Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Free-run option. A permaculture-style house with rotating access to four yards.
Free-range options
• Aviary-style barns or hoop houses with “range” access for all of the birds at one
time.
• Portable skids, hoop houses, or other structures that are moved around on fallow
land, crop residue, or through orchards.
Pastured options
• Stationary barn, hoop house, or other structure with rotating access to pasture man-
aged for the nutritional needs of poultry.
• Skid houses, portable hoop houses, or other shelters, periodically moved across
managed pasture within a fenced area (typically electric nets).
• Portable “pasture pens” moved daily across managed pasture.
• Colony systems on managed pasture that include floorless roost houses, feed
houses, and bedded nest houses.
Most of these systems are adaptable, with minor adjustments, to all species of poultry. No
matter what system is chosen, certain space requirements apply for birds to prosper. Though
current U.S. organic standards are sometimes being interpreted to require a minimum of 1.5 sq.
ft. of floor space per “bird” (not specific about species) within housing, there are many other
space issues important to the physical and overall health of the birds. Birds of all species need
room to eat, exercise, flap, socialize, dust, escape bullies, forage, scratch, roost, etc. The fol-
lowing are recommendations based on several authorities and should be adjusted for each pro-
duction system.
As can be seen in the standards outlined in tables 1 , 2 , and 3 , other countries have much
more specific and stringent space requirements for the certification of organic systems. Produ-
cers in the United States have been forced to interpret the vague space requirements in the
NOP, sometimes with very little guidance or support from certifying agencies. Semi-intensive
producers using barns for thousands of birds typically report they feel the space requirements
too large and the outdoor access unfeasible or even detrimental. Smaller free-range or pasture-
based producers often consider them merely a minimum and provide not only outdoor access,
but high-quality managed forage on range. Some producers view the space and outdoor access
requirements as impediments to production or even a danger, exposing their birds to potential
pathogens or inclement weather and exposing the land to a bird density it cannot support. Oth-
Search WWH ::




Custom Search