Chicken management and raising according organic standards

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. 

Housing

Why should poultry be housed?

Housing is necessary to protect chicken against predators, thieves, adverse weather (rain, sun, cold winds, low night temperatures) especially during the night, and to provide shelter for egg laying and broody hens. Suitable poultry houses are important for efficient production and management. Poultry houses and shelters vary depending on availability of materials, weather and tradition. Choice of chicken housing should be based on cost, durability and usage. In organic production, outdoor access should be provided, and the hens or chicken can choose whether to be inside or outdoor. 

Points to consider when selecting sites for poultry housing:

• Provision of dry, friable litter.
• Avoidance of key areas that can be patrolled by predators.
• Dark areas to be avoided except for nest boxes.
• In fixed house situations, either wire mesh or stones in areas immediately outside pop holes.
• Air quality (i.e. low ammonia levels, correct humidity, correct temperature and good ventilation) plays a crucial role in health management. The position of a house can influence ranging activity and bird health. Soil type and drainage are instrumental in determining the extent of build up of soil-borne parasites.
• Locating houses on free draining, flat, shady, south facing pasture is preferable in order to minimise the build up of internal parasites and coocidial oocysts and to ensure better retention of grass cover.
• Poultry houses should have windows on either side for ventilation. In addition a hole or ridge on the roof will ensure proper ventilation and give light making it easier to work in the house. Make sure winds ventilate the house without making chicken cold. Make sure that there are no draughts. Sitting houses should be placed at right angles to the prevailing wind slightly moderates the amount of wind entering the building through the pop holes.
• Ideally, houses should be positioned in the centre of the land area, where the hens or chicken should have access, so that a series of radiating paddocks can be created around the unit. 
• Accessibility during all weather conditions is an important consideration.
• Range areas bordered by dense woodland are likely to be at greater risk from predation by foxes in particular. On the other hand, trees and bushes close to the houses provide shade, windbreaks and protect birds from flying predators. Clear grass and bushes for about 3 meters on all sides of the house to keep snakes and rats away. 
• Use wire (chicken and mesh wire) on windows to avoid predators and wild birds.
• Secure premises near the family house. It is important to hear if the chickens get disturbed at night by predators or thieves.
• It can be relevant to select a site on which the poultry house faces South or East in wet regions. In a rectangular house the end walls should face East and West to ensure that only the end walls face the hot afternoon sun.
• Cheap locally available material can be very good, and natural materials like bamboo, wood, reeds, thatch grass or clay bricks will often give good protection against heat and cold nights.
• Remove the bark from the wood to reduce the parasites load. Parasite often hide beneath the bark. 
• Heat, humidity, and harmful gasses may be considerably reduced through good ventilation. High temperatures may cause deaths, a drop in egg production, low shells quality and reduced weight gain. A combination of high temperatures and high humidity may cause death in young chicks. 
• Placing perches and nests inside the house to safeguard chickens against various predators. Perches and nests will also help to keep chickens and eggs clean.
• Laying nests should be place in a quiet place in the house
• Make a house which is easy to clean, to protect against diseases and parasites the house must be easy to clean. It should be big 
• Make the nests and perches easy to remove when cleaning 
• If relevant because of disease outbreaks, houses or shelters can be sprayed with lime (or in some cases it can be necessary to use a vermicide) washed after cleaning to disinfect and kill parasite eggs from the walls and cracks. Place ashes on the floor and in the nests to discourage parasites. 
• Night houses/shelters should be built on poles, well above the ground to protect the chicken from predators such as dogs, rats and snakes.
• Build your poultry house to prevent possible injury to the birds. Remove any sharp edged objects from the house. 
• All chicken must have an outdoor run.

There are two main categories of housing organic poultry: static and mobile.

Perches

Perches are important for chickens to rest on at night. The provision of perches for laying birds satisfies a natural behavioural activity. Diseases and parasites may attack poultry resting on the floor (in contact with litter). Each one-meter perch may roost five adult birds. Perches are best made of bamboo or rounded sticks and not too big or too small. Treat perches with used engine oil or kerosene to keep away parasites. 

