MJ's little flock

[MaryJanet]

That sounds good, but I would be a bit wary and check what the regulations are that allow an egg to be described as coming from a free range hen.

I am familiar with the regulations in the US and the UK and I would say in both cases the term free range is little more than a marketing aid allowing consumers to be lulled into believing their eggs come from happy chickens.
I never buy eggs whose only label is free range.
The UK regulations are slightly better for the hens than the US ones but they are very similar.
In both cases the regulations for free range state that the hen has to have 'access' to the outside for some period of their lives. The UK is better in that it adds a density requirement (I think it is 13 birds per square meter but I may be remembering wrong).
The issue is that access does not mean they actually get to go outside.
The keeping arrangements that qualify to be called free range are huge, concrete floored sheds with thousands of chickens packed in together. The sheds have some vents/chicken doors that are periodically opened.
Some chickens who happen to be near the doors when they open may get to go outside. The majority will never make it through the crush to get to the doors.
@Shadrach once posted a video that showed these sheds (along with many other industrial chicken keeping horrors).
I believe in animal cruelty prevention circles it is common to believe that these sheds may be worse for chickens than cages as cages provide some protection against the thousands of other chickens.
Anyway, don't want to rain on the parade, and I am optimistic that Australia has done it right - it is after all a country that appears to actually have vets who care about chicken welfare - but it is worth checking.
The term pasture raised may be a better guide (though not regulated), and in the US 'Certified Humane' is the only independently verified certificate given to farms that raise their animals in a way that approaches what I find acceptable (and they are transparent about the standards they apply which I also like).

You didn't rain on the parade. There will be no more battery cages in Australia. The parade is only just starting.

On the entirely different subject of how free range is regulated, in South Australia free range egg products are labelled with stocking density. On the different subject again of how industry self-regulates, there is FREPA which engages independent assessors to check up on conditions and forage quality. On a third different subject of wholly independent regulation, the RSPCA and some other organisations offer accreditation. Consumers can choose to buy low stocking density free range eggs which are accredited by FREPA, and any other free range egg product which will be labelled accurately.

In this photo you can see hens are stocked at 1500 per hectare.

Whereas this product stocks hens at 10,000 per hectare, which is much more crowded and perhaps the hens are debeaked. I can't see any accreditation labels on this box of eggs.

These are the free range eggs I used to buy before I decided to keep hens.

Of course other places haven't yet succeeded in regulating the egg production industry. Government is not global. It goes without saying that the free range egg industries of the world are all different. That's true across all industries and South Aussies are hopeless in other areas.

For now, I will continue to be joyful about my fellow Aussies managing to transition away from battery cages, because it's a step in the right direction and I'm sure other nations will take it in due course because fewer battery hens is always better than more battery hens.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes the first photo had it holding the leg straight out with the talons clenched. That was odd.

Poor thing must have been injured somehow. How awful. It probably can't hunt for food as well as it used to.

 

[RoyalChick]

You didn't rain on the parade. There will be no more battery cages in Australia. The parade is only just starting.

On the entirely different subject of how free range is regulated, in South Australia free range egg products are labelled with stocking density. On the different subject again of how industry self-regulates, there is FREPA which engages independent assessors to check up on conditions and forage quality. On a third different subject of wholly independent regulation, the RSPCA and some other organisations offer accreditation. Consumers can choose to buy low stocking density free range eggs which are accredited by FREPA, and any other free range egg product which will be labelled accurately.

In this photo you can see hens are stocked at 1500 per hectare.

View attachment 3541849

Whereas this product stocks hens at 10,000 per hectare, which is much more crowded and perhaps the hens are debeaked. I can't see any accreditation labels on this box of eggs.

View attachment 3541851

These are the free range eggs I used to buy before I decided to keep hens.

View attachment 3541869


Of course other places haven't yet succeeded in regulating the egg production industry. Government is not global. It goes without saying that the free range egg industries of the world are all different. That's true across all industries and South Aussies are hopeless in other areas.

For now, I will continue to be joyful about my fellow Aussies managing to transition away from battery cages, because it's a step in the right direction and I'm sure other nations will take it in due course because fewer battery hens is always better than more battery hens.

I love that they give density information. That is a really good step.

 

[MaryJanet]

I love that they give density information. That is a really good step.

The accreditation labels help too. It doesn't take long to look up what the labels mean before taking a carton of eggs off the shelf in the shop.

 

[RoyalChick]

The accreditation labels help too. It doesn't take long to look up what the labels mean before taking a carton of eggs off the shelf in the shop.

Yes. That is why I like the US ‘Certified Humane’ you can spot the accreditation symbol easily.
I switched the mayonnaise brand I buy based on that label. I confess I don’t make my own mayo (not that I eat it that often).

