re legislations in ireland

[trish]

hi i am wondering if anyony knows the legislations on opening a hatchery in ireland i want to open up a completly free range hatchery none of this battery nonsence but i cant find out any info on it i have searched the net for the last week and keep coming up with nothing im just hoping somebody can help as i currently have 20 chicks and 6 ducklings but i need to find out if its even worth my while trying to start a hatchery if so im definitly keeping them as pets they are running around 3 acres of land and loving it and the kids love them too
thanking you in advance
trish

[Castle Farm]

Hello Trish.

I think you have come up with a cunning plan to lose money

[trish]

hi castle farm can you tell me how you think im gonna lose money im a complete newby to this so i dont have a clue to the laws are they that strict???
i dont mean this to sound sarky so i apologise in advance if it does ish
tr

[ammcg]

trish, what do you mean by a "free range" hatchery? Chicks need to be under heat of some sort for the first while. Do you mean to hatch chicks to supply commercial free range egg suppliers? I don't know about the legislation, but I know there are commercial poultry suppliers that supply either battery (which will be phased out in the next couple of years) or commercial free range places. On a commercial poultry farm, free range or not, the poultry would still need to be registered and vaccinated etc. I'm not sure of the legislation - you could check with the Dept of Agri, although they are a minefield to try and find what you want.

[trish]

hi i mean a completly free range chicken farm
my chicks will be reared with the hens as nature intends not under lights or seperated from their mothers i want to be able to supply chickens and chicks to anyone who wants it and maybe have some eggs for myself and my family i know this sounds weird but i dont want over crowding too i just meant to open my own farm of chooks and supply anyone who wants to buy them at a cheap price even if i was to go the egg route i see no harm in vaccinated chooks the hens i have now are already so im half way there
thank you for all your help ill check out the dept of agri and see what i can find thank you again