Extension provides Zoom classes on small-scale poultry farming

There has been growing interest recently in raising poultry and producing homegrown eggs. But, there is a lot to know before getting started, such as state and federal regulations, proper nutrition for poultry, and the safest way to handle eggs.

University of Nevada, Reno Extension will provide a Small-Scale Poultry Education Zoom Crawl series of five classes beginning June 7 and ending July 12.

The Zoom crawl is part of Herds & Harvest, an Extension program for beginning farmers and ranchers, and is supported by a grant from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The classes will be held via Zoom on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. Topics include the following:

• June 7: Start-up costs, requirements and USDA regulations
• June 14: Poultry feed, feeding schedules and poultry nutrition
• June 21: Health, diseases and care for poultry
• June 28: Poultry food safety, egg handling and Nevada safety regulations for public sales
• July 12: Selling poultry eggs, state licensing and regulations for public sales

Among the educators are Mozart Fonseca, associate professor with the University’s department of Agriculture, Veterinary & Rangeland Sciences department; Carol Bishop, Extension educator in Northeast Clark County; and Alexa Johnson, agriculturalist with the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

“We’ll also have some community members who have small-scale poultry farms in production to talk about some of the topics,” said Charmayne Mitchell, an educator with Extension organizing the event.

Mitchell added that there has been a lot of demand for information on raising poultry and egg production.

“We know there are a lot of people raising their own poultry and wanting to sell to local farmers markets,” she said. “This is a great way for us to get this information out to them, since food safety is very important to us as well.”

The cost of the five-class program is $30. To register, go to the event’s registration’s website. For information, contact Charmayne Mitchell at 775-790-3951.

Persons in need of special accommodations or assistance should contact Paul Lessick, civil rights and compliance coordinator, at plessick@unr.edu or 702-257-5577 at least five days prior to the scheduled event with their needs or for information.