Egg Pool Requirements

Mandatory Requirements:

  1. 1.75 square feet per bird in the hen house.
  2. Uninterrupted supply of clean water.
  3. Some natural light in the house.
  4. Adequate ventilation to prevent ammonia build up. May use Gypsum, Rock Phos., Cal. Phos.
  5. Access to the outdoors when seasonally appropriate.
  6. Outdoor area providing five square feet per bird.
  7. Egg storage area holding 60 degrees or less with a thermometer present.

Additional Requirements

  1. Laying hens may remain in production for up to 52 weeks before being replaced (exceptions may be granted by executive committee however).
  2. Egg pick-up areas must have: 1) a flat, level approach, 2) at least a 10'x10' concrete/asphalt slab, 3) unobstructed access from egg room/cooler to loading area, 4) area must be clear of snow and ice in winter, and 5) the driveway must be well maintained, free of bumps and potholes.
  3. Egg Coolers must have: 1) ability to move egg racks freely in/out without being obstructed by a threshold, 2) a door wide enough to allow for easy movement of egg rack in/out of cooler, and 3) have an area where a CROPP-issued temperature-recording device can be mounted.
  4. The feeding of both crab meal and fish meal is disallowed.
  5. Minimum flock size for new producers is 2,000 birds—unless an exception is granted by the executive committee.
  6. All pullets entering a member's flock must be certified organic and administered an approved vaccination schedule.
  7. New membership selection criteria may include: 1) ability to produce all or part of there feed requirements, 2) certification status, 3) sponsorship by a current Egg Pool member and/or membership in other CROPP producer pools, and 4) history in organics.
  8. All new producers must operate a 100% organic farm or be in the process of transitioning their farm to organic production. "Split operations"—both organic and conventional production on the same farm—are not allowed.

Recommended Practices:

Hen House Conditions:

Temperature: 40-80 degrees

Humidity: 60-80%

Waterers: At least one bell waterer per 75-100 or one nipple per 10-15 birds on line waterers.

Roost Area: Flat roost area that hens cannot get under, with waterers over this periodically dust with CalPhos or lime to keep ammonia down. Six inches per bird on roost area.

Dust Bath: Should be provided, filled with dry materials such as sand, dry dirt, HiCal lime, diatomaceous earth or a mix of these.

Litter: Should be sawdust, shavings, certifiable hay or straw, or ground cobs.

Floor: Area should be dry with certified scratch feed on the floor to encourage turning the litter. If using the deep litter method it must be microbially alive, turned periodically with moisture to aid break down. Lime the floor periodically to disinfect.

Transition: Rest time of two weeks between batches is encouraged to break the parasite cycle. Clean house thoroughly, lime heavily, or spray a mild bleach solution to disinfect.

Ventilation: Should maintain adequate air movement to avoid an overwhelming ammonia smell. Ammonia levels in house should be less than 20 ppm. Ridge vents are highly encouraged to remove ammonia and moisture.

Lighting: Supplemental lighting not mandatory but encouraged. Fourteen to sixteen hours recommended. Never decrease for hens once they are laying.

Feed: All laying hens must be fed 100% certified organic feed from day one. Do not feed kitchen scraps. High quality certifiable hay (either ground or into the feed or as bedding) helps keep yolk color dark.

Outdoor Access: Some form of pasture rotation (or a very large area provided) to maintain at least 30% plant cover. Area must be certified (at least three years free of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides). Seed down with alfalfa mix or rape seed periodically and let regenerate. Ideally birds should be rotated out of area every other year. Must comply with certifying agency.

Nests: At least one individual nest per ten birds. Minimum twenty inches off the ground. Colony nests: 50 hens per colony.

Egg Collection: Twice daily. Put the small end down in the plastic flats (air cell must be up). Smalls (anything less than 1.75 oz.), super jumbos (more than 2.8 oz) cracks and dirties should be sorted out and kept on the farm. Dirty eggs should be washed daily in a lukewarm soap (certifiable) and water solution. Egg storage area, in addition to being less than 60 degrees, should be easily accessible by the egg truck with a concrete walkway. Producer will receive conventional price for all small eggs.

Health: Elective surgeries allowed: beak tipping (never after 10 days). Probiotics in the feed or water are encouraged periodically. Vaccination programs for pullets must be followed according to manufacturer directions. Homeopathic or herbal treatments for flock disorders such as parasites are allowed. Use of food-grade hydrogen peroxide is acceptable. Any use of antibiotics or any other substance prohibited in the standards will result in immediate decertification and disqualification from the CROPP program. Use of antibiotics or growth stimulants at any time, in any form, is strictly prohibited. Should antibiotics be needed for any reason, hens must be culled from the flock and sold off the farm.

Culling/ Death Loss: Separate unhealthy birds from rest of flock. Dispose of dead birds immediately in a sanitary manner, i.e. bury, thoroughly incinerate, or by high temperature composting.

Record Keeping: It is very important, for certification purposes, that you keep careful records of feed consumption (copies of invoices), any health treatments, mortality, and egg production rates.

When adopting any practice or method, always check with your organic certification organization!!

For more information contact the pools team.