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Organic Farming

Organic systems recognise that our health is directly connected to the food we eat and, ultimately, the health of the soil. Healthy soil = healthy food = healthy people & and healthy environment!

Organic farmers aim to produce good food from a balanced living soil. Strict regulations, known as standards, define what we can and can't do. They place strong emphasis on protecting the environment.

Organic farmers like us use crop rotations to make the soil more fertile. For example, we may graze sheep on a field one year, making the soil more fertile, then plant wheat the next and so on.

…this little piggy

Organic farmers do not grow genetically modified crops and can only use - as a last resort - seven of the hundreds of pesticides available to farmers (the Soil Association only allow four of these).

Parasite problems in farm animals are controlled through regularly moving the animals to fresh pasture and other preventative methods rather than routinely dosing the animals with drugs.

Here are some of organic farming's main features:

Organic farming severely restricts the use of artificial chemical fertilisers and pesticides
Instead, organic farmers rely on developing a healthy, fertile soil and growing a mixture of crops in rotation
Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs, antibiotics and wormers common in intensive livestock farming

The word 'organic' is defined by law. Any food labelled organic must meet a strict set of standards. Look for the Soil Association symbol for your guarantee of the highest organic standards.

For more info visit: http://www.whyorganic.org

Chickens & Eggs…

My passion for chickens began many years ago when my dear friend Sarah sold me my very first chicken house. It was definitely the beginning of a chicken thing…

We have a small flock of organic laying chickens in the paddock, there are about 50 made up of 12 Cuckoo Marans (speckledy fat hens who lay dark brown speckledy eggs), 15 Black Rocks (black feathers with green shine, ginger neck & heads - a Rhode Island cross, lays pale shelled eggs) and 23 Light Sussex (white fat hens with grey flecking around neck & wing area, lay creamy/light brown eggs)

They live in the Blue Shed at the moment and we strip graze them in the paddock using the tried & tested Balfour method. John is planning on building a moveable house on wheels in the New Year so we can take them to graze all over the farm.

I remember reading Katie Thear book years ago in which she said that chickens can remember up to a maximum of 50 - 60 other chickens, (probably by recognising the shapes of their heads) and therefore this should be the maximum size of a single flock. The organic standards are much more than this (up to 1000 under the Soil Association - even more under other certification bodies). I suppose this is to make it commercially viable, but would rather have happy hens that live a stress-free life & come and talk to me when I feed them. It makes sense; the happier they are the more eggs they lay! We believe its important that chickens can express their 'chicken-ness' meaning they have free access to the great outdoors & can scratch & peck in the soil, which is their natural behaviour. They also have plenty of space on the perch and plenty of egg boxes to lay their eggs in.

We have some older pet chickens that live next to the house in their own newly updated & revamped Chicken House (thank you Sarah & Dave!!)

These are Buff Orpingtons, Speckled Sussex & Marans.

LOVE CHICKENS …