|
Questions |
Corndale Grove |
Organigrow |
Conscious Ground |
Oliver’s Hens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Where are the chicks sourced from? |
Bonds Hatchery, Veradila Queensland |
Specialised poultry breeders, Bendigo Victoria |
Little Red Hen poultry breeder, Brisbane |
Little Red Hen poultry breeder, Brisbane |
|
Have the chicks been vaccinated? If yes, what are they vaccinated against? |
Yes, legally as a day old. But not after. |
Yes, as day old, against Coccidiosis, infectious bronchitis and Marek's disease |
Yes, Marek’s disease |
Yes, Marek’s disease |
|
At what age do the chicks arrive at your farm? |
Day old |
Day old |
Day old |
16 weeks |
|
What do you do with roosters? |
Already sexed, and if we do accidentally get a rooster, we keep them as pets or rehome them. |
If we occasionally get a rooster, he is put out on the farm. |
Already sexed - rarely get roosters. |
Already sexed - rarely get roosters. |
|
What breed of chickens do you keep? |
Bronze layers, brown, white & black |
Lohmann Browns |
Isa brown |
Hy-line brown |
|
Are the chicks / chickens fed certified organic chick starter / feed? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
What kind of feed / grains are they fed? (ie. coarse layer including meat meal or vegetarian or soy free meal) |
Soft agro, melanie, pellet, non-veg. Only biodynamic egg farmer |
Chicks are fed a crumble and then grower pellets, sourced from Nara, Melangani, mix of wholegrain ⅔ ground up lyme and ⅓ protein concentrate soy based pellet |
Veggie meal from soft ag |
Vegetarian meal, certified organic, soft ag, local feed, feed grown in casino |
|
Are the chickens fed food scraps? Are the scraps organic? |
All certified organic, biodynamic scraps |
Yes they are fed organic food scraps from the house |
Yes |
No - sometimes scraps from restaurants (very rarely) |
|
How many chickens in total? |
800-1000 |
6000 |
600-1000 |
2000 |
|
How many chickens per square meter? |
500 hens per hectare |
600 per hectare (1 hen every 16 square meters) |
400 hens per 50 sq meters |
150 per hectare (4 square meters of fresh grass each) |
|
How big is the roaming / grazing area? |
9 acre paddock, 100 acre farm. Possible to move them around. 9 acre chicken lot is closer to house |
70 acres, free range over the whole farm |
Rotated around 50 by 50 sq meters |
60 acres |
|
What is the grazing pasture? |
Grass, trevvlings, chicken caravan, clover |
Mix of native and introduced species, clover |
Setaria grass |
Grass, bare seed cover crops |
|
Is the grazing pasture / farm certified organic? |
Yes - certified organic and certified biodynamic |
Yes - certified organic |
Yes - certified organic |
No - but organic farming practices used |
|
Is the grazing pasture sprayed or treated with any fertilisers / pesticides / fungicides / herbicides / any other sprays? |
No, other than biodynamic spray which is 501 |
No |
Certified org pasture |
No spray, biodynamic spray |
|
How are mites managed in the flock? |
No mites, dust bath themselves and diatomaceous earth. |
Mites managed via organic mite treatment, mix of essential oils given through drinking water |
Diatomaceous earth |
Diatomaceous earth |
|
How are worms / parasites managed in the flock? |
Same as above |
Diatomaceous earth mixed in the feed, apple cider vinegar and garlic |
Apple cider & garlic |
Apple cider vinegar and garlic. Rotating chickens all the time. Good management |
|
How are chicken illnesses treated? |
They come up to the house and go into a sick bay, apple cider vinegar |
They are put in a special area and nurtured with love and care. |
Same as above |
Vit c, electrolytes, if too sick chicken is euthanised |
|
How long do your chickens lay eggs for? |
10 months active laying |
2 years |
18 months |
20 months to 2 years |
|
What happens to your chickens once their egg production drops / after they retire from laying eggs? |
They are moved on to other homes, always rehomed |
The chickens are rehomed and go on to backyard flocks, any remaining birds are euthanised |
Sell off, slaughter on farm & all are eaten |
Sell as many as possible to domestic flocks, bone broth with ones that can’t be rehomed |
|
How often are the eggs collected? |
Twice a day |
Daily |
Daily |
Everyday, no more than 3 days from delivery time |
|
How are they euthanised? |
n/a |
With carbon dioxide |
Cervical dislocation |
RSPCA approved Abattoir in coffs, CO2 |
|
How many could consistently supply |
Can meet our demands |
As many as required |
15-30 boxes per week |
6-7 boxes each store |
|
Was the farm flood affected? |
Yes - moved hens to dry ground by hand individually and paddocks were flooded by mountain water (not river / sewage). |
Yes - farm was cut off by the floods, lost power and workers but paddocks were not affected |
No |
No - supplied eggs to Byron Shire when Organigrow and Corndale affected by floods |
|
Other hen care and management info |
No trees in paddocks so as not to attract birds of prey - caravans used for shade |
Yes the hens are in amongst pecan trees so they have shade and are protected by Maremma dogs |
Hen rotation and crop trees provide shade for hens. |
No trees in paddocks so as not to attract birds of prey - caravans used for shade |
Contact Details:
Corndale - Denise, 0427 009 396 Organigrow - Simon & Heidi, 0421 705 848
Conscious Ground - Aidan, 0431 069 907 Oliver’s Hens - Oliver, 0411 552 478
