How-to guide
Questions, questions, questions. Off The Radar will be covering
a host of topics, but if you are left scratching your head over
what Te Radar is on about, then scratch no more. We will
cover everything from environmental buzz words to how to gut a
chicken.
Basic
chicken husbandry and helpful tips for saving ex-battery hens
How do you gut and pluck your poultry?
What is self sufficiency and self
sustainability?
What is Organic food?
Food
miles
Carbon
Footprint
Basic chicken husbandry and
helpful tips for saving ex-battery hens
There are many benefits to raising chickens; they can make great
pets, they provide natural bug control, they give you several eggs
each week (and potentially meat), and they provide endless hours of
therapy and enjoyment in watching them cluck and peck
around.
For many people, raising chickens is their first step to becoming more self sufficient. Chickens need relatively little care, but there are a few things you may want to consider before placing your order :
A coop needs to allow at least half a square metre per chicken and they will also need a secure run allowing at least a metre per chicken (the bigger the better - particularly if they won't have a chance to free range safely). Their coop doesn't have to be anything palatial, but some care will need to be taken to ensure that it is dry, free of drafts and safe from predators.
Chickens need relatively little care, but they do need to be locked into their coop safely at night, and let out again in the morning. They also need fresh water and feed every day. Food should be a mix of kitchen and garden scraps (just don't feed them chicken leftovers as that's a bit gross) layer pellets (which you buy from rural supply stores like RD1, Wrightsons etc) and grit to make sure their shells are sturdy. The coop should be cleaned out regularly and the straw/hay replaced every couple of weeks or so to keep their laying boxes clean and dry.
In terms of the monetary cost of feed and bedding, hens usually
more than pay for themselves with their eggs (not to mention the
enjoyment they bring as pets). The cost of buying or building a
coop and run however, may take a few years for them to
'earn'. But they will happily live in all kinds of
accommodation - like old playhouses, packing crates - anything that
has shelter and is draught-free. Inside their coop, they will
need nesting boxes with straw or hay in them in which to lay their
eggs.
Old wooden drawers can work well or a beer crate that has one of
the side slats removed so they can easily get in. They will
also need a perch to roost on. A perch is simply a rail or
piece of timber up off the ground that they can stand on as they
like to sleep that way.
How many chickens really depends on how many you think you would like, have the space for, and can look after. Chickens have a group mentality so having at least two or three is better than having just one. With most egg laying breeds you can expect to get four to six eggs per week from each hen (this number will probably decrease as they get older). You don't need to have a rooster to get eggs but if you want one then the normal ratio is one rooster to every ten hens.
Some local areas have rules on keeping chickens so you should always check for any restrictions before building / buying your coop. Even if you are allowed to get chickens, it may be a good idea to have a word with the neighbours first if they are very close by - particularly if you are thinking of getting a rooster.
Chickens enjoy being able to free range, but if they are not in a secure area, and / or you are unable to keep an eye on them, it is not always safe for them to do so (predators, including your local neighbourhood dogs, can cause trouble). If you are able to free-range safely then nothing in your garden is safe - they will eat / dig up / dustbathe in everything! If they can't free range safely then they will need a secure pen - fresh air and exercise is as important to a chickens well-being as it is to our own.
Saving battery hens
When you first get your ex-battery hens home you may find that they look like they are in a pretty poorly state - most hens that survive their life in a battery farm will have up to two thirds of their feathers missing. Their beaks will have been trimmed to prevent them pecking at each other. Legs will be lumpy and bumpy. Toe claws are usually long and their combs will probably be quite large and pale. Happily, most issues will be aesthetic and resolved relatively quickly with a few weeks of 'the good life'!
Re-homing ex battery hens is not just about putting them into a big enough space with shelter, food and water and hoping they are going to be okay. They will need a little supervision and guidance to become a 'real' chicken again. Food and water dishes may need to be a little deeper to allow for their trimmed beaks. It will probably take a few days (even weeks) for them to get used to having space to move around in and fresh air to breathe. You may find that they hardly move at all to begin with, and they might even surprise you by wanting to stay inside the coop!
