Organic poultry production systems can be sophisticated, technically advanced commercial operations or simple, small-farm add-ons integrated into a more complex agroecosystem. No matter the size or scale, the basic tenets of traditional organic agriculture apply.

This NOFA guide includes information on:

• Organic poultry basics
• Establishing the facilities (housing and equipment, choosing and using litter, outdoor access, brooding, grazing and pasturing)
• Purchasing and brooding chicks
• Organic feed and supplements
• Poultry health care in the organic system
• Management challenges (production and culling, spotted shells, yolk color)
• Slaughter and Processing
• Marketing
• Production expectations and economic viability

About The Author

Karma Glos is the daughter of homesteading parents. She majored in field biology at Evergreen State College in her home state of Washington and worked briefly for the U.S. Forest Service studying small mammal ecology. With her husband, Michael, she has been building Kingbird Farm in upstate New York since 1996. Their successful, diverse operation includes hogs, poultry, beef, vegetables, and herbs with the help of many draft horses. She has a passion for healthful, innovative livestock husbandry practices.