North Carolina

[sbrooks88]

Not sure. We don't go all into that. I didn't know there was such a thing. We just grow for our personal use. I don't think you have to have a license it whatever for that.

 

[sbrooks88]

I just ate a wonderful lunch before work! Homemade egg noodles and made from scratch Alfredo sauce! Yum! Well off to food lion I go for the next 6 hours. if anyone can think of some small chicken pen plans please please please let me know I checked this morning online to see when my tax refund should b in the bank and it said by Wednesday. So I really need some quick easy and cheap plans! Thanks guys! Have a good day!!!

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

No, you don't need any of that stuff for your own use. Just if you use the terminology when selling. (Which I think is reprehensible!). I think about it now and then, but have only really learned that much. One day I'll look into it....

 

[starlingdaly]

No, you don't need any of that stuff for your own use. Just if you use the terminology when selling. (Which I think is reprehensible!). I think about it now and then, but have only really learned that much. One day I'll look into it....

I've done a little bit of research on it and it doesn't seem totally worth the cost at all to get a certificate for selling labeled organic eggs. You have to pay for the certificate but also make sure your chickens haven't had access to treated lumber for the past 3 years and that includes chemicals leached from the lumber into the soil. Not just in their coops but anywhere they will ever be able to go on your property. It's very complicated and there are lots of other rules but that's one of the ones that stands out to me as too difficult for me to accomplish.
I don't want the certificate but I do want to feel confident that my chickens are as close to organic as possible with the resources I have. The land around me has been poisoned for years so every time I let them free range it is a worry to me. The 15 acres we want to move to has been untouched until 9 years ago when it was clear cut. Now it has grown back considerably and is recovering well and I would feel so much more confident telling people that my chickens forage from land free of harmful synthetic chemicals.

 

[jtbass2756]

I've done a little bit of research on it and it doesn't seem totally worth the cost at all to get a certificate for selling labeled organic eggs. You have to pay for the certificate but also make sure your chickens haven't had access to treated lumber for the past 3 years and that includes chemicals leached from the lumber into the soil. Not just in their coops but anywhere they will ever be able to go on your property. It's very complicated and there are lots of other rules but that's one of the ones that stands out to me as too difficult for me to accomplish.
I don't want the certificate but I do want to feel confident that my chickens are as close to organic as possible with the resources I have. The land around me has been poisoned for years so every time I let them free range it is a worry to me. The 15 acres we want to move to has been untouched until 9 years ago when it was clear cut. Now it has grown back considerably and is recovering well and I would feel so much more confident telling people that my chickens forage from land free of harmful synthetic chemicals.

I envy you the option of the new piece of land..although we have 2 acres that's hard for us to keep up.. If I were younger, I would love to have more livestock and of course more chickens! Keep trying to get my hubby to have a miniture donkey..(not the smallest and not the regular size)...good alarm and a good protector....also LOLOL...we could fence off part of that grass and not have to spend time mowing it!!.

 

[starlingdaly]

I envy you the option of the new piece of land..although we have 2 acres that's hard for us to keep up.. If I were younger, I would love to have more livestock and of course more chickens!  Keep trying to get my hubby to have a miniture donkey..(not the smallest and not the regular size)...good alarm and a good protector....also LOLOL...we could fence off part of that grass and not have to spend time mowing it!!.

We've been wanting to move for a couple of years now and may have the funds/income to finally do so this year! We picked out our ideal location and there are two nice places that are within our budget but one is less than an acre (but the house is nice!) the other is the 15 acres of wooded land, no house. It's a very exciting and stressful time for us... So worried everything will go wrong!!!

 

[Hollowoakfarm]

Quote:
Well, see...that just knocked us right out of that. There is treated lumber in our chicken houses, and I'm not about to rebuild everything. Don't like feeding termites either, so all wood that touches the ground is treated. Thanks for the info, though! Good to know. If we ever moved, perhaps I'd do things differently to meet those criteria, but this old farm was built in 1955 and has had who knows what on it. We're surrounded by cropland that grows corn, wheat and soybeans, all Roundup Ready. So just not happening.

 

[sbrooks88]

Anyone have any good measurements for a new chicken pen to fit 10 chickens? I've searched but not sure if big enough. I want larger than I have now but not excessively large and I want an area for them to live and sleep and lay in too. I just hate the math part. I have it in y head just can't get it on paper! :/

 

[starlingdaly]

Well, see...that just knocked us right out of that.  There is treated lumber in our chicken houses, and I'm not about to rebuild everything.  Don't like feeding termites either, so all wood that touches the ground is treated.  Thanks for the info, though!  Good to know.  If we ever moved, perhaps I'd do things differently to meet those criteria, but this old farm was built in 1955 and has had who knows what on it.  We're surrounded by cropland that grows corn, wheat and soybeans, all Roundup Ready.  So just not happening.

Yup that's my thoughts to a t when I read about organic standards. Even when we do move and rebuild I probably won't be able to meet those standards because I will be reusing a lot of materials and have a hoop coop to bring over made from pressure treated wood as a frame, but oh well. We do what works best for us in the end and sustainability is more important to me than organic labeling.

Anyone have any good measurements for a new chicken pen to fit 10 chickens? I've searched but not sure if big enough. I want larger than I have now but not excessively large and I want an area for them to live and sleep and lay in too. I just hate the math part. I have it in y head just can't get it on paper! :/

Try a 8x4 or 6x4 house and a run of similar size. Should be plenty of room for 10 very comfortable and happy chickens.
My personal thoughts would be to give them between 5 and 10 square feet per bird if they are kept in at all times. I have heard 3 square feet per bird is an average but that just seems too small to me.

 

[FVRM]

I just ate a wonderful lunch before work! Homemade egg noodles and made from scratch Alfredo sauce! Yum! Well off to food lion I go for the next 6 hours.

if anyone can think of some small chicken pen plans please please please let me know I checked this morning online to see when my tax refund should b in the bank and it said by Wednesday. So I really need some quick easy and cheap plans! Thanks guys! Have a good day!!!

I had that problem with too many roosters. I made a temporary pen out of chicken wire wrapped around some trees and some timber staked into the ground. It's only good to keep them contained while you work on something more permanent. The chicken wire was around $25 but I have reused it in the garden.