When you consider the life that the battery hen has become used to (in fact the only one she has ever known), it is easy to see how her new life outside of the cage may seem quite bewildering to her. It will be the first time she has walked about, pecked for bugs, seen the sky, felt grass (or straw or mud) under her feet, dust bathed and even roosted. Everything will be new - and probably scary. This may result in a very timid bird, or it could even cause her to be a little aggressive. She could 'flop around,' as if unsure how to use her limbs. She may not want to move about a lot, and it can take a little bit of time before she will be ready to explore. In fact, in many ways, ex-battery hens may not act like 'normal' chickens at all, but be patient; a transformation is taking place.
You will need to make sure you have some kind of layers feed available for your new hens. They will most likely have been fed a layers mash at the farm, so if you can continue with the food format they are used to, at least for the first few weeks, then that should also help them settle in quicker. Additionally, a poultry vitamin / nutrient supplement can also help give them an extra little boost. Ask what is available at a store like RD1.
Their new home should be a sturdy, comfortable, draft free place
that offers good protection from predators. These hens might not be
physically very strong due to a lifetime of inactivity, so you may
wish to make sure that they have a ramp up to their roosts or nest
boxes, or perhaps even start them off with a nest box or bedding on
the floor. As they probably have never roosted before they are
likely to huddle on the floor at night initially and so it must be
safe for them to do so.
Despite having reached the end of their commercial egg laying life,
you will find they will still continue to lay eggs. They might take
a few weeks to get back into the swing of things, and don't expect
them to always lay in the nestboxes - some hens will lay eggs as
they are walking around. Do not worry though as most hens
eventually do start laying in the comfort of the nest box. Golf
balls or other 'pretend' eggs left in the nests can sometimes help
give your new hens a nudge in the right direction.
The satisfaction that you will receive from watching each of
these hens become more like a normal healthy chicken is beyond
words. They will show you how much they appreciate this second
chance, not just by the amount of eggs they lay, but in the life
that you can see being injected back in to them!
How do you gut and pluck your
poultry?
First step, prepare your tools. You need a sharp hatchet or ax, a
chopping block or tree stump to chop their heads off on, a pot of
hot water, something to singe with, a clean bucket to do the
gutting in, and a place to cool them.
Now cull a wild turkey or more simply select an annoying rooster
from the hen house. Shooting a turkey is easy compared to dealing
with back-yard poultry where you must take your warm, breathing
chicken and put its head on the block.
For those doing the later, take some solace from the fact poultry
get real calm when held upside down which helps make this all a bit
easier. Then in one determined chop he's dead.The first time you do
it, you'll swear he isn't dead. He'll flop. I keep a hold on his
feet while he does the worst of it. Hold him upside down so
it can bleed out a bit better. Now scald him. I've heated
this water hot before I came outside, and I brought the water with
me then. Its exact temperature matters less than your judgment --
if the water is hotter, hold him in there less long. You need to
hold him so absolutely all his feathers are in the water.
The feathers that take the most scalding are the wing and tail feathers so if you can grab them and they come out right away, he's scalded enough. The other feathers will literally come out by the handfull. Strip from top to bottom. After the feathers come out, the pin feathers come out and you have to go back and get those.
Wash off the bird and prepare to gut. There is a place right
under the anus that you can cut into and not cut anything you don't
want to. That's where I make my first cut. You want a really sharp
knife for this so you don't have to use much pressure to cut so you
won't cut yourself or the guts.
Once the anus is loose, I just pull it out some and stick my hand
up in and tear the membranes that attach the guts to the inside of
the carcass. With the head off, you just pull everything out
the rear end. Rinse the bird and leave him to cool.
There are some edible parts in the guts - the liver and
the heart. Be careful as the bile duct is attached to the liver and
it is a trick to cut out. Not hard. But don't leak bile on
anything. Just cut out a little of the liver to make sure you
don't cut into the bile duct.I just take the heart out of the
membrane and maybe trim the top of it if it has any length of blood
vessel on it.
Now you just have to decide on how you want to brew up your bird
into a tasty dish... And rest assured, all the hard, grubby work
will be worth in once it's on the dinner plate.
What is self sufficiency and
self sustainability?
The concept of self-sufficiency, so central in the debate about the future of our planet, is as rich and complex as the debate itself. It involves the natural world, human culture, economics of oil and labor, population politics, and much more. But first of all, it involves people.
Being self-sufficient simply means being independent: one does by oneself what is sufficient for survival.
"Self-sufficiency" brings to mind living with less and
self-sacrifice, to those who consciously seek it, it is a positive
attitude, a desire for:
personal autonomy
skillfulness
creativity
pride
safety and survival
The aim to be self-sufficient is to divorce oneself from habits
like:
Excessive oil-consumption and reliance on exotic foods, which are
polluting the planet and creating injustices.
