Agro-pastoralism: introducing poultry into orchards

As soon as we made the decision to convert our orchards to organic farming, we felt it was necessary to combine this with the establishment of a breeding system to accentuate our conversion. Our choice fell on a breeding of broiler chickens allowing us to meet multiple objectives.

• Regulate pest pressure

Poultry scratch the ground and feed on insects wintering in the ground in a non-selective manner. They come to peck at insects that are harmful to our orchards, such as codling moth and sawfly, with the aim of limiting parasite pressure year after year.

• Fertilize

Chicken droppings are very rich in nitrogen that is quickly available and can be mobilized for the apple tree. This allows us to reduce contributions from outside.

• Manage weed

With the conversion to organic, the orchards are being completely overgrown. The only way to deal with grass under the apple trees is to have special equipment, which was not our choice. That's why chickens will always have fresh grass to peck with a mobile coop system.

Our Breeding

The chicks arrive at D1 on our farm. The chicken coop is converted into a chicken coop for the first 5 weeks of their lives with a temperature of 32°C, a cozy bed of straw, organic flour starter food and fresh water. The objective is to accompany them in the first phase of their growth so that they develop their muscular structure and plumage.

From 6 weeks, change of scenery. The mobile chicken coop is placed in the heart of the orchards and the chickens have reached the age of their first outing. They can therefore frolic as they please between the apple trees, peck at fresh grass and insects. Organic food changes and adapts to their growth. Of course, they have access to the interior of the chicken coop as they wish.

During the 9 weeks they have left to spend on our farm before slaughter, the henhouse will be moved approximately every 3 weeks so that the chickens peck as much surface as possible.

We hope to start our first batch at the beginning of March 2023.

1 whole chicken - 1 bottle of cider - 4 shallots - 150g fresh cream - 150g butter

1. Cut the chicken into 4 pieces and brown them in a casserole dish with a little butter. Then add the chopped shallots and moisten with the cider. Simmer for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove the chicken from the casserole and keep it warm. Reduce the sauce by 1/3, then add the rest of the butter, the cream and a little chives. Mix well.

3. Coat the chicken pieces with the cider sauce and serve immediately with vegetables or pasta on the side.

500g chicken breast - 1 onion - 2 tbsp tandoori powder - 2 Greek yoghurts - 1/2 bunch of coriander - 60g cashew nuts - salt - pepper

1. Cut the chicken breasts into pieces. Peel and chop the onion. Mix the yoghurts with the tandoori powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour over the chicken and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. In a casserole, pour a drizzle of olive oil and sweat the onion for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Check the cooking, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

3. Off the heat, add the chopped coriander and whole cashews. Serve the chicken tikka masala piping hot with basmati rice.

1 whole chicken - 24 green and black olives - 500g tomatoes - 100g almonds - 1 stock cube - 15cl olive oil - 10cl white wine - 1 onion - 1 garlic clove - 1 bay leaf

1. Clean and cut the chicken into pieces. Place the pieces in a bowl and flour them. Add salt and pepper.

2. In a 50 cl pot of boiling water, place the stock cube.

3. Peel the onion and the clove of garlic. Cut the onion into thin sticks and mash the garlic. Pour them into a casserole coated with oil and add the chicken pieces. Make them come back.

4. Add white wine and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper then add the bay leaf. Let cook for 45 minutes.

5. Finally, add the almonds, the seeded and crushed tomatoes, then the olives. Serve immediately.

1 whole chicken - 1 onion - 1/2 lemon - 5 garlic cloves - 3 tbsp colombo - 3 tbsp thyme - 2 tbsp olive oil - 2 tbsp water - 2 tbsp parsley - 1 tbsp vinegar - 1 cayenne pepper - 1 tsp coconut milk - 1 coffee tsp coriander

1. The day before, cut the chicken into large pieces. Peel and crush 4 garlic cloves. In a large container, mix the chicken pieces with the garlic, vinegar, coriander, 1 tablespoon of Colombo, salt, pepper and water. Leave to marinate overnight.

2. The next day, peel and finely chop the onion and 1 clove of garlic. Brown them in an oiled pan. Then add the chicken and the marinade. Cook for ten minutes, stirring regularly.

3. Squeeze the lemon. In the casserole, add the thyme, parsley, chilli and lemon juice. Cover the pot and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the rest of Colombo and mix with a spatula. Continue cooking for 15 minutes, still covered. Finally add coconut milk and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Enjoy the hot chicken colombo.

1 whole chicken - 200g mushrooms - 50g tomato puree - 40g flour - 30g shallots - 30g butter - 1 onion - 20cl white wine - 20cl chicken broth - 2cl olive oil - 5 sprigs of parsley - 1/2 coffee tsp Espelette pepper

1. Cut the chicken into pieces. Peel and chop the onion. Wash and slice the button mushrooms. Rinse and chop the parsley.

2. In a casserole dish, add the olive oil and the butter then brown the chicken pieces. Stir in the onion, parsley and dehydrated shallot. Return the whole thing.

3. Add the flour and stir. Pour in the chicken broth and the white wine then simmer for 1h30 covered.

4. Add the mushrooms, tomato purée, Espelette pepper, salt and pepper and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Enjoy hot with rice.

1 whole chicken - 4 small Swiss - 3 tarragon branches - 1 tbsp olive oil - salt - pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 220°C.

2. Gut the chicken. Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken before stuffing it with the Swiss rolls and 2 sprigs of tarragon.

3. Drizzle your baking dish with olive oil, place the chicken in it and sprinkle with the remaining tarragon leaves. Cover and bake for 40 minutes.