Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[IamSamSam]

I have read a lot on the needed space for chickens so much so that I am upgrading and increasing the size of my coop to accommodate some new additions.

And everything I have read says 1 sq m per bird. So how do they justify 20,000 on 10,000 sq m ?? What can one bird do on half a square meter ??

I am writing to them NOW !

You all should !

 

[IamSamSam]

done. I had a thought too if this goes a head then we are back to cage 'battery' hens Those poor birds had half to less than sq m.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

 

[Gold Coaster]

Hello Rachel and IamSamSam,

Thank you for your support. That was my first reaction too - total disbelief! It's obvious that big business wants to put money before any other consideration yet again. I have noticed that in the supermarkets, free-range eggs have increased their shelf space and I can see that this trend will eventually drive the caged/barn eggs off the shelf. To me, it seems that the caged/barn egg producers have cottoned on to this and are now pressuring the ACCC for new laws, so they can stay in business and all they have to do is remove the cages and barns. It's still the same shabby standards of course, because neither the chickens welfare nor the quality of their so-called "free range eggs" would have improved.

Let's hope this never comes to pass. I too have emailed the ACCC and thank you IamSamSam for doing so as well.

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

 

[satay]

Wow gold coaster that is just crazy. I have 6 acres and could not imagine that many birds on my property. Unfortunatley it is about making the buck not about the welfare of the hens. I too will write to them. I got a letter from super butcher the other day saying that the chickens they sourse are 35days old when they are butchered. I wrote back what the heck are they feeding them to grow that big in 35 days? So glad i have my girls and guys so I know where my eggs come from.

 

[Gold Coaster]

Hello Satay,

Thank you for your support and for writing in to the ACCC.

I think that we need to do something about this, otherwise these laws will come to pass. As you well know the government is more prone to bow to big business unless the public speaks up.

ABC NEWS ARTICLE DATED MAY 31ST 2012:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-31/feathers-fly-over-free-range-definition/4043340

As you can see from the link above, Choice is battling against this too, but they need grassroots support if they are to succeed against the outrageous claims AECL makes, such as:

"Certainly viewing footage or seeing a farm stocked at two hens per square metre, consumers are less concerned."

"If there was a cap of 1,500 hens per hectare then free-range egg prices would be around the $10 to $12 mark. We don't think that is responsible. We don't think that is fair for all Australian consumers."

I cannot see how 85 percent of people who see footage of 20,000 chickens on 1 hectare of land can feel satisfied, when these same people are increasingly choosing free range eggs over the caged variety. As for the prices going up, it just seems like a scare campaign to me. More and more people are choosing to keep their own chickens because they care where the eggs are sourced from. Not to mention my local farmer's market supplies them for $3.00 a dozen. So yes, I think it's a lot of hogwash.

As for the Super Butcher's claim, it's shocking. I wonder what they are doing to achieve this result? I don't think it's doing any good for us or for the chickens. Best to buy organic, free range or source them from farmers (maybe even your local farmer's market) in your area.

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

 

[duckyfromoz]

ONE WEEK !!!!!!


Canberra Nationals start in just one week!!!!! I cant wait to be there...even thought I know how cold its going to be.

 

[satay]

Hello Satay,

Thank you for your support and for writing in to the ACCC.  I think that we need to do something about this, otherwise these laws will come to pass. As you well know the government is more prone to bow to big business unless the public speaks up.

ABC NEWS ARTICLE DATED MAY 31ST 2012:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-31/feathers-fly-over-free-range-definition/4043340

As you can see from the link above, Choice is battling against this too, but they need grassroots support if they are to succeed against the outrageous claims AECL makes, such as:

"Certainly viewing footage or seeing a farm stocked at two hens per square metre, consumers are less concerned."

"If there was a cap of 1,500 hens per hectare then free-range egg prices would be around the $10 to $12 mark. We don't think that is responsible. We don't think that is fair for all Australian consumers."

I cannot see how 85 percent of people who see footage of 20,000 chickens on 1 hectare of land can feel satisfied, when these same people are increasingly choosing free range eggs over the caged variety. As for the prices going up, it just seems like a scare campaign to me. More and more people are choosing to keep their own chickens because they care where the eggs are sourced from. Not to mention my local farmer's market supplies them for $3.00 a dozen. So yes, I think it's a lot of hogwash.

As for the Super Butcher's claim, it's shocking. I wonder what they are doing to achieve this result? I don't think it's doing any good for us or for the chickens. Best to buy organic, free range or source them from farmers (maybe even your local farmer's market) in your area.

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

In super butchers defense they don't raise the chickens they just buy them in. I let Andrew know what I thought about the chickens if they were indeed the age. I am glad i raise my own hens.

