A Liaison with Layers
For a week in July 2012 my sister and I, two veterinary students from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Medicine in Edinburgh, visited Rabbit River Farms to learn about the egg laying industry and experience life on the farm. We were excited to see the very first organic egg farm in Canada and gain insight on poultry welfare.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the farmer’s wife who introduced us to the nutritionist on site and the workers. The owner, Steve Easterbrook, valued his workers highly and provided them with great working conditions. The workers were always very happy and always presented us with smiles and hellos in the morning. One of the first things we noticed after setting foot in the grading plant was how clean everything was. The workers work very hard to ensure maximum sanitation. Rounding the corner, we noticed something that not every barn has: a viewing area for visitors. We have been to several farms over the years and many farmers have stressed the conflict of wanting to educate the general public on their practices and biosecurity. Steve has a great setup to prevent biosecurity issues but also to show visitors the ins and outs of organic poultry farming.
One of the main problems with free range layers are the eagles who love to eat the chickens. One of our duties was to chase away eagles if we ever saw one. It was interesting to hear how important crows were to the farm as their presence deterred eagles from entering the area. The farm was in the process of putting up wire lines 10 feet above the free range yard to prevent eagle attacks, as eagles need a lot of space to take off. When eagles analyze a food source they not only see how easy it will be to get the prey but also how easy it is to leave the area. With these wires, it would be very hard to leave the free range area after landing and thus these wires would deter eagles.
To ‘earn our stripes,’ as Steve says, we performed many farm duties such as cutting blackberry bushes, weed trimming, cutting greenery, shovelling manure and putting up fences. You really appreciate the value of a dollar when you work on a farm! Even though it was hard work, we had the privilege of working with the main barn hand, Harjinder. She had immigrated from India just six years ago and was the hardest worker we had ever seen! She also loved her chickens! After working at the poultry barn she would rush right back home to milk 200 cows!
Aside from our outdoor duties, we also helped Harjinder with barn duties. Our favourite part was in the morning when we walked through the barn collecting eggs; it was one big Easter egg hunt! Any child (or adult!) would have loved it. The feed was provided four times daily automatically, but we gave oyster shells (for extra calcium!) every day. Water was provided via water nipples. At 11:30 am every day, weather permitting, the barn doors were opened and birds were free to wander the vast landscape outside the barn. We spent a lot of time outside socializing with the chickens. It was great to see the animals exhibiting natural behaviour and socializing outside of the barn walls. We quite enjoyed sitting with the birds while they explored the outside grasslands. The poultry were let back in at dusk.
Raj, Harjinder’s husband and the onsite nutritionist, was very knowledgeable about the farming industry. He gave us several lectures on poultry nutrition and welfare. It was very interesting to learn about feather pecking and the different methods to control it. It was interesting to learn about the different causes and the different ways of controlling feather pecking in a free range laying system. Raj also gave us a lecture on nutrition; one of the most interesting facts was how quickly chickens respond to a change in feed. If something is wrong with the feed, the farmer sees the detriment within 72 hours. It is therefore very important for the industry to maintain high feed and nutrition standards. Most other animals would not show detriments for quite some time.
We thoroughly enjoyed our experience at Rabbit River Farms. It was nice to get a tour of their old barn with Steve’s mother in law, Janet, and see how much Steve and his wife have expanded the business. I was surprised to hear that they had only been in operation at the new plant for three years! It was a great success story. As my father always says, find something you love to do and find something that people want. By making his hobby his business and starting up the first organic laying farm in Canada, Steve has done just that!