lives.
Below are links to the plans of our Eggmobiles. These were drawn up by William Hammers, a master draftsman, who you can email here to draw up plans of anything you want.
Then here are some photos of areas of importance inside the Eggmobile.
EGGMOBILE FITTINGS LIST IN PICTURES
Below is the business model. We are pretty sure that all the information you need is in these spreadsheets. You can change any of the variables. The biggest difference comes from the number of Eggmobiles. Above a certain number of Eggmobiles, you need more staff and the spreadsheet changes automatically for that.
Herewith the frequently asked questions and the answers next to them.
Frequently asked questions, June 2015
We also plant multi-species pastures. Below is the list of what we plant. All perennial plants. Please remember that what works on my farm is not going to work on your farm. In order of importance when it comes to new planting is timing, soil prep (with a Yeoman Plow), soil amendments (according to the Albrecht system) and then post planting watering regime. Here is blog posting elaborating on the timing of planting.
Below are two videos, raw and unedited from the GoPro, that will give you some insight into outdoor egg production. Video 1 & Video 2.
Finally, if you have any more questions then please come and work on the farm for a minimum of 3 weeks. You can visit for a few hours with pleasure but a few days is a waste of my, my team and your time.
Angus
17 September 2015
10 Responses
Hi Angus
Your website is very informative and inspiring.
After my varsity class visited your farm, some of them were inspired to implement your chicken farming system on their farms, while others want to go work on your farm.
I agree with your last statement in this blog. Based on my work experience that I have gained on your farm, a minimum of 3 weeks are necessary to clearly understand your farm operation pertaining to chickens.
Keep on posting. I’m looking forward to read more of your insightful blogs.
Kind regards
Earlon
Dear Angus, I can’t believe this, I watched your proudly recorded first video showing off the eggmobiles, and surprised myself because I truly cried out of pure happiness from watching your kindness. I do pray that you can reach the hearts and business minds of many, many farmers and teach them these methods.
Farmer Angus, can i have a price list for eggs and chickens, you can send it to my email adress
We bought some of your eggs from Alphen Spar but when we went back for more were advised that they don’t know when they will have stock again. Could you please advise where or how we can obtain some.
hi could you send me a price list
and can i visit your farm just to see
Hasina
You are welcome to arrange a visit
To see prices please click on SHOP NOW
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