However, if badly designed, these can result in pain and injury. Perches should be arranged so as to enable birds to easily move between them and other equipment, thus reducing the risk of collisions and subsequent bruising and/or other damage. Consideration should be given to minimizing bird stress and downgrading during catching at the end of the laying period. The ability to remove perches aids this process.

Floors made of net are not acceptable for chicken, and they are harmful to the feed of the hens and chicken. See the pictures below.

NOT acceptable housing for chicken. Floors made of net are not acceptable for chicken, and they are harmful to the feed of the hens and chicken.

(c) A. Wachira, KARI, Kenya

Acceptable housing for chicken with slatted floor. They must be allowed outdoor and the slatted floor should only be half of the area.

(c) A. Wachira, KARI, Kenya

Nests 
When laying nests are not provided, hens lay eggs on the ground, in tall grass or in natural shelters where they may be difficult locate. Avoid building nests on the ground or outside chicken houses. Nests outside the house expose eggs to predators and thieves. Laying nests ease egg collection and avoids eggs that are dirty and cracked. Eggs should be collected twice a daily at the same time each day (mid-morning and the evening). Removing eggs continuously is important to stop hens from going broody since broody hens stop laying.

To reduce the impact of excessive aggression within a flock, and to avoid floor laying and wastage, it is important that sufficient nest boxes are available. The provision of perches and of ground-level nest boxes will also encourage the use of nest boxes amongst a greater proportion of hens. It is important that nest boxes are sufficiently accessible so that they can be easily cleaned between batches.

Chicken nest box

(c) Marete

Nests should be placed inside the chicken house and preferably above the ground. Provide one laying nest for every 5 hens. Brooding nests are individual nests and should be placed in quiet and dark places where eggs are easily removed. Once the hen is broody it may be necessary to remove her to an isolated place to avoid other hens disturbing her or going broody as well.

Simple nests can be made out of clay, calabashes or baskets made of local fibres, cardboard or wooden boxes. Nests should have the correct measurement for the hen to feel comfortable. An individual nest box measures 30 x 30 x 30 cm. A calabash/nest basket or nests made out of clay measure 40 x 20 x 25 cm (upper diameter x height x lower diameter). 

Three steps when preparing an individual nest 
1) Ensure the pot or basket is clean and dry
2) Fill the pot or basket with sand mixed with ashes up to 1/3 full
3) Place clean, soft nesting litter material (hay or straw or wood shaving) on top up to 2/3 full.

Nesting material should be changed at least once a week. Ensure that the nest is 1/3 full with litter material to make the hen feel secure. When necessary place 'dummy eggs' (e.g. stone eggs) in the nests to train/attract the hens into using the nests. 

Shelters for mother hen and chicks 

Litter management 
Litter management is a vital component of managing the welfare of birds as ammonia release from poor litter can lead to conditions such as breast blister, hock burn, pododermatitis and respiratory disease. Management of litter in free range systems presents problems, particularly in winter when the weather is cold and litter is likely to become wet. 

Three factors have particularly important effects on litter condition:

- litter moisture,
- greasy capped litter (resulting from too much fat in the feed or feed of poor quality); and
- Nitrogen in the litter.

 

Chicken runs
Chicken runs are a fenced open air space of 25 m2 or more where poultry are kept and protected against predators and thieves. Runs are also used for feeding, watering, for daily flock observation and collection of eggs. The walls are 2 meters high and can be made of clay or woven mat or chicken wire. A chicken run is relatively costly but provides security to the poultry. Allow adult birds to scavenge outside the run during daytime to reduce feeding costs. Protect your vegetable garden against free running poultry

Guide to good housing for young chicken 

1. Use baskets for night shelter and day shelter for small chicks to reduce costs and labour involved in constructing permanent houses;
2. Always use locally available materials to reduce costs;
3. In permanent or semi-permanent poultry houses use slatted, raised floors to remove droppings and keep out predators;
4. Always use wire netting (chicken or mesh wire) for the windows to keep out predators;
5. Provide perches and nests inside the house and make them removable to facilitate cleaning;
6. Ensure adequate ventilation in poultry houses without making the poultry cold;
7. Provide adequate drainage in case of flooding and protect birds from the hot midday sun.
8. Provide nests with clean litter which are easy to access and clean
9. Always house young chicks with their mother away from adult poultry.
10. Make sure that houses are easy to access and clean.
11. A good housing should be spacious, well illuminated, dry and airy, easy to clean and have perches for chicken. 