Though to many, "self-sufficiency" brings to mind living with
less and self-sacrifice, to those who consciously seek it, it is a
positive attitude.
The above reflects the varying degrees to which one can go, but
they also demonstrate that self-sufficiency is never 100%. That is,
self-sufficiency always involves community.
For one, even the most solitary and independent individual must rely on community for some needs. Even in a society where self-sufficiency is a goal or a given, reciprocity within the community is unavoidable.
More importantly, the objective of "self-sufficiency" is only
complete if it acknowledges the role of family, local community,
country and the entire world-population. For instance:
The family that makes it a point to buy only local food, involves
the fate and well-being of local farmers and promotes the
self-sufficiency of its community.
The shopper who chooses not to buy an imported product, supports
the self-sufficiency of his country.
Self-sustainability is about a wider picture: self-sufficiency is a
quality of one's present state, but self-sustainability applies to
the future maintainability of one's self-sufficiency and indeed
one's existence.
These are produced according to certain production standards. For crops, it means they were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives.
For animals, it means they were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.
Increasingly, organic food production is legally regulated. Currently, the United States, the European Union, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain organic certification in order to market food as organic.
Historically, organic farms have been relatively small family-run farms- which is why organic food was once only available in small stores or farmers' markets. Now, organic foods are becoming much more widely available - organic food sales within the United States have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year for the past few years while sales of conventional food have grown at only about 2 to 3 percent a year. This large growth is predicted to continue, and many companies are jumping into the market
The production, sale and consumption of organic foods reflects
both a concern for the environment and a concern for human health.
Furthermore it reflects an interest in strengthening communities
and the relationships within them. The popularity of farmer's
markets highlight the value now placed on fresh organic local
food.
The organic movement also reflects a return to values of handmade
quality, accountability, and a refined holistic aesthetic. This is
evidenced by the frequent convergence of the organic with the
gourmet.
Companies who have begun to incorporate organics into their product lines often cite the now popular dictum "to do good is to do well". The development of organic lines in mainstream grocery stores is paralleled by the more general interest now given to all forms of sustainability in business and industry.
Supporters of organic farming claim that organic farms have a
smaller environmental impact than conventional farms. Several
surveys and studies have attempted to examine and compare
conventional and organic systems of farming. The general consensus
across these surveys[8][9] is that organic farming is less damaging
for the following reasons:
Organic farms do not release synthetic pesticides into the
environment - some of which have the potential to harm local
wildlife.
Organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining
diverse ecosystems, i.e., populations of plants and insects, as
well as animals.
When calculated either per unit area or per unit of yield, organic
farms use less energy and produce less waste, e.g., waste such as
packaging materials for chemicals.
Some studies are consistent in showing that organic farms are
more energy efficient. However, alternative views hold that
this may be deceptive, based on fossil fuel usage but ignoring
energy costs of plowing and other laborious practices used on
organic farms to maintain yields.
Furthermore, Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma",
notes that in the whole chain of food production and distribution,
only one-fifth of the energy is used on the farm.
Yet a report published by DEFRA, Britain's environment and farming
ministry, concluded that shifts toward a local food production and
distribution system, as advocated by many organic food proponents,
would actually increase the amount of energy being invested in food
due to the a higher level of small-scale transport systems, which
suffer from inefficiencies compared to standard large-scale
supermarket systems.
One study from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency found
that, area-for-area, organic farms of potatoes, sugar beet and seed
grass produce as little as half the output of conventional
farming.
Findings like these, and the dependence of organic food on manure
from low-yield cattle, has prompted criticism from many scientists
that organic farming is environmentally unsound and incapable of
feeding the world population.
Among these critics are Norman Borlaug, father of the "green
revolution," and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, who asserts that
organic farming practices can at most feed 4 billion people, after
expanding cropland dramatically and destroying ecosystems in the
process.
For those who work on farms, there have been many studies on the
health effects of pesticide exposure. Even when pesticides
are used correctly, they still end up in the air and bodies of farm
workers.
Through these studies, organophosphate pesticides have become
associated with acute health problems such as abdominal pain,
dizziness, headaches, nausea, vomiting, as well as skin and eye
problems.
