It was about 20 degrees F outside. But inside Jason and Karah Perdue's new pullet barn, it was a comfortable 70 degrees during the open house they held on their York County farm in January.

Like many who are showing interest in adding a livestock enterprise to their farm in the state, the Perdues see the pullet barn as a way to diversify their income. "With the grain market and land prices the way they are, it's tough to come back to the farm, but livestock provides one way to do that," Jason says. "The timing was right. This specific opportunity looked like something that would cash-flow well, especially with current interest rates and the outlook for interest rates."

The pullet barn is one of 11 barns to be built in Nebraska to supply Hendrix-ISA's new $10 million hatchery in Grand Island, including other pullet barns and egg-laying barns.

With the largest population of layer hens in the country next door in Iowa, and with Nebraska located in the middle of the country, the state is an ideal location for the new hatchery, according to Hendrix. Nebraska also has an abundant supply of grain, an essential feed resource for poultry.

The new 35,000-square foot barn has a 40,000-bird capacity and will be occupied by 2.5 flocks a year. The Perdues will raise the chicks from 1-day-old to 16.5 weeks before they move on to egg-laying barns.

Jason and Karah come from hog farming backgrounds, and initially looked into raising pigs wean-to-finish. With Jason working full time as a branded products territory manager for Wilbur-Ellis, and four children ages 7 and under, raising pullets was a good fit. "We both grew up with hogs, but the cash flow and labor needed to raise pullets worked better for our growing family," says Karah, who, along with their children, will be managing the day-to-day operations of the barn. "With pullets, we're looking at between 1 to 1.5 hours of chores per day, which is doable for me and the kids."

Learning curve
Nebraska is known as the Beef State and Cornhusker State for good reason. When it comes to raising poultry, most farmers don't have much experience. But while there's a slight learning curve, farmers like the Perdues are quick to pick up on the day-to-day fundamentals of raising pullets.

"Anybody who's been in the pork business knows biosecurity has changed to keep animals safe. That's changed with poultry, too. Otherwise, their requirements aren't all that different from other animals," says Emily Skillett, livestock development coordinator with the Alliance for the Future of Agriculture in Nebraska (AFAN). "Nebraska farmers are adept to taking on change; they understand livestock and the care they need. They don't shy away from that. I think a lot of producers that get into poultry will adapt to that change very quickly."

"I came into it with no expectations. I had no knowledge of what a pullet barn was," Karah says. "The more you learn, you compare it to a hog barn, and it's pretty similar."

When it comes to livestock production, the goal is always to keep animals comfortable. That means supplying food and water, and keeping them at the right temperature with the right lighting. The new barn is equipped with the latest in automation to operate the barn's tunnel ventilation, water system, feed system and lighting. A unique design feature is the barn's cement floor, which allows for easy cleaning.

"Technology helps us with ventilation; we can put in parameters of what we want and it will automatically alert us if it gets too hot or cold," Jason says. "At any time, if we're not on-site we can look in and see what the temperatures are, see what heaters are running, see what fans are running. We know how much and how long feedlines have run. Even if we're not on-site, we can pinpoint a problem and fix it sooner."

Driving demand locally
When it comes to raising the chicks, Karah says the whole family will be involved. "When we say family, we literally mean family," she says. Her parents raise corn, soybeans and pigs wean-to-finish. "We have two of our kids helping me with chores every day. My parents live just two miles away and Jason's are just 15 miles away. So they're available to help with anything if we need them."

It also provides their children a potential project for FFA and an extra income source later in life.

However, the barn will also bring benefits to the entire community. All of the feedstuffs required to feed the birds will be sourced through the local cooperative's feed mill. This includes about 20,000 bushels of corn, 140 tons of soybean meal and 45 tons of dried distillers grain every year.

"We export huge amounts of grain to other countries, and feeding livestock is a great way to keep it in our state and keep those jobs in our state," Skillett says. "You're buying grain from a feed mill, which requires trucks to bring it out. You're hiring local veterinary services. The construction itself provides work for your community, and there are also jobs for land applicators spreading manure back on crop ground."

"We really look at it as somewhat of a community project," Jason says.