Housing for Hybrid layers on large farms 

• Deep litter system: 
  Birds are reared on a floor preferably concrete to allow easy disinfection and some litter material placed 15 cm deep. Litter materials may include wood shavings, rice husks, hay, chopped up straw, crushed maize cobs and shredded paper. Allow 3 to 4 laying hens and 12-15 broilers per square metre on deep litter floor systems 

• Full Slatted Floor system: 
  Birds are reared on a raised floor made of either wooden slats or wire mesh. Slats with s width of 1.5 cm and a height of 4 cm laid 2.5 cm apart are recommended. Wire mesh usually has netting of 2.5 cm by 7.5 cm with 3 mm thickness. Allow 10 to 12 laying birds per square 

Free range housing

(c) Mette Vaarst

Housing for Broilers
Broilers can be kept in similar confinements as layers, but do not need the laying boxes. Organic broilers grow slower than conventional ones and must have outdoor area to run and to prevent bones to be weak. In EU, they have to be 70 days old or more before slaughter. Broilers like some sunshine, which reduces stress in the flock and helps keep the birds healthy. 

Partly free range (required in organic herds, where natural behavior and life is favoured)

Both hybrid layers and broiler products improve if the chicken have access to outside exercise area, greens in the diet, sunshine and areas where they can take dust baths. Eggs from layers fed with enough greens have a deep yellow yolk, which is much preferred by the market and fetches premium prices compared to the light yellow to almost white yolks of eggs from battery hens. Broilers produce better quality meat (better texture and taste) if they have access to outdoor facilities such as sunshine, exercise, dust bath areas and green feed. They also have stronger bones and less tendency to break legs during processing.

Broiler housing

(c) Mette Vaarst

Housing for Indigenous chicken
Poultry are often allowed to scavenge for food in the local environment during day time, getting housed in the evenings. In some cases they roost in the branches of trees or in enclosed baskets in the house to protect from predators and theft. In other cases, keepers build wooden, stone or brick accommodation attached to the family dwelling house. As brick houses tend to be difficult to keep clean. They present a potential threat due to the build-up of pathogens.

In Kenya, there are several housing structures, which include: 

• The dome-shaped stick basket, known in western Kenya as Lisera, Liuli or Osero, ideal for daytime housing 
• The stick-built Kiduli and other standard poultry houses 

• Keep the chicken house clean and dry at all times
• Disinfect all litter material before use
• Locate the chicken farm at least 100m away from other chicken farms
• Keep away visitors from the chicken houses.
• Control rodents and mice 
• Clean drinking equipment and feeders regularly
• Clean the chicken houses thoroughly and disinfect after disposing all birds
• Remove dead birds immediately and bury them or burn them

• Poultry unit should have free flow of fresh air. 
• A chimney aids the flow of air from the back to the front. 
• Place 0.6 m wire-mesh opening at the back, and 1.0 m opening in front of the building. In hot areas front ventilation should be made as big as 2 metres from the top. During the cold weather cover the ventilation with curtains. 

• Too many birds kept together in non-challenging and boring conditions may cannibalise/wound or even kill each other, as the stronger ones peck the weaker. 
• Do not keep local breeds in confinement without free access to outdoor areas. Also hybrid chicken do better with acces to outside runs.
• Provide a space of 5 square meters per adult bird in a run system.
• When space is limited, diseases are passed more easily from one bird to another. 

• Burn and bury dead birds 
• Do not allow wild birds and other fowls into the poultry house or farm 
• Do generally not mix birds of various ages, which come from different places

In more industrialized chicken farms with confined chicken following advises are given to avoid infections: 

• Do not allow visitors or vehicles into the poultry farm unless thoroughly disinfected 
• Use foot baths with disinfectant outside each poultry house 
• Wear protective clothing for each house

Farmers who regularly add EM (effective microorganisms) or BM to the drinking water of chicken are reported to have very few cases of coccidiosis and other diarrhea causing pathogens. Also vinegar can be used as a water additive if signs of diarrhea appear in the flock. 

Give clean and fresh water in a specific place

(c) Henry Ondwasy, KARI

Chicken diseases

Please see also here for general information about Holistic disease management.

Chicken diseases - What causes diseases? 

• Infections with microorganisms
• Parasites (Internal and external)
• Malnutrition
• Injuries
• Chemical (eg. Sodium chloride poisoning).

Disease outbreak and death of the animals depend on their age, nutrional status and hygiene of their housing. 

Health and disease management

• Starts at the hatchery and continue to maturity.
• Poultry will often remain healthy when they are well fed and managed,  vaccinated against diseases when relevant in your area.
• In case of disease outbreak, sick birds should be isolated and dead birds removed burnt or buried
  • Apply strict sanitary measures in all houses. 
  • Notify veterinarian as soon as possible.

Good disease prevention practices

• Vaccinate the chicken as recommended by the vet
• Vaccinate only health chicken
• Give access to the right feed and clean water, in particular for small chicks
• Build shelters against wind and rain and predators
• Clean houses regularly and apply lime wash/disinfect the floor and walls
• Provide dry litter regularly where applicable
• Do not put too many birds together
• Different species of poultry for example hens, turkeys, pigeons, ducks and guinea fowls should be kept separate
• Separate chicks from adult birds except from the mother hen
• Isolate and treat sick birds
• Burn or burry dead birds (do not try to eat sick birds that have died - diseases can sometimes transfer to human beings never mind how well they are cooked).

Vaccination regime recommended for commercial chicks, but also applicable to improved management of indigenous chicken (Sigma feeds chicken recommendations):

Importance of a disease is judged by mortality rates and effect on production. Diseases in poultry are divided into three categories:

• High importance
  • high mortality (more than 30% of the flock)
  • highly contagious and difficult treatment. 
• Medium importance
  • medium mortality (10-30%) of the flock and/or difficult treatment.
• Less importance, signifies not common
  • lower mortality and/or easy treatment 

Diseases with high mortality (more than 30% of the flock), highly contagious and difficult treatment

• Newcastle Disease
• Avian Influenza (AI)
• Fowl pox 
• Fowl cholera (pasteurellosis)
• Coccidiosis (internal parasites)

Disease with medium mortality (10-30%) of the flock and/or difficult treatment

• Pullorum disease (Baciillary white diarrhea)
• Fowl typhoid
• Gumboro (Infectious Bursal Disease, IBD)
• Infectious coryza
• Chronic respiratory disease (Mycoplasmosis)
• Roundworms and tapeworms (Internal parasites)
• Mycotoxicosis (fungal poisoning)
• External Parasites

Less importance, signifies not common, lower mortality and/or easy to treatment

• Marek's disease
• E. coli infection
• Scaly legs
• Nutritional diseases 

1) Nutritional diseases

2) Protozoan diseases

Protozoa such as Emiria tenella (coccidia) are larger than bacteria and can be easily seen under the microscope. Protozoan diseases are caused by poor hygiene and sanitation. Symptoms: Sick looking birds with head down, ruffled feathers and bloody diarrhea, death of young chicks.

Prevention and control:

• Avoid keeping different age groups of birds in the same house as disease may spread from adults to young chicks
• Use of EM or BM in drinking water for prevention
• Clean up chicken house and disinfect the area with lime (dusting with whitewash or agricultural lime)
• During outbreaks use coccidiostat mixture in drinking water

3) Bacterial diseases

Bacteria are minute germs that can only be seen under microscopes. Bacterial diseases can be prevented through good hygiene and sanitation. Very common are diseases caused by Salmonella bacteria, namely:

• Pullorum disease. It is caused by sub-species S. pullorum and it is severe by chicks. It is transmitted from hen to chicks during egg formation, contamination of eggs during laying or the chicksget infected form faeces. 
  Symptoms: dead embryo in eggs that do not hatch; chicks develop wet tails within the first week; whitish diarrhoea, chicks walk with difficulty, show big bellies and drag their wings, huddling anddifficulty in breathing. Mortality can reach 100% in the first two weeks. 

• Fowl typhoid. It is caused by the species S. gallinarum and it affects growers and adult chickens. It is spread through contamination of feed and water by faeces of infected birds.
  Symptoms: Usually seen in older birds, high body temperature, tiredness, blue comb, decrease in egg production, egg fertility and hatchability; anorexia and dullness followed by sudden death.

• Salmonellosis. It is caused by another Salmonella species. It affects chicks and adults.It is spread by contamination of eggs at laying or through contaminated feed and water and faeces. 
  Symptoms: Decline in egg production, egg fertility and hatchability; anorexia and dullness followed by sudden death.

• Collibacillosis. It is acute in chicks and chronic in adult chicken. Common in newly hatched chicks. Chicks get contaminated through eggs and contaminated faeces, while feed and water transmit the disease to both chicks and adults. It can be prevented by keeping good egg and nest sanitation. 
  Symptoms: Respiratory distress, diarrhoea, high mortality of chicks and dead embryos in spoiled eggs. 

• Infectious Coryza. This disease can be acute, mild or chronic. Contamination occurs by faecal matter, aerosols or through feed and water. It can be prevented by vaccination with bacterin in water at 10 to 12 weeks and 16 to 18 weeks.
  Symptoms: Swollen watery eyes, closed eyes, nasal discharge (runny nose), laboured breathing and decrease in egg production. All clinically ill chicken should be destroyed.

• Fowl Cholera (Pasteurellosis). This may occur at all ages of chicken, causing infection of the stomach region. 
  Symptoms: severe diarrhea, breathing problems, loss of appetite, blue combs and wattles. May occur as a cronic disease or as sudden death. Infection is mainly through contaminated feed and drinking water. There is no treatment. Best prevention is strict hygiene and vaccination. Destroy through killing and burn affected birds. 

Prevention and control 

4) Parasitic diseases

Worms inhabit the alimentary canal and other internal organs such as lungs, trachea, etc. There are two groups of worms: round worms and flat worms.

a) Round worms 

• Ascridia galli. They infect both chicks and adult chicken. Infection occurs through eggs that are laid by female worms in birds' entestines and are passed out in droppings. They mature in one week or longer, and are swallowed up by chicken, hatch and cause new infection. Prevention is difficult due to feeding habits, especially by scavenging chicken.
  Symptoms: Slow growth and stunted, culled feathers and drooping head, thirst, low egg production and death due to intestinal obstruction in young birds.
• Gape worms (Syngamus treachea). They infect the trachea (windpipe) of chicken. Adult worms live and lay eggs in the birds trachea; the eggs get coughed out or get swallowed into the oesophagus and discarded via faeces. The eggs hatch to larvae which infect chicken or enter intermediate hosts such as beetles and earthworms. 
  Symptoms: Difficulty in breathing and gasping for air (thus the term gapeworm), huddling, and death fue to suffocation.

b) Flat worms 

• Tape worm (Raillietina tetragona) infests scavenging chicken. The worms release the eggs free or retained in a segment. Beetles and snails ingest the eggs. The eggs develop in these intermediate hosts infecting chicken that feed on them. Prevention occurs by using clean containers.
  Symptoms: Stunting, Thirst, poor health, low egg production and death of young birds on poor diets.

Prevention and cure: Intestinal worms in chicken are controlled by regular deworming with recommended deworming medicine usually mixed with drinking water.
 

