Nova Scotia: articles and viewpoints

[LynneP]

Heliotrust Home Page, Hants County, NS

http://www.heliotrust.ca/

Heliotrust was formed in 2003 to
* facilitate conservation of farmland for farming and diversified farm landscapes for conservation of biodiversity;
* conserve heritage bread wheat varieties;
* develop educational materials & rural-urban linkages supportive of ecological agriculture;
* host the Farmer-Mentor Project - an initiative to celebrate, record, and demonstrate important farm knowledge.

 

[LynneP]

East Hants Municipality

Caution- information about poultry is frustrating and vague.
This could work to your advantage, or not.

General website-
http://www.easthants.ca/dev/

Rural Zone Guidelines
http://www.easthants.ca/dev/plan/LUB - SECTION 7dj.pdf


Animal By-Law 102-106
http://www.easthants.ca/dev/bylaws/by-law 102-106.PDF


Agricultural Zoning documents
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache...ION%207.pdf+zoning+poultry&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1
Check page 4

http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache...ION%201.pdf+zoning+poultry&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2
Check page 9

Land Use Guidelines
http://www.easthants.ca/dev/plan/LUB - SECTION 4dj.pdf


and Message From the Warden, includes chicken reference and names of councillors
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache...pdf+NS+East+Hants+chickens&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1

 

[LynneP]

Yesterday I had an animated discussion with a fellow golfer who is part-owner of a significant percentage of this province's chicken and turkey supply.

She's death on home flocks in general though she mellowed when she realized we are running a closed flock with biosecurity. Apparently the various properties her company uses are often encroached by diseased free-rangers as well as wild birds, and the threat of microbial infection and parasitism is intense.

They use extensive biosecurity, you would be amazed at how thorough it is. But she made it clear that the pressure on the federal and provincial governments is coming from the commercial producers and if they had their way, home flocks would be banned in this province. Gulp.

 

[sharehome]

Hi Linda - sounds like that could have been quite a tense but interesting round of golf.

Dont say the Banned word. We (no sorry I) am hoping to break ground on our chicken coop in the next month if it ever stops raining I would be devastated if policys change and I cant keep the chickens. This is not good news for any of us!!!!!!

The policys you have posted are great help though, it is better to know exactly what the rules are.

Keep up the great work

 

[LynneP]

Hey, the rules are so confusing that I'm wondering if that's the agenda. Also I found out that our county councillor keeps a home flock, so that's encouraging. You should be fine, if 'they' want to start the chicken wars in Hants County there will be hundreds of angry folk after them with pitchforks!

Oh and we must get your spearmint started. It's almost done flowering so we should be able to get rootstock shortly...

 

[LynneP]

Hey, the rules are so confusing that I'm wondering if that's the agenda. Also I found out that our county councillor keeps a home flock, so that's encouraging. You should be fine, if 'they' want to start the chicken wars in Hants County there will be hundreds of angry folk after them with pitchforks!

Oh and we must get your spearmint started. It's almost done flowering so we should be able to get rootstock shortly...

 

[mrpabaloogi]

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[Culland]

Quote:
I find it sad that this person feels that the 'problem' is back yard or small farm chickens. Perhaps the problem is the over medicated chicken crammed into a <1 sq ft living space by the thousands in her commercial operation. I think I would have wacked her with my golf club had I been part of the conversation, nice restraint

Here on PEI there was a period that home owners couldn't grow their own potatoes in the garden due to some blight scare that turned out to be unfounded so it is not without precedence that big business could have that kind of impact, stupid and scary as it is.

Cul

 

[LynneP]

I agree, Cul. I think the potato incident was a virus? Turned out it was coming into the province in seed potatoes from Maine?

I was startled in the venom this woman spewed. It was as though she was prepared to download all the blame for all disease on home flock owners.

I wanted to share this because she is *very* influential in Chicken Farmers of NS and involved in regs at the federal level too. We need to be prepared for such attitudes. I was so shocked at hearing the new poultry regs that I adapted my first flock (girls almost 15 wks old) to meet the biosecurity laws coming in Jan 2009. It would break my heart to have an inspector swoop in, as they can, and condemn my birds.

 

[Culland]

What bio-security measures did you take with your flock?

Cul