By Kristen Kelderman

Nope, you didn’t read the title wrong. This spring, a university friend of mine called me up and asked if I wanted to plan a date with him and 6,000 chicks. An odd request you might say. And no, it isn’t a spinoff dating show from the Bachelor. Those of you familiar with farming have probably already figured out my cheeky attempt at a play on words. My friend Ryan is a broiler breeder farmer and yes, his chicks are yellow, fuzzy and fit in the palm of your hand.

I was very excited to get the call from Ryan. This was my first time going to help out on a chicken farm with the delivery of new chicks. Being the farm kid that I am, I asked what I needed to bring with me - the obvious stuff like work boots, and layers of old clothes to pile under my coveralls. To my surprise, Ryan said all I needed was a t-shirt and jeans. With the cold spring we’d been having I was still wearing my winter coat. I thought I would freeze!

With my dairy farm experience I’m fairly used to working in a cold barn and piling on the layers during chores. But Ryan’s barn is much different than my parents. It was like summer in there! The temperature was quite warm compared to the chilly April morning that was outside.

The inside of the barn was heated by propane to a balmy 30 degrees C on the third floor. I could get used to farming like this! I almost considered calling up my Dad to say that he need to sell the cows and get some chickens.

So why does the barn feel like you’re on a beach in Jamaica? It’s not for the people who work in the barn, it’s for the chicks that would soon call it home.

One of the most important and laborious jobs that a farmer prepares for when getting new chicks is the work before they arrive. The barn needs to be freshly clean and disinfected from floor to ceiling, new shavings spread out, the feeders and drinkers working properly and set to the right height for the chicks, and the barn needs to be the right temperature- nice and warm.

This is important so that the chicks can settle into their new home a quickly as possible. Young farm animals notice small changes in their environment much more than older mature farm animals, especially with temperature. Getting this right is vital to the health of the chicks. You want them to adjust to their new home right away.

On chick day Ryan had all of the hard work done. All we had to do was unload them from the truck. The new chicks traveled all the way from Kentucky and would have been about 12-15 hours old. They rode up in a climate controlled truck, where they were kept warm and dry.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on September 22nd, 2014 :: Filed under Animal care,Chickens,Farm life,Poultry,Uncategorized
Tags :: animal care, chicken, Farm life

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(St. Anns) - When newly-hatched chicks arrive at Topp Farms, they are placed into barns that have been freshly cleaned and warmed for their arrival. New bedding lines the floors, and energy efficient lights reflect off the natural wood paneling to create a cozy and safe place for them to explore.

“When chicks are placed into my barns, they’ve usually just hatched a few hours before,” says Kevin Topp, owner of Niagara-area Topp Farms. “It’s important to make chicks feel comfortable and that they find the water and food as quickly as possible.”

Topp is a third-generation chicken farmer with a university degree in economics. He worked in the barns with his father growing up, but he considered a career in banking before returning home with his wife, Renee, who landed a teaching job in the area. He says his return to the farm was driven largely by new technology that was taking some of the labour out of chicken farming, such as automated feeding equipment, and improved temperature control systems. The industry was becoming more organized too, with a vertical supply chain that guarantees consistency and quality to end-users. Today his chickens are sold to a company that supplies restaurant chains such as KFC and Swiss Chalet.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on December 16th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,Chickens,Family vs factory farming,Uncategorized,Ventilation
Tags :: animal care, chicken, Farm life, Farmers, technology

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In this post, we’re pleased to feature a blog written by Ontario farmer Sandi Brock. You can follow Sandi’s posts at http://staffachickfarmer.blogspot.ca/

Guest blog by Sandi Brock (Reprinted with permission)

Hard to put into writing what we sometimes feel. Farming lately has felt like a David vs. Goliath type of battle. I’m growing weary of this fight. We (farmers) are being targeted by media. Media likes a story, the worse it is, the better for them. Unfortunately, it leaves our consumers confused, scared and ultimately turned off. Gone are the days when we were all reliant on our land, our animals and our hands to feed our families. Let’s face it, the majority of our friends, neighbors and families do not farm. In fact, they may have a hard time remembering even being to a farm that was maybe a grand-parent’s or great grand-parent’s.

This then becomes our lop-sided battle.

There are just not enough of us to overpower the damage the media is doing. Farming to them is a story. To us, it is our life. It is our blood, sweat and tears. It is our income, our pride, and our contribution to a huge sector of our community and country. We don’t do this to become millionaires. We are happy to get one good year in five. We live at the mercy of the weather, the consumer, and the lenders. If any one of these are not in sync, we don’t meet our goals.

We do this because it’s in our bones. We do this because we love it. We do this because, ultimately, we all like to eat.

So that’s my side. But, it’s not enough. We need to educate. Not the other farmers, which we often find ourselves doing. It’s comfortable to talk to others that do what you do. But, that’s easy. The harder conversations need to be had with your friends in town, your neighbors, your kid’s teachers. We need to be honest and open about what we do, how we do it and most importantly, why we farm. This is the message that needs to be spread like wildfire. The problem is, we don’t take the time. I know while struggling through this fall, the last thing I feel like doing is justifying my farming practices. We are tired, stressed and feeling a bit discouraged. Day after day is another damaging story about our industry. Are they true? Likely not, but does it matter? No. It has made people hesitate. Even me, seeing stories that are edited to create fear, have made me just a little more on edge.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on November 22nd, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Animal care,Chickens,Consumers,Family vs factory farming,Farm life,Misconceptions
Tags :: animal care, chicken, Farm life, Farmers, misconceptions, Ontario

