Every farm incubator project that allows participating farmers to bring farm animals on-site as part of their farm operation should have an Animal Husbandry Manual. This helps guarantee that all farm animals are treated humanely and in accordance with applicable laws. Basically, it puts in writing common sense understandings for how farm animals should be treated. When developing your Animal Husbandry Manual, it’s important to keep in mind that many states have specific laws and regulations that establish how farm animals must be treated. Be sure to review
your state-specific laws and include all applicable requirements in your manual. The following tips highlight key aspects that an effective Animal Husbandry Manual should be sure to cover.

Animal Monitoring Schedule

How often must animals be checked for food and water? At least twice per day? Do you want a different schedule for excessively hot or cold weather? This should be common sense, but beginning farmers may not think through this fully and may not realize the impact of taking off for a day or two. Requiring and setting up specific protocols for an animal monitoring schedule helps clearly assign responsibilities to the participating farmer so that the landowner doesn’t end up having to take care of farm animals.

Assignment of Duties

Can the participating farmer send someone else to monitor the animals (who may not have experience) or must she do it herself? To be on the safe side, you may want to only assign duties to someone with experience caring for that specific type of animal, or even require written approval of the landowner.

Animal Containment

Containment of animals will be an important issue for any farm incubator project that has other farming operations running on the property. It’s a good idea to outline specific containment structure standards to be sure animals stay where they’re supposed to stay. What specific standards should the participating farmer adhere to when constructing a chicken tractor? What about
fences? Suitable standards may be found in Extension publications or online resources.

You could require the landowner’s written approval of fence construction before allowing participating farmers to move animals onto the property. You could also set up a protocol schedule for checking their workmanship as the fence is being built.

The manual should also say the following: “New fence construction must be in compliance with all laws.” Participating farmers must investigate the local zoning code and state fence laws to make sure they meet the requirements. Generally, insurance policies won’t cover a claim that results from animals getting out if the fence was not compliant. The obligations often change and depend on the type of fence (i.e., electric or barbed wire). Local insurance agents are the best source of information on the latest standards in your state. Requiring the participating farmer to look into fencing standards herself is a good opportunity to teach her the resourcefulness skills that every successful farmer needs.

Feed Storage

Where may feed be kept? What storage standards must be followed to cut down on rodents? For example, it may be advisable to keep all feed in metal containers that can be latched closed.

Animal Slaughter

Do you have appropriate facilities to allow for animal slaughter on the farm? If so, do you want to allow it only at specific times or by pre-approval? It’s also essential that you lay out disposal procedures. Does it include burying or composting? If so, where and what are the specific procedures that need to be followed?

Heat and Electric Supply

If a participating farmer wants to provide a heat source for chicks, it’s important to assess whether the electricity in the barn or shed can withstand the increased load. Does this present a fire hazard? It is a good idea to specify rules in this section about wattage and usage, for example: “Keep three feet of clear space around any heat lamp.”

Next Steps

Each of these tips work together to create a system of accountability for taking care of farm animals. Not only will it guarantee the animals are well treated, it will help teach the beginning farmers the basic laws and standards required for running a farm operation involving farm animals.

Be sure to have each participating farmer review the Animal Husbandry Manual and acknowledge her agreement to follow the terms. Ideally, this would be in writing. You could either have them sign or initial at the bottom or acknowledge in an email that they have read it and will abide by it. Also, be sure to keep a copy in a visible and relevant location such as on a clipboard in each place where animal feed is kept on the property so that the participating farmers can review it as needed.

It is a good idea to include the manual as an addendum to the lease agreement. See section 10 of the Model Incubator Lease for one example of how to include it. If you do decide to include it as part of the lease, then any changes to the manual need to be in writing and agreed to by both parties of the lease. “In writing” is as good as scratching something out and writing on top of the manual. Nothing fancy is needed. Announce when a change has been made to the manual and ask everyone to sign the page as soon as possible. At the close of the year, edit the file, reprint, and start fresh with typed revisions next year.