In addition, there have been many other studies that have found
pesticide exposure is associated with more severe health problems
such as respiratory problems, memory disorders, dermatologic
conditions, cancer, depression, neurologic deficits,
miscarriages, and birth defects. Summaries of peer-reviewed
research have examined the link between pesticide exposure and
neurological outcomes and cancer in organophosphate-exposed
workers.
Certain genetic modifications can allow some non-organic food to
avoid the usage of pesticides without losses in yield. However,
genetically-modified crops are the subject of controversy on their
own.
A study published in 2002 showed that "Organically grown foods
consistently had about one-third as many residues as conventionally
grown foods."
Monitoring of pesticide residues in the United States is carried
out by the Pesticide Data Program - with samples collected close to
the point of consumption. Their most recent results found in 2005
that:
"These data indicate that 29.5 percent of all samples tested
contained no detectable pesticides, 30 percent contained 1
pesticide, and slightly over 40 percent contained
more than 1 pesticide. "
-USDA, Pesticide Data Program[32]
Several studies corroborate this finding by having found that that while 77 percent of conventional food carries synthetic pesticide residues, only about 25 percent of organic food does.
A study published by the National Research Council in 1993
determined that for infants and children, the major source of
exposure to pesticides is through diet.
A recent study in 2006 measured the levels of organophosphorus
pesticide exposure in 23 schoolchildren before and after replacing
their diet with organic food. In this study it was found that
levels of organophosphorus pesticide exposure dropped dramatically
and immediately when the children switched to an organic
diet. Food residue limits established by law are set
specifically with children in mind and consider a child's lifetime
ingestion of each pesticide.
Organic farming standards do not allow the use of synthetic pesticides, but they do allow the use of specific pesticides derived from plants. The most common organic pesticides, accepted for restricted use by most organic standards, include Bt, pyrethrum, and rotenone. Some organic pesticides, such as rotenone, have high toxicity to fish and aquatic creatures with some toxicity to mammals including humans.
A 2001 study by researchers at Washington State University concluded, under judgement by a panel of tasters, that organic apples were sweeter. Along with taste and sweetness, the texture as well as firmness of the apples were also rated higher than those grown conventionally. These differences are attributed to the greater soil quality resulting from organic farming techniques compared to those of conventional farming.
Some studies have shown higher nutrient levels in organic fruit and vegetables compared with conventionally grown products. However, due to the difficulty with designing such experiments, the evidence is not considered conclusive
A 2002 meta-analysis, which is a review of all past studies on the subject - found no proof that organic food offers greater nutritional values, more consumer safety or any distinguishable difference in taste.
Organic food can be more expensive than conventional food and thus too highly priced to be affordable to persons on a lower income. Organic products typically cost 10 to 40% more than similar conventionally produced products.
Food miles
This refers to the distance food travels from the time of its
production until it reaches the consumer. It is one dimension used
in assessing the environmental impact of food.
The term was coined by Tim Lang (now Professor of Food Policy, City University, London) who says: "The point was to highlight the hidden ecological, social and economic consequences of food production to consumers in a simple way, one which had objective reality but also connotations."
Recent findings indicate that it is not only how far the food
has travelled but how it has travelled that is important to
consider. The positive environmental effects of specialist organic
farming may be offset by increased transportation, unless it is
produced by local farms. But even then the logistics and effects on
other local traffic may play a big role.
Also, many trips by personal cars to shopping centres would have a
negative environmental impact compared to a few truck loads to
neighbourhood stores that can be easily accessed by walking or
cycling.
The calculation of food miles ignores questions of scale.
Consider the following simplistic example: a small family farm
produces 10 tons of produce, but has a small truck with capacity
for only 1 ton. If the farm is located 100 miles away from market,
each piece of produce only travels 100 "food miles"; however, 10
trips are required to bring that produce to market.
Now consider a farm located 1000 miles away but with a 10-ton
truck. That farm's produce would travel 1000 "food miles" while
consuming a comparable amount of energy. Hence there is a need when
reporting food miles to standardize by some quantity measure. A
much more relevant indicator would be the "average number of food
miles per ton" or per other unit of measure.
Critics of food miles point out that transport is only one component of the total environmental impact of food production and consumption. In fact, any environmental assessment of food that consumers buy needs to take into account how the food has been produced and what energy is used in its production.
