Field of Greens chicken barn
We spoke with Ron Lawson, owner of Field of Greens (www.myfieldofgreens.com) in Sonoma California. “Our hens are not just free range, but FREE-WILL, raised with plenty of room to roam about in the Sonoma sunshine. Field of Greens provides eggs to individuals, high-end restaurants and groceries in the local area. They feed their chickens organic feed and are doing many things in their operation to be a local, organic and sustainable source of eggs. Ron provided some interesting information. Of the feed that chickens eat the TDN (Total Digestible Nutrient) is 12%. This means they can only digest about 12% of the nutrient provided in their feed during any given feeding. They feed their chickens organic feed from Hunt & Behrens or Dairymen’s Feed & Supply Co-op. They also feed them extra cellulous from rice straw, grass and pumpkins, in season. They grow the grass and pumpkins on site, but Ron questions whether any of the key ingredients in chicken feed sold in local stores, ground corn, soybean meal or wheat mill run, are currently grown in California and then put in chicken feed.
As a commercial operation, Ron has concerns about the potential for spreading disease, since poultry is extremely vulnerable to the transmission of food-born disease. He feels chicken owners should make sure they are 100% sure the feed they give their chickens is disease free. He thinks it is imperative to properly handle inputs and outputs, making sure wild birds, vermin and insects can’t get into feed and that chicken waste is handled in a sanitary method.
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