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes. That is why I like the US ‘Certified Humane’ you can spot the accreditation symbol easily.
I switched the mayonnaise brand I buy based on that label. I confess I don’t make my own mayo (not that I eat it that often).

If individual people have the choice they often make the right one. It gives me hope.

It's when we organise into groups that individual preferences are sometimes silenced.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes. That is why I like the US ‘Certified Humane’ you can spot the accreditation symbol easily.
I switched the mayonnaise brand I buy based on that label. I confess I don’t make my own mayo (not that I eat it that often).

Thinking about it a little more, it becomes clear how very important literacy is.

Imagine being unable to read the info on the egg cartons. No wonder the KI producer decided to include a photo of the chooks with their guardian dog on the carton.

 

[BY Bob]

You didn't rain on the parade. There will be no more battery cages in Australia. The parade is only just starting.

On the entirely different subject of how free range is regulated, in South Australia free range egg products are labelled with stocking density. On the different subject again of how industry self-regulates, there is FREPA which engages independent assessors to check up on conditions and forage quality. On a third different subject of wholly independent regulation, the RSPCA and some other organisations offer accreditation. Consumers can choose to buy low stocking density free range eggs which are accredited by FREPA, and any other free range egg product which will be labelled accurately.

In this photo you can see hens are stocked at 1500 per hectare.

View attachment 3541849

Whereas this product stocks hens at 10,000 per hectare, which is much more crowded and perhaps the hens are debeaked. I can't see any accreditation labels on this box of eggs.

View attachment 3541851

These are the free range eggs I used to buy before I decided to keep hens.

View attachment 3541869


Of course other places haven't yet succeeded in regulating the egg production industry. Government is not global. It goes without saying that the free range egg industries of the world are all different. That's true across all industries and South Aussies are hopeless in other areas.

For now, I will continue to be joyful about my fellow Aussies managing to transition away from battery cages, because it's a step in the right direction and I'm sure other nations will take it in due course because fewer battery hens is always better than more battery hens.

Yes, the first step is eradicating cages. That allows the market to start to reset. Then you move to pasture raised. I love the density information. That is exceedingly useful.

The problem is that egg prices have not moved in decades. While other items have gotten more expensive eggs remain ridiculously cheap due to the horrible conditions the hens are kept in. The public went crazy here in the states when egg prices spiked due to the bird flu. You will never get a regulation that raises the price that high all at once. We have to take the success we can right now and keep the pressure on so we can keep progressing their living conditions and raise the cost in stages.

 

[Shadrach]

That sounds good, but I would be a bit wary and check what the regulations are that allow an egg to be described as coming from a free range hen.

I am familiar with the regulations in the US and the UK and I would say in both cases the term free range is little more than a marketing aid allowing consumers to be lulled into believing their eggs come from happy chickens.
I never buy eggs whose only label is free range.
The UK regulations are slightly better for the hens than the US ones but they are very similar.
In both cases the regulations for free range state that the hen has to have 'access' to the outside for some period of their lives. The UK is better in that it adds a density requirement (I think it is 13 birds per square meter but I may be remembering wrong).
The issue is that access does not mean they actually get to go outside.
The keeping arrangements that qualify to be called free range are huge, concrete floored sheds with thousands of chickens packed in together. The sheds have some vents/chicken doors that are periodically opened.
Some chickens who happen to be near the doors when they open may get to go outside. The majority will never make it through the crush to get to the doors.
@Shadrach once posted a video that showed these sheds (along with many other industrial chicken keeping horrors).
I believe in animal cruelty prevention circles it is common to believe that these sheds may be worse for chickens than cages as cages provide some protection against the thousands of other chickens.
Anyway, don't want to rain on the parade, and I am optimistic that Australia has done it right - it is after all a country that appears to actually have vets who care about chicken welfare - but it is worth checking.
The term pasture raised may be a better guide (though not regulated), and in the US 'Certified Humane' is the only independently verified certificate given to farms that raise their animals in a way that approaches what I find acceptable (and they are transparent about the standards they apply which I also like).

Pasture raised is what to go for in the UK when it comes to eggs. As you write, free range doesn't amount to anything like the image it conjures up.

 

[MaryJanet]

Yes, the first step is eradicating cages. That allows the market to start to reset. Then you move to pasture raised. I love the density information. That is exceedingly useful.

The problem is that egg prices have not moved in decades. While other items have gotten more expensive eggs remain ridiculously cheap due to the horrible conditions the hens are kept in. The public went crazy here in the states when egg prices spiked due to the bird flu. You will never get a regulation that raises the price that high all at once. We have to take the success we can right now and keep the pressure on so we can keep progressing their living conditions and raise the cost in stages.

Can individual farmers invest in their own brand and label their product according to their stocking density and accreditations? Then price the product at a higher level?