 

[Gold Coaster]

Hello Satay,

Oh I knew that Superbutcher don't raise the chickens. I went to see them a couple of times but they are far from us, so I prefer to go to my local butcher. I heard that Superbutcher went into voluntary administration; not sure what's up with that.

Yes, it's best to raise your own, same for the veggies too, - they are the yummiest when you grow them yourself. Nothing beats home-grown produce if you have the time to invest in them. My four adopted chickens are pets, so I'm going to see them live out their normal lifespan, but I understand that most people keep them for their eggs and/or meat. I eat chicken myself, although not that often. I prefer lamb.

Whereabouts in Queensland are you, if you don't mind me asking? I live in the misty mountains of the Gold Coast Hinterland, surrounded by rainforests and breathtakingly beautiful views; - a piece of paradise, but then I am biased of course.

Here are some pictures of our place:


The lovely misty mountains...


We can just see a piece of Surfers Paradise and the Q1 Building...


These are the visitors we get from time to time...


My four adopted chooks roosting in the shade...

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

 

[Rachel96]

Hello Rachel and IamSamSam,

Thank you for your support. That was my first reaction too - total disbelief! It's obvious that big business wants to put money before any other consideration yet again. I have noticed that in the supermarkets, free-range eggs have increased their shelf space and I can see that this trend will eventually drive the caged/barn eggs off the shelf. To me, it seems that the caged/barn egg producers have cottoned on to this and are now pressuring the ACCC for new laws, so they can stay in business and all they have to do is remove the cages and barns. It's still the same shabby standards of course, because neither the chickens welfare nor the quality of their so-called "free range eggs" would have improved.

Let's hope this never comes to pass. I too have emailed the ACCC and thank you IamSamSam for doing so as well.

Cheers,
Gold Coaster

When you put it like that, it might even be kinder to the birds to keep them in the barns! There'd be just as crowded but at least they'd be sheltered from wind and rain.

I guess people need to be more discerning when buying free-range eggs... those who don't keep their own chooks, that is. I know of one company who actually do proper free range eggs, somewhere from KI, but apart from that most 'free range' eggs aren't really free range.

My father reckons that the biggest way you can fight back to the food industry is by producing your own. I'm not sure whether this counts with eggs, but he reckons it does with meat. The topic came up once after a conversation with some ten-year-old girls I was looking after about eating chicken. I don't want to offend anyone with this, but I do eat any extra roosters I hatch out. The girls I was talking to thought this was absolutely horrible, and couldn't understand why I thought it was better to eat a bird I'd hatched and raised myself (and therefore knew exactly the conditions it had been raised in and what it had eaten) over one I'd bought from the shops (and had been genetically modified to grow really fast, fed basically hormones, kept in a tiny little cage, and had health problems). Anyway, Dad said the best way to fight back against the aforementioned horrible conditions would be to grow your own birds and eat them. If everyone did that, the so-called 'farmers' who treat their birds so horribly would be put out of business.

I guess the same applies to chicken eggs. I seriously do not understand what is so difficult about keeping three or four chooks in your backyard. They don't take up too much space, they're friendly, they're fairly low-maintenance... what's not to like as far as pets go? And better than most pets, they produce food! And you know where the food comes from! Sigh. I suppose I can understand in some small city blocks, apartments and such, but around suburban Adelaide, most people have quarter-acre blocks. My family happily kept a dozen chickens on a quarter-acre block for ten years. And if everybody had their own chickens, producing their own eggs, then those people who keep cage and barn egg chickens would be put out of business, wouldn't they?

Sorry, I've finished my rant now.

Also, fresh free range eggs from your own chickens taste nicer. Much nicer.

Can anyone else tell the difference? I was at a youth camp the other week and we had scrambled eggs for breakfast one day. Normally I like scrambled eggs, so I said yes when they offered to me. They put the plate in front of me... on whiff from the plate, and I looked up and said, "These are cage eggs, aren't they?" Yeah, I'm weird.

I'll stop now... I'm talking too much. But seriously, what so difficult about keeping your own chooks to combat cage egg farmers?

from Rachel.

 

[satay]

HI Gold coaster. Your place looks lovely, I used to love driving up to the hinterland when we used to live in Brissy. I am 8km out of Esk and about 35km from gatton. Our place never looks as green as yours i am so jealous. Well it did for a while when the floods happened but it turned brown again really quick. I have my own vegie patches too and what i don't grow i can pick up from the farms at gatton at a really good price. One good thing about living rural. Yes i heard about Super Butcher having the recievers come in too. Looks like so far some one is going to buy them out. We drive from Esk to the gold coast(super butcher whare house at yatala) to buy meat as it is so much cheaper and better quality than you can buy out here. One day i may get my act together and buy my own bulls to have here.

Rachel I too agree with you. If we go somewhere I refuse to eat eggs they usually are caged and have to flavour at all.