Not just chicken feed: Local family begins chicken farm operation
|
They had spent the past several weeks talking about the construction going on at their family farm near Morrison and thinking about what might come of their investment with Perdue Farms, Inc. — a college education for their girls or the opportunity to teach their children responsibility and management skills, perhaps.
But when 8,400 chicks arrived in their bio-secure facility, the first Perdue facility in Warren County, Kelle Dyer thought mostly about what it was going to take to raise those birds from 2-day-old chicks to 22-week-old birds. In about two more weeks, the rest of the birds will arrive, making their lot total more than 16,000.
The birds on the Dyers’ pullet farm come from Perdue’s parent birds, she said. Because of that, security from intruders – people, animals or other pests – as well as from biohazards, is tight there.
“Once the chickens are in the house, no one can go in there,” Kelle said of the 400-by-50-foot facility that has been under construction for about one month. “Then, anything that goes in has to be disinfected.”
A disinfecting station is the only way to get past the 6-foot-high fence, where a shower is in line, a change of clothing is necessary and disinfecting spray is used to keep contaminants to a minimum.
When raised to 22-weeks, the birds are supposed to be transferred to hen houses, where they will stay for a while and later, they will lay eggs for breeding purposes that will produce more chicks. The immediate work ahead for the Dyers will mainly include checking on the birds and on the automated equipment.
“This is a part-time operation. The average time on this is two hours per day. The hen houses are full-time,” Kelle said of the pullet farm, which has been reported to yield about $20,000 a year for farm owners and about $40,000 per year for owners of hen houses.
The words part time were key for the couple. Kelle, an office manager with West Warren-Viola Utility District and Scott, a regional sales manager who has a farming background, said they were looking for additional income for the family or an opportunity for the children.
Kelle said she is hoping when the girls get a little older, they will become more responsible for the chicks’ maintenance and added the whole family is looking forward to the experience, whatever the outcome.
“At times we’ve felt like guinea pigs, but we’re really excited about it and we’re really flattered they chose us to be the first ones,” Kelle said.
“It’s a nice venture for us and it’s something hopefully down the road the girls can do,” Scott added. “Perdue is going to be good to work for. They have been top-notch about keeping us informed.”
Because of the layered structure of the operation, Perdue officials are also looking for more people willing to contract with them in Warren and Cannon counties, the Dyers and University of Tennessee Agriculture Extension Agent Dale Beaty said. More information may be obtained by contacting Beaty at 473-8484.