Management and results of small-scale organic laying hens in Southern Brazil. Case report.

Summary

Due to increasing consumption and the payment of a differentiated price, organic eggs have been a good option to improve the income of small farmers. However, since the organic production system is new and lacking in research and technical guidance, there is still no consolidated methodology to guide farmers. In order to contribute to this, we report on the management of 100 laying hens over 18 months on an organic farm in Brazil. Parasites were controlled by the rotation of the animals to interfere in the cycle of the parasites and by the use of bioactive and medicinal plants. In this period the mortality was 2% and between 40 and 66 weeks the mean posture was 84.21% and the mean weight of the eggs was 66.19 g. The good results are an indicative of the success of the adopted management. The farmers also declared that they are satisfied. Accordingly, such methodology should be further studied and detailed to obtain more consistent results and thus serve as a guiding basis for organic laying hen breeders.