MCU14/0028 Appendix 3 chicken-meat-guidelines

5.2.4       Community liaison and complaint management
Liaison between the property owner/manager and neighbours can be helpful in communicating
information for the purposes of avoiding and managing complaints. Open lines of communication
help in identifying problems, verifying complaints and successfully applying relevant remedies to
minimise the impact of farm operations on neighbouring sensitive land uses. Strategies for
managing community liaison, with a focus on environmental performance of the meat chicken farm
should be implemented.

    Performance criteria                             Acceptable outcome
    P1                                               A1
    The meat chicken farm must incorporate           Communication strategies that include:
    strategies for managing community liaison,        Neighbours to be informed of unusual
    with a focus on environmental performance.          events or problems that may affect their
                                                        amenity. The expected timeframe of the
                                                        impact, and the mitigation strategies that
                                                        have been initiated should also be
                                                        communicated.
                                                      Where a complaint is received by the
                                                        meat chicken farm it should be
                                                        investigated and any problems found
                                                        should be rectified. The complainant
                                                        should be informed of the outcome of
                                                        the investigation and any actions taken
                                                        to rectify any identified problem.
                                                      Full details of complaints received,
                                                        results of investigations and corrective
                                                        actions are recorded in a complaint
                                                        register.
                                                      Farm management participation and
                                                        cooperation to assist in resolving
                                                        disputes relating to environmental
                                                        impacts of the meat chicken farm.

5.2.5       Shed management
The management of meat chicken sheds will determine the extent to which the farm impacts on the
surrounding environment (particularly those activities that have the potential to cause odour). The
activities covered in this section are the stocking density of sheds, management of bedding
materials and litter, litter clean-out and shed and equipment maintenance.

The management of bedding materials and litter influences whether a meat chicken farm will cause
odour or dust nuisance. When litter becomes too dry, dust problems occur and when litter
becomes too wet, odour problems occur. Both of these situations have the potential to result in
environmental nuisance being caused, poor bird health and potential health problems for farm
workers.

Sheds are generally allowed one to two weeks down time after bird harvest for shed clean-out,
disinfection and fumigation between batches. This minimises the risk of disease. There are three
common practices adopted in Queensland for litter clean-out:
 Single use litter – Spent litter is removed after each batch of chickens and replaced with fresh
    litter. There is total replacement of all spent litter.
 Partial re-use – Litter is removed from the brooder and placed in the second half of the shed
    or removed entirely. If time permits the litter to be re-used, it is heaped to allow pasteurisation
    and then respread in the second half of the shed. Fresh litter is placed in the brooder.


Queensland Guidelines Meat Chicken Farms                                                       27