True free ranging

[CCUK]

I would be interested in talking to whoever set this free range scheme up.
They will I expect get hens that will lay away from the barns.
They must also have factored in predator losses.
I know of a couple of large free range egg and meat producers in Hertfordshire (UK) and they have decent perimeter fencing with an internal electric fence to keep foxes and dogs out. So the price of the extra security and extra man hours is reflected in the egg price.
Even so, given an average of 6 grams of protein per egg, a carton of six is comparable to ethically produced meat.
I think we are so accustomed to cheap eggs and meat that paying up to double the price for these products when imported non free range is stocked and sold cheaply at the supermarkets is a hard sell.
I don't suppose there is any chance of you getting a look inside one of the barns and taking a few pictures is there @CCUK?

My mum knows one of the people that run this site. I'll will ask if I can have a tour! I'm not sure if they would allow photos. I'm sure they have nothing to hide but some places don't like unauthorised pictures published. From what I could see outsude is the barns are mostly open inside. I would presume that there must be a couple of hundred nest boxes for them to lay in! There must be quite alot of employees to pick them or if they have roll away boxes there must be a similar system for egg collection to what is in a battery farm. The fencing around the perimeter is a mix of 2x2 and 1x2 thick steel fencing. It is buried and about 6' high. I'm surprised that we could get that close in all honesty. I wonder if they have ever had a problem with people dumping chickens over the top?

 

[CCUK]

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to name this company but they are one of the larger food manufacturers in uk. They provide eggs for other well known companies to manufacture there products. Mayonnaise being one I know of! They don't just have chicken farms they also have fresh produce from the field that goes direct to the supermarkets.

 

[Shadrach]

It would be interesting to get a tour I think. I did some of the fencing at one of the Hertfordshire places and that was weldmesh with a folded skirt. It was quite a lot smaller than your pictures suggest, but it was still quite an expensive project.
They used the battery hen cages as nest boxes with the front cut out. Apparently they had surprisingly few hens nest away from the sheds. This may have changed. This was over a decade ago.

 

[b.hromada]

What a wonderful surprise! I wish all egg factories would do the same. Thanks for sharing.

 

[CCUK]

This was the closest I could get from outside. If you zoom in you can see a ramp about halfway down. The door is closed but that is one of the access hatches. Further down you can see more hatches that are open at ground level. You can also see the fencing.

It was like this for most of the perimeter. It is fairly grassless around the immediate vicinity of the barn but about 10-15m out it is just grass...acres of grass!

 

[CCUK]

What a wonderful surprise! I wish all egg factories would do the same. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks. There is still a long way to go but if the larger companies can do this I'm sure that it can become alot more common place.

 

[IamRainey]

In my area, eggs go for $3-$5 a dozen. The ones in the stores that have assurances of ethical husbandry are $6 and up. A local backyard keeper advertises her eggs for $10 per dozen on the neighborhood forum but I have no idea if she is able to sell them at that price or not. Haven't seen one of her offers in quite a while.

 

[IamRainey]

Thanks. There is still a long way to go but if the larger companies can do this I'm sure that it can become alot more common place.

In my very limited experience in Canada (we were only living there for 6 months) it was the consumers that were driving the demand. They spoke with their consumer $$$. I think it was the retailers who were next in line. And, happily, there were enough producers willing to meet the demand that more were forced to.

I am trying to recall a CBC story on this, and I hope someone who's more knowledgeable will correct me or expand on this because my experience was so limited.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

In North America, Canada is leading the demand for ethically raised poultry and livestock. The US has dozens of designations that attempt to make it sound like poultry are raised decently but slowly the pressure from exposure of their methods and more humanely raised flocks in Canada is creating the consumer market for ethically raised eggs even at higher prices.

Then there are those of us who take matters into our own hands!

just keep in mind that every thing is more expensive in Canada eggs are like 3-4 dollars for grade A, i don't even know what free range/ethically source cost, as we have not bought eggs for the last 3 years due to our chickens.

i know people who used to love going down to the states and shopping as your prices are so much cheaper. know nobody i know does it anymore as our dollar really sucks at the moment (thinks its 75 cents to 1 US dollar)

 

[IamRainey]

That's what people here in Los Angeles are paying too for commercially produced eggs. But there are those who will voluntarily pay more IF they believe animals are being treated humanely. And that's what I heard was driving the demand up there.

When I lived up there in the 80s I made my monthly drive to Bellingham, WA for things too. I was aware of the demand for US prices on mail, gasoline and dairy products. For me, it was what the kids saw on American TV commercials that they just had to have. At the time, that included Happy Meal toys as Canadian fast food spots skipped those promotions.

I used to buy dozens of Happy Meals, chuck the food and take the toys back to the neighborhood. A happy, if odd, memory!

During my most recent residence 5 or 6 years ago currency was at near parody. I'm sorry it's taken a tumble.