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Thursday, August 06, 2015

Backyard Chickens Must Be Registered in North Carolina for Your Own Safety

There isn’t much that feels more self-reliant than going out to your backyard hen house to get fresh eggs for breakfast. There’s no need for USDA approval, you know what your hens have been eating, and you don’t have to pay a premium price and hope that the farm who raised the chickens that laid those grocery store eggs actually treated the hens humanely. Bonus points if the bacon you fry up comes from a local farm, and bonus BONUS points if you raised that little piggie yourself. Raising backyard chickens is incredibly rewarding.

It’s pure freedom, this control over your own food.

Of course, until you have to register your chickens. Then, as food freedom activist Joel Salatin says, “Everything I want to do is illegal.”

With so many people moving towards self-reliance, you had to know it was only a matter of time before the government got involved.

And now they have. But don’t worry, it’s all for your own good.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

We already have to register backyard flocks in Maryland. Even just a couple laying hens.

Anonymous said...

Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! More over reach by the government!

Anonymous said...

In Maryland, they don't even try to go after unlicensed contractors; they are only there to go after the licensed ones.

I doubt they will be searching my back yard for chickens wearing collars and tags!

Anonymous said...

Maryland will sell license and tags to owners for a money making scam.

Anonymous said...

There's no cost, the program is actually underwritten by the big poultry industry. The little coops in backyards all over the county, serve as an early warning network for potential disease outbreaks. A dozen dead hens in someone's backyard is a tragedy, but that same disease can wipe out a commercial grower and cripple the industry.

Once I thoroughly read about the program, and went out of my way to become informed about its services and purposes, I registered my flock.

Anonymous said...

Whin the revnewers comes 'round, we jes feed 'em to the hogs.