A recent DEFRA case study indicated that tomatoes grown in Spain and transported to the United Kingdom may have a lower carbon footprint in terms of energy efficiency than tomatoes grown in the United Kingdom, because of the energy needed to heat greenhouses in the UK
A 2006 research report from Lincoln University, New Zealand
counters claims about food miles by comparing total energy used in
food production in Europe and New Zealand, taking into account
energy used to ship the food to Europe for consumers.
The report states, "New Zealand has greater production efficiency
in many food commodities compared to the UK. For example New
Zealand agriculture tends to apply fewer fertilizers (which require
large amounts of energy to produce and cause significant CO2
emissions) and animals are able to graze year round outside eating
grass instead of large quantities of brought-in feed such as
concentrates.
In the case of dairy and sheep meat production NZ is by far more
energy efficient, even including the transport cost, than the UK,
twice as efficient in the case of dairy, and four times as
efficient in case of sheep meat. In the case of apples NZ is more
energy efficient even though the energy embodied in capital items
and other inputs data was not available for the UK."
Further study on the total carbon footprint of food is required,
of which transport may or may not make a large contribution.
However, "Food Miles" signals more than just carbon footprint -
which came into being several years later, and also includes
transport of virtual water, life cycle assessments, land use and
the inefficiencies of moving similar foods backwards and forwards
over the same ground.
A commonly ignored element is the local loop. The act of driving
further to a more "right-on" food source increases the total carbon
footprint. A shopper may buy say 5kg of meat and use about a gallon
to get it. That piece of meat could have gone over 60,000 miles by
road (40tonner at 8mpg) to require the same carbon in
transportation.
Carbon
Footprint
It is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. You can calculate yours at: www.carbonfootprint.com
Not only are the developed western countries producing more and more carbon emissions, but there is a growing problem as the population in Africa and Asia start living improved lifestyles which consume more energy.
We need to lead the way...
Did you know... Electricity is one of the biggest producers of
carbon emissions.
Here's a list of simple things you can do immediately These will start to reduce your contribution to global warming. The items in this list will cost you no money at all and will in fact save you money.
- Sign up to a green energy supplier, who will supply electricity from renewable sources (e.g. wind and hydroelectric power) - this will reduce your carbon footprint contribution from electricity to zero
- Turn things off when not in use (lights, television, DVD player, stereo, computer etc.
- Turn down underfloor heating or only turning it on for the time you need it
- Have drapes on all your windows and close them at dusk to keep the heat of the day inside
- Turn down the water heating setting (just 2 degrees will make a significant saving)
- Fill your dish washer and washing machine with a full load - this will save you water, electricity, and washing powder
- Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need
- Unplug your mobile phone as soon as it has finished charging
- Defrost your fridge/freezer regularly
- Do your weekly shopping in a single trip
- Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it
- Go for a run rather than drive to the gym
The following is a list of items that may take an initial investment They should pay for themselves over the course of 1-4 years through savings on your energy bills.
- Fit energy saving light bulbs
- Insulate your hot water tank, your roof and walls 35% of heat generated in the house is lost through the walls. By installing 180mm thick roof insulation you could stop about 25% of your heating escaping through the roof
- Recycle your grey water
- Replace your old fridge / freezer (if it is over 15 years old), with a new one with a high energy efficiency rating
- Travel less and travel more carbon footprint friendly.
- Car share to work, or for the kids school run
- Use the bus or a train rather than your car
- See if your employer will allow you to work from home one day a week
- When on holiday - hire a bicycle to explore locally rather than a car
- When staying in a hotel turn the lights and air-conditioning off when you leave your hotel room
- Ask for your room towels to be washed every other day, rather than every day
As well as your primary carbon footprint, there is also a secondary footprint that you cause through your buying habits.
- If you buy foods out of season at the super market, then these will have either been flown or shipped in from far away - all adding to your carbon footprint.
- Reduce your consumption of meat
- Don't buy bottled water (especially if it has been shipped from far away)
- Buy local fruit and vegetables, or even try growing your own
- Don't buy fresh fruit and vegetables which are out of season, they may have been flown in
- Try to buy products made closer to home (look out and avoid items that are made in the distant places)
- Buy organic produce
- Don't buy over packaged products and buy what you can from bulk bins using your own containers or recycled plastic bags
- Recycle as much as possible
In addition there is your footprint at work.
- Do you leave your computer and monitor on when you are away from your desk?
- Do you leave the lights on when you leave the office?
- Do you print documents unnecessarily - and could you print two
pages to a side and double sided?
