Credits:Biovision-Infonet
The following are required:
- Poultry or poultry products must come from chicken that have been under organic management from the second day of life. If one cannot verify this they are not raising organic chickens.
- Organic chicken must not be beak trimmed, which is a practice in some conventional poultry productions.
- All feed, except minerals and vitamins, must be organically produced. Non-synthetic vitamins are preferred, but synthetic sources are allowed if non-synthetics are not available.
The following feeds are prohibited:
- i. Animal byproducts from mammals and poultry, such as meat and bone meal, are not allowed in feed rations.
- ii. Fishmeal is not permitted, (except it can be proved that it is organically produced).
- iii. Synthetic amino acids are not permitted.
- iv. Non synthetic but non agricultural products are permitted.
Organic guidelines
The handling of feed ingredients must comply with organic requirements. Some people may buy organic feed from mills or grow their own ingredients for feed, but organic guidelines must be followed with either choice.
- No drugs may be used to promote growth.
- Transporting Live Chicken upside down is not allowed, regardless of the distance
- Physical alterations such as beak trimming and toe trimming are not allowed, exceptions could be when the welfare of the animal or flock is threatened. Beak trimming and toe trimming are still discouraged and would be handled on a case by case basis.
- Living conditions must be established and maintained to “accommodate the health and natural behavior of animals, including access the outdoors, shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, and direct sunlight. “Continuous confinement is not permitted, but temporary confinement is allowed if adequately justified.
- Dust wallows are required, as is clean, dry bedding. Any bedding that is of a type typically consumed by poultry must meet all organic standards.
- Birds are not permitted to come into contact with treated wood used to construct chicken pens.
- Health care measures must include preventive practices such as good nutrition, sanitation, healthy living conditions and vaccinations. Preventive use of antibiotics is not permitted. Synthetic parasiticides including coccidiostats are not permitted. Although some natural alternative products are allowed, health problems must be controlled primarily through good management.
- Birds that do become sick cannot be withheld from medical treatment just to preserve their organic status. They should be medicated and then sold into the conventional marketplace.
- Chicken manure must be managed in a way that does not contribute to contamination of crops, soil, or water and that optimizes the recycling of nutrients.
FIVE FREEDOMS FOR CHICKEN WEALTH – IMPORTANT
The welfare of poultry includes its physical and mental state. Good poultry welfare implies both fitness and a sense of well-being for the animal. Any poultry kept by man, must at least be protected from unnecessary suffering. An animal’s welfare, whether on farm, in transit, at market or at a place of slaughter should be considered in terms of ‘five freedoms’. These freedoms define ideal states rather than standards for acceptable welfare. They form a logical and comprehensive framework for analysis of welfare within any system together with the steps and compromises necessary to safeguard and improve welfare within the proper constraints of an effective livestock industry.
1) Freedom from Hunger and Thirst – by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigor.
2) Freedom from Discomfort – by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area.
3) Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease – by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.
4) Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour – by providing sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal’s own kind.
5) Freedom from Fear and Distress – by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering.