Grow Your Own Magazine

jackie j · #1 (**permalink**) 03-04-2008, 04:07 PM

A neighbouring allotment holder has about 50 hens ducks etc on his plot, its under cover and fenced in, no way can fox or any other animal get in or out.
Im concerned that there is too many in such a small place. he told me the max is 50 so he must know.
For school news day my daughter went to a free range chicken farm and no way will she allow me to have any other eggs now.

yoanbob · #2 (**permalink**) 03-04-2008, 05:20 PM

cruel in my opinion but if you look at the rules they will let you be very very cruel if your a chuck farmer, not sure if the same rules apply for lotties but I gues they would if you are allowed fowl at all.

janeyo · #3 (**permalink**) 03-04-2008, 05:24 PM

I think once you get to 50 chickens you have to be registered with DEFRA and can be inspected etc.

janeyo

yoanbob · #4 (**permalink**) 03-04-2008, 05:27 PM

Yeah that rings a bell.
if its really bad you get the RSPCA to inspect

Eyren · #5 (**permalink**) 03-04-2008, 06:16 PM

From the BBC food website:

Quote:

The most common categories are:

'Extensive indoor' or 'barn-reared': these chickens mustn't be packed more than 15 to a square metre of living space (and not more than 25kg/sq m in combined weight); they shouldn't be slaughtered before they are 56 days old.

'Free-range': the maximum indoor stocking density is 13 birds per square metre (and not more than 27.5kg/sq m); in addition, each bird, for at least half its life, should have continuous daytime access to open-air runs with a maximum density of one bird per square metre.

'Traditional free-range': the maximum indoor stocking density is 12 birds per square metre (and not more than 25kg/sq m); continuous daytime access to open-air runs should be given from the age of six weeks, and these runs should allow at least 2sq m per chicken; poultry houses shouldn't contain more than 4,000 chickens. Slow-growing varieties of chicken should be used, with a minimum slaughter age of 81 days.

'Free-range - total freedom': in addition to the criteria for 'traditional free-range' chickens, these birds should have open-air runs of unlimited area.

Most UK chicken meat comes from birds that are packed at a density of about 35kg/sq m, have no outside access, and are slaughtered at 41 to 43 days.

So he probably isn't breaching any regulations, sad to say, as long as the birds are fed and vaguely healthy

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