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By Jean Clavelle

This year marks another triumph for the “We Care” billboard campaign initiated by the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan (FACS).  The program, which began in 1996, feature beef, bison, horse, chicken, egg and swine producers with their animals and are posted around busy thoroughfares of Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on September 20th, 2013 :: Filed under Activism,Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Animal care,Beef cattle,Broiler Breeders,Canada,Chickens,Consumers,Dairy cattle,eggs,Faces of Farming,Farm life,Future of Farming,Horses,Media,Pigs,Pork,Poultry,Sheep,Speaking out,Uncategorized
Tags :: activists, agriculture, animal care, animal welfare, beef, Canada, chicken, dairy cattle, eggs, Faces of Farming, pigs, Poultry

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In my 15 years studying, researching and being employed in agriculture I’ve had many discussions with urban and agricultural friends, family, colleagues and even strangers about the meaning of animal welfare.  Often this conversation begins with animal welfare and then diverges into other different and oftentimes unrelated topics.  One such discussion began with welfare of laying hens in cages then turned into a discussion of the nutritional benefits of eggs from hens fed different diets.  I suspect welfare is never a short discussion because in many people’s minds welfare is associated with so many other issues.

So, what is Animal Welfare?

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on July 25th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Agriculture Education,Animal welfare,Canada,Chickens,Codes of Practice,Consumers,Education and public awareness,Laying hens,Misconceptions,Research,Speaking out,Uncategorized
Tags :: animal care, animal welfare, animals, Canada, chicken, Housing, misconceptions, Research

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Over the last few years, there’s been a growing interest in raising chickens in urban centres.  Municipalities have been debating the topic and, in some cases, like Toronto, have rules banning urban flocks. This week, we profile a blog post on the topic from Mike, an Ontario chicken vet.

Through my many associations, I become aware of studies and surveys on all things chicken. Recently, I had a study passed on to me that dealt with the demographics of backyard poultry owners. It was performed by the National Animal Health Monitoring System, an arm of the US Department of Agriculture. They talked about the need to know about the location and number of backyard flocks in terms of disease control (they ARE an animal health monitoring system….it’s what they do) but what interested me most was the demographic of the typical American Backyarder. Surveys were performed in Miami, Denver, LA and New York.

To read the whole blog, go to http://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/major-us-study-on-backyard-flocks/

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on July 8th, 2013 :: Filed under Animal care,Chickens,eggs,Housing,Uncategorized
Tags :: backyard flocks, chicken, eggs, free range

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People have long wondered which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Jacob Pelissero is an Ontario egg and pullet farmer. Pullet is the term used to describe a young hen from the time she is a few days of age to 19 weeks of age when she’s old enough to start laying eggs.

In this blog, he attempts to answer that question. (Spoiler alert - he thinks it is the chicken.)

You can see his post here - www.dinnerstartshere.ca/blog/entry/which-came-first

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on June 17th, 2013 :: Filed under Chickens,eggs,Poultry,Pullets,Uncategorized
Tags :: chicken, eggs, Poultry

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Did you know that farm animal veterinarians are extremely specialized? A poultry veterinarian will be an expert in caring for chickens or turkeys, but usually won’t be as experienced in treating a beef cow or a pig.

Today, we want to draw your attention to a blog written by Mike, an Ontario chicken veterinarian.

You can learn more about Mike and his interesting choice of careers at http://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/about/

Here’s a link to his latest blog – Chicken Lungs

“Anyone who knows me knows of my hate-hate relationship with running. I have started running in the past year, and have decided that it is the most ridiculous activity known to man. You can’t score goals, you can’t look cool, and you will NEVER make it to Sportcenter (Usain Bolt excluded….I mean….he IS Usain Bolt).

The main reason I hate running is because I suck at it. I’m strong, but my aerobic capacity is lousy. I wish I was a bird. If I was a bird, my trachea (windpipe) would be 2.7 times as large, reducing air resistance. My rate of breathing would be about 1/3 of what it is currently, and I would take much bigger breaths.

This is the first part of the system that makes the bird respiratory system much more efficient at gas exchange than mammals (especially this particular mammal). ”

To read more go to…http://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/chicken-lungs/

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on May 23rd, 2013 :: Filed under animal handling,Animal welfare,Chickens,Laying hens,Poultry
Tags :: animal care, chicken, Poultry, veterinarian

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By Jeanine Moyer (Seaforth) - Carol Leeming is a professional egg farmer. And in addition to caring for her flock of 42,000 hens, she’s a mom, wife, career woman, motorcycle enthusiast and self-proclaimed ag-vocate (an advocate for agriculture). T

his busy woman has been involved in agriculture and poultry all her life and is proud to produce the highest quality food possible for egg-lovers to enjoy. Leeming and her husband Bob have been egg farmers near Seaforth, ON for more than 25 years.

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Posted by Farm and Food Care on March 28th, 2013 :: Filed under Agricultural Advocates,Animal care,animal handling,Chickens,eggs,Innovation and technology,Laying hens,Poultry
Tags :: chicken, eggs, Farm life, Farmers, hens, Poultry

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By Patricia Grotenhuis

It may seem like a big step from a life growing up in Brampton to one living on a farm in Prince Edward County but it’s the path that Michelle Voskamp has taken.

Born and raised a city girl in Brampton with no prior farm background, Michelle Voskamp was always intrigued by rural life. She rode horses from a very young age and spent a lot of time in the country. Today, she’s living a dream on a chicken farm with her family in Prince Edward County, near Trenton.

Voskamp is featured in the 2013 Faces of Farming Calendar published by Farm & Food Care Ontario. Her page is sponsored by Maple Leaf Foods.

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Posted by FFC on January 9th, 2013 :: Filed under Chickens,Faces of Farming,Farm life,Uncategorized
Tags :: chicken, Faces of Farming, Farmers, Ontario

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