Organic poultry standards

Organic poultry production in the UK is governed by two main regulations and standards. The main guideline is the EU Regulation 1804/1999, which has the status of a law. This regulation was adopted by the EU Council in August 1999 and implemented in August 2000. In addition to the EU regulation, all organic certifying bodies in the UK have to confer with overall UK Standards set by the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards. Private certifying bodies can set their own standards that have to be either equivalent to or stricter than the EU and UKROFS standards. The main certifying bodies in the UK currently relevant for organic production are the Soil Association (SA), the Organic Farmers and Growers (OF&G), the Organic Food Federation (OFF) and the Scottish Organic Producer Association (SOPA).

Lampkin (1997) summarises the major points and differences between the draft EU livestock standards for poultry, the UKROFS standards, those of the Soil Association and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement (IFOAM) and the non-organic RSPCA Freedom Foods standards.

EU Regulation 1804/1999

A summary of points in EU Regulation 1804/1999 either most relevant to or specifically aimed at poultry production is included here.

General

Livestock production has to be land-based (i.e. livestock forms an integral part of the crop rotation system on the farm, landless livestock production is not acceptable) and livestock should have access to free-range (Annex 1 section 1.1.–1.4.)

Origin of birds

Choice of breed (Annex 1 section 3.1):

• The choice of breed or strain of bird must consider the capacity to adapt to conditions, vitality and resistance to disease;
• Breeds or strains should be selected to avoid specific health and disease problems associated with those used in intensive production.
• Preference should be given to indigenous breeds or strains.

Conversion

• The conversion periods for organic poultry are:

• 10 weeks for table bird production if birds are brought in before they are 3 days old;
• 6 weeks for egg laying poultry systems (Annex 1 section 2.2.1).

• In situations where a flock is being constituted for the first time/re-constituted or renewed, and there are insufficient organically reared birds available, non-organically reared birds may be brought in provided:

  • Pullets for the production of eggs are no more than 18 weeks old;
  • Chicks for broiler production are less than 3 days old (Annex 1 section 3.4).

Feeds

• Poultry should be fed to ensure quality, not to maximise production (Annex 1 section 4.1);
• The feed formula for the fattening stage must contain at least 65% cereals (Annex 1 section 4.10);
• Roughage, fresh or dried forage must be added to the daily ration (Annex 1 section 4.11);
• In order to satisfy nutritional requirements, only products listed (Annex II, Part C, section 3 [feed materials of mineral origin] and part D, sections 1.1 [trace elements] and 1.2 [vitamins]) can be used (Annex 4.16).

Husbandry Practices

• Trimming of beaks must not be carried out systematically (Annex 1 section 6.1.2);
• The minimum age of slaughter of chickens shall be 81 days (Annex 1 section 6.1.9).

Free range areas and housing

• Poultry must be reared in open-range conditions and cannot be kept in cages (Annex 1 section 8.4.1).
• Buildings must meet the following requirements:

• At least one third should be solid and covered with litter material such as straw, wood shavings, sand or turf (Annex 1 section 8.4.3);
• In laying hen houses a sufficiently large area should be available for the collection of droppings (Annex 1 section 8.4.3);
• There must be exit/entry pop-holes of a size adequate for the birds, and these should have a combined length of at least 4m per 100m² of area of available housing (Annex 1 section 8.4.3);
• Each poultry house should not contain more than 4,800 chickens or 3,000 laying hens (Annex 1 section 8.4.3).

• With regard to minimum surface areas of indoor areas (Annex VIII):

• Indoor areas for laying hens should allow a net area of no more than 6 birds/m²;
• The net area of perches should be not less than 18cm perch/animal;
• There should be nesting allowance of no more than 8 laying hens per nest or in the case of common nests 120cm² per bird;
• Indoor areas for fattening birds in fixed houses should be restricted to 10 birds/m² with a maximum of 21kg liveweight/m²;
• In mobile houses not exceeding 150 m² floor space which remain open at night, the housed stocking rate of fattening birds should be restricted to 16 birds/m²;
• In mobile houses of all sizes, birds should not be stocked at a rate of more than 30kg liveweight/m².