• The most common external parasites include lice, mites, fleas and ticks. They infest poultry houses and breed in cracks of the buildings. Infestation occurs through infected birds and pets, and affect all ages of birds but are severe in chicks.
• Prevention can be done by maintaining cleaniliness of the poultry nests and houses and sealing cracks in the walls and on the floors.
• Lice can be seen around eyes and nose. They lay eggs on the feathers and suck blood from chicken, causing discomfort.

External parasites (behaviour and parasites) Scaly legs 

5) Viral diseases

Viruses can be prevented by vaccination. They are the smallest germs and can cause incurable diseases. There is no treatment for virus diseases.

a) Newcastle disease

Newcastle disease in a broiler chick: twisted head

(c) L. Mahin, Wikipedia

A hen with fowl pox pimples on the comb

(c) Henry Ondwasy, KARI

Death caused by infectious bursa disease.

(c) Henry Ondwasy, KARI

Vaccination methods

There are four fundamental ways of vaccinating birds: 
1) Eye drops
2) Injections
3) Skin piercing.
4)  Orally (in feed or water)
 

• For scavenging poultry, you should avoid mixing vaccines with drinking water or feed, as it is difficult to give the right dose. Research has shown that protection against e.g. Newcastle disease is highly variable if vaccine is given through water or feed. Giving the right dose is essential for the vaccine to work properly. A too high dose of a live vaccine may kill a young chick, whereas a too low dose will not give adequate protection. Thus, it is important to consult a veterinarian or auxiliary veterinarians (barefoot vets, village vaccinators) for further advice before carrying out a vaccination.
• Tools for application normally include a clean apron (green or other dark colour if possible) vaccine vial (B) stored in a cool box (C), soap to clean hands (D), clean needles (E), clean syringe (G) and a clean box for needles and syringe (F). Needles and syringe should be boiled in water for 5 minutes and cooled before re-use
• It is important to treat the clean syringe and needle carefully. Do no touch the end of the needle after cleaning. Put the needle gently on the syringe holding the needle with the sharp end upwards . Put the vaccine vial upside-down and press the needle gently through the plastic seal of the vial cap. Pull the syringe handle gently down, while sucking the vaccine out of the vial until the syringe is full. Press the syringe handle back until you reach the right volume.
• Ensure that there are no air bubbles trapped in the syringe or the needle. Air bubbles will give the wrong dose to the chickens. Normally a full 1 ml syringe will match 10 doses, one for each of ten adult birds. This however depends on the weight of the bird and the type of vaccine, and the application method.
• The most common methods for vaccinating adult poultry are eye drops (A), injections in the breast or thigh muscles (B) or by piercing the skin of the wing (C). The most common methods for young chicks are eye drops and skin piercing. When the birds grow older, injections are given in the breast or thigh muscles. Depending on the vaccine type, eye drops may also be used for adult birds. Please consult the local veterinarian for clarification and technical information
• Vaccines should be given either early morning, before letting the birds out of the chicken house or when the local birds are easy to catch resting in the trees. When vaccinating adult poultry for the first time, you should preferably be two persons, one holding the bird, the other one vaccinating.

General precautions for vaccination with live vaccines: 
 

• All vaccines should be stored in a refrigerator before use.

• Some vaccines are heat stable, which means that the vaccine will tolerate high temperatures. However, heat stable vaccines should also be stored in a cold place to keep them viable. You should always keep vaccines out of direct sunlight.

• When using vaccines in the field, you should as far as possible transport them in a cool box with ice.

• The syringe, needle and other equipment to be used for vaccination should not be cleaned by any chemical disinfectants, as these may destroy the vaccine. They should instead be disinfected in boiling water and be used after cooling.

• The vaccines must be mixed or diluted in cold distilled water, and care must be taken to ensure that the vaccines do not come in contact with direct sunlight. 

• It is best to vaccinate birds during the cool hours of the day, either in the morning or evening.

• Some mixed vaccines should be used within 30 minutes. Otherwise they will be useless and should be thrown away.

• Always consult a veterinarian or an auxiliary veterinarian before conducting a vaccination campaign.