The role of birds in the farm ecosystem

“Men still live who, in their youth, remember pigeons; trees still live who, in their youth, were shaken by a living wind. But a few decades hence only the oldest oaks will remember, and at long last only the hills will know.”

—Aldo Leopold, “On a Monument to the Pigeon,” 1947

Regenerative agriculture practitioners mostly talk about cattle when it comes to grazing and resource management. What is never talked about is how birds (poultry) can be an important component of your grazing system.

In our not too distant history flocks of birds were present on the landscape. Our natural history is often portrayed with descriptions of bison herds reaching one million animals, giant herds of antelope and deer. There were also gigantic flocks of birds. Prior to European settlement there was an estimated 10 million wild turkeys in North America. They were an important food source for Native Americans and also became an important food source for early settlers, which brought about their demise. Unregulated hunting pressure and habitat loss from logging lead to a rapid population decline. By 1920 the wild turkeys had completely disappeared from 18 of the 39 states they had originally occupied. They survived only in the most inaccessible habitats.

Another bird, the now extinct passenger pigeon, are estimated to have numbered between 3 and 5 billion birds primarily residing in Eastern North America. Once again early European settlers lead to their demise. It was commercialized as a cheap food, resulting in unregulated hunting for decades and widespread deforestation lead to habitat loss. The last wild bird was thought to have been shot in 1901.

Birds are important because they keep systems in balance: they pollinate plants, scavenge animal carcasses, disperse seeds and recycle nutrients back into the earth. They are simply a vital part of the ecological system we call home. They can equally play an important role in our farm ecosystems. We often follow our herd of cattle as they rotate through the pastures with our flock of laying hens. At one thousand strong the birds pick through the cow dung removing fly larvae and other harmful parasites from the pasture. They spread and distribute the manure with their clawed feet. All the while providing us with nutrient dense eggs to feed our families and improving the profitability of our farm.

We move the hens often to fresh ground leaving their fertility behind in the form of manure. Chicken manure can do absolute wonders for your pasture. Once barren ground on our pastures is now alive with plants and microbial life. Much of that regeneration is from the manure and foot action of poultry. Of all animal manures chickens have the highest ratios of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

The role that poultry can play in our farm ecosystem is undeniable. They can help us regenerate our degraded soils and improve our farms profitability. You don’t necessarily need a thousand birds, sometimes a hundred or less will suffice. It is purely determined by what your goals are. The next time you think about grazing don’t just think about cattle, remember there are other animals that are equally important to creating a balanced system.