• With regard to minimum surface areas for outdoor areas (expressed as m² of area available in rotation/head), the standards require that an area of 4m² should be provided for laying hens, 4m² for fattening birds in fixed housing and 2.5m² for fattening birds in mobile houses. Outdoor areas should not receive more than 170 kg of N/ha/year (Annex 1 section 8.4.3).
• In the case of laying hens, natural light may be supplemented by artificial light for up to a maximum of 16 hours light per day provided there is a continuous nocturnal rest period of 8 hours without artificial light (Annex 1 section 8.4.4).
• Whenever weather conditions permit, poultry should have access to an open-air run, and whenever possible they must have access to an open-air run for at least a third of their lives (Annex 1 section 8.4.5).
• Open air runs must be mainly covered with vegetation and birds must have easy access to drinking and feeding troughs (Annex 1 section 8.4.5).
• Buildings must be emptied of livestock between each batch of poultry reared and the buildings and fittings should be cleaned and disinfected during this time (Annex 1 section 8.4.6).
• Vegetation must be allowed to grow back during periods between batches of poultry reared (Annex 1 section 8.4.6).

These standards do not apply to systems with a small number of poultry which are allowed to roam freely throughout the day.

Animal health and disease control

The EU regulations do not have poultry-specific standards. The general council regulation regarding health management of all organic livestock stresses that:

• Animal health management should be based mainly on prevention, through appropriate use of breeds and strains, a balanced high-quality diet and a favourable environment, in particular as regards rearing density, housing and husbandry;
• The preventive use of chemically-synthesised allopathic medicinal products is not permitted;
• However, sick or injured animals should be treated immediately, giving preference to phytotherapeutic or homeopathic medicinal products and strictly minimising the use of chemically synthesised allopathic medicinal products.

In addition, and more specifically, the standards for disease prevention and veterinary treatment, set out in Annex 1 section 5, include:

• The selection of appropriate strains and breeds;
• The encouragement of strong resistance to disease and the prevention of infections;
• The use of high quality feeds and regular exercise and access to pasture to encourage the natural immunological defence of the animal;
• Avoidance of over-stocking.

Annex 1 section 5.5b authorises practices that are compulsory under national or EU legislation.

When veterinary products are used, details of the diagnosis, quantity used, method of administration, duration of treatment and the legal withdrawal period must be recorded. Treated poultry must be clearly identified either individually or by batch (Annex 1 section 5.6).

Withdrawal periods for allopathic veterinary medicinal products should be twice the legal period or, if this is not specified, 48 hours (Annex 1 section 5.7).

With the exception of vaccinations, parasite treatments and compulsory eradication schemes, birds that receive more than two or a maximum of three courses of treatments with chemically-synthesised allopathic veterinary products or antibiotics within one year (or more than one course of treatment if their productive cycle is less than one year) may not be sold as organic products as specified under the EU regulations (Annex 11 section 5.8).

Cleaning and disinfection

Regular cleaning and disinfection, particularly between batches of poultry, is a critical component of good preventive veterinary practice. Annex IID lists all products authorised for cleaning and disinfection of livestock buildings and installations (e.g. equipment and utensils).

Stocking rates

Under the general heading "Livestock Manure", the Regulation stresses that stocking rates on organic units are limited to a maximum number of animals equivalent to the production of 170 kg of Nitrogen per year/hectare. Annex VII of the EU Regulation 1804/1999 estimates this as equivalent to a maximum number of 260 laying hens to the hectare or 560 table birds (3.5 crops).

Current UKROFS standards

Apart from those producers registered with the Soil Association, all other UK organic sector bodies have, by and large, adopted the standards as set out by the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS, 2000). The standards stress that the development and management of organic livestock systems requires special care in nurturing positive health and vitality, ensuring proper control of disease and the encouragement of positive animal welfare. Positive animal welfare is used in the sense defined by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) i.e to mean the satisfaction of the animal's needs, including behavioural needs and not merely the avoidance of cruelty.

For full details, refer to the full UKROFS Standards.

Soil Association standards

The Soil Association (2000) most recent standards have been produced in compliance with EU Regulation 1804/1999. The General Standards for Livestock Husbandry are set out in Section 5 of the standards. Section 6.4 applies specifically to poultry and should be adhered to in addition to the general standards. As well as minimum requirements, the standards also include specific details of recommended, permitted, restricted and prohibited practices.

For further details of membership, certification and standards, visit http://www.soilassociation.org or contact:

Soil Association Certification Ltd.
Bristol House
40-56 Victoria Street
Bristol BS1 6BY

Tel: 0117 914 2405
Fax: 0117 925 2504
E-mail: cert@soilassociation.org