OXHILL Organics has mimicked nature to create a pasture-fed system for their chickens.
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Farmer Chris Eggert said his organic cows and chickens went hand-in-hand to ensure his soils were properly fertilised and aerated.
“Basically our rotation is time-controlled. When the pasture is growing fast, you move the chickens around fast and when it’s growing slower you move them less. The number one thing you have to protect is your pasture,” he said. He compared the process to mowing the lawn, however Mr Eggert’s lawn was a lot larger.
“Our calves will graze in a smaller area and the next day we’ll move them to a new spot. Then three days later we’ll move the chickens to where the cows previously grazed. The idea is they scratch and peck through the calves manure and fertilise the ground whilst eating the egg larvae, intestinal worms and other harmful bugs so I don’t have to drench the cattle,” he said.
The process of moving the chickens can be labor intensive; moving and placing netted fences, and towing chicken caravans, where they go to lay eggs, with a tractor. Mr Eggert said animal impact and the cycle of movement ensured his pasture had variety, nutrition and was regularly cleaned.
“Because we are organic we are very limited to what we can feed them so we give them organic wheat and they eat the grass, chicory is the first thing they go for.”
At the moment Oxhill Organics has trouble meeting the demand for their eggs, collecting around 700 per day.
“It’s because of the season but usually we collect 1200 per day. Per shed we have about 450 birds and we four sheds of babies but a lot goes into rearing them,” Mr Eggert said.
At Oxhill Organics they keep the whole chickens’ beak and they feed them some organic milk from their dairy.
“Our chooks get a pretty good run, they are happy hens. They roam in a good size area with regular, fresh pasture to eat.”
After collecting the eggs each day the eggs are cleaned, checked for cracks, then divided into weights and packaged. The Wauchope farm supplies locally and also to Sydney and Newcastle.
“We don’t have enough eggs to supply to anyone else at the moment. Our eggs on farm are around $7.50 but look how much work goes into collecting a handful of eggs.
“And our grain cost nearly $1 per kilo. I don’t see a problem with one egg costing $1,” he said as he cracked an egg open. “See how the egg stays whole? And look at that colour. We use no additives for colour, or for anything else… These are 100 per cent pure, organic eggs.”
