True free ranging

[CCUK]

If only that were true.

The BHWT buy hens for rehoming for a very small price. About £2 each. They only try to rehome hens from cages as they are the ones kept in the worst conditions. I'm not sure if these free range hens get rehomed. Probably not. But they do appear to have a very good standard of life up until that point.

 

[Shadrach]

The BHWT buy hens for rehoming for a very small price. About £2 each. They only try to rehome hens from cages as they are the ones kept in the worst conditions. I'm not sure if these free range hens get rehomed. Probably not. But they do appear to have a very good standard of life up until that point.

I think it's great. It's a vast improvement and if it expands, will have some surprising knock on effects.
I still want you to go and have a look if you can.

 

[Ruthster55]

I've been doing a bit of research regarding egg production. (There's a reason for this research, but it's irrelevant here).

Here are a few definitions of the various types of eggs you could find at the store and pictures to go with them. I have put them in order from bad to best.

Cheap Eggs ---- these usually come from hens in battery cages. A lower percentage of battery cages are used in the UK, because there is more awareness surrounding hen welfare in the UK than in the US. In a battery cage, there is no nest box and no roost. The hen lays the egg on the floor and it rolls away under the cage on a slight downhill slope to a conveyer belt. The conveyor belt takes the eggs to the room where they are graded and packed. Layer crumble comes on a conveyor belt. This picture must be from a small producer or a developing country, because the eggs are hand-collected and the feed is put into the trough by hand.

Below is a more typical battery setup with conveyor belts. Besides the feed conveyor and the egg conveyor, there is also usually a manure conveyor. The original argument in favor of cage-based egg production was that it keeps the hens and eggs cleaner because of the manure removal. However, the hens' feathers get really ragged from rubbing up against the cage and the rigors of high egg production. Extreme lack of exercise causes many battery hens to get osteoporosis. Anybody who has lifted weights has probably been told that resistance exercise builds strong bones. The poor battery hen is forced to be a total couch potato! Battery cages are now prohibited in the European Union plus the US states of California, Massachusetts, Washington, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

Enriched Cages ---- Enriched or enhanced cages are sometimes called furnished cages. Industrial egg producers in locations where battery cages are now prohibited have turned to this option as a replacement for the old battery cages. Enriched cages are now used in Europe and places like California. Enriched cages often have around 80 hens that can form a social pecking order. The hens are required to have enough space to turn around. A scratch pad is provided, along with a roost and a nest box. There is some sort of connection between the nest boxes to the conveyor belt to take the eggs to be graded and packed. There is still a feed conveyor and a manure conveyor, because with enriched cages, the producer still knows exactly where the hens are and can design the poultry house for automation. If you find Eggland's Best (for example) produced in California, this is likely the production system used. Nevertheless, it's still a chicken jail. The hens can stand up and roost on a low perch, but they're still forced to be couch potatoes.

Cage Free eggs ---- You will usually see "Cage Free" written prominently on the egg carton. These cost a little bit, but not much, more than Cheap eggs. The hens eat a little bit more than hens in cages do. There is a growing number of Cage Free producers, including some that have converted from cages. Almost all Cage Free systems involve a closed barn with artificial lighting in which the hens can move around, but can't ever leave what is a crowded facility. These systems are sometimes called "aviaries." The chickens scratch around in the litter in the wide center aisle during the day and go up to the third floor to roost at night. They can fly up to the roosts and get exercise. Major former cage producers are seeing lots of business building cage free systems. There is lots of equipment in a typical Cage Free barn! Big Dutchman is an example of an equipment producer. These are million-dollar barns with high production!
https://www.bigdutchmanusa.com/en/cagefree/

Nevertheless, Cage Free hens are usually overcrowded and are never exposed to natural sunlight. They never get to eat grass or insects. (Don't sell yourself short. Don't use the term "Cage Free" if you are actually producing Free Range eggs).
.

Free Range eggs ---- in these systems, the hens live in a barn but in theory can come and go. However, some producers allow only very small popholes onto a paved patio, rather than allowing their hens onto grass.

Better Free Range producers have human-sized or barn doors that are large enough for many of the chickens to go outside. Yes, you will pay more for good Free Range eggs than for Cage Free. This is partly because there are predators outdoors and some loss of the hens occurs.

A Free Range producer that expanded from the UK to the US is The Happy Egg Cº.

Happy Egg also sells Heritage Breed Free Range Eggs. https://happyegg.com/heritage-breed/

A good producer of Free Range eggs is Pete and Gerry's. They are located in a northern climate, so there are times in the winter that their hens need to stay in the barn. They have great intentions, but are located in a place that gets cold in the winter.

https://www.peteandgerrys.com/

A related firm also markets Marans eggs and Ameraucana eggs.

https://www.carolseggs.com/our-eggs/heirloom-eggs/

Pastured eggs ---- Pastured eggs are THE gold standard for premium commercial eggs! Yes, Pastured Eggs cost more than Cage Free and a lot more than cheap cage eggs! Many producers don't use automated systems like conveyor belts, so labor costs are higher. Because they are active, the hens eat more than caged hens do. Also, there is the occasional inevitable loss of a hens to predators. However, Pastured eggs have a better nutritional profile than eggs from hens that stay indoors all the time and don't get to check out grass or insects.

In a Pastured system, the hens use a barn for roosts and protection at night, as well as for their nest boxes. Hens like a rather dark nest box, so having the boxes in the structure is best. However, the hens are fully free to come and go as they like onto pasture where there is grass and bugs. The vitamin content of Pastured eggs is higher than with cheap eggs or even Cage Free eggs because the hens are exposed to sunlight and make more vitamin D as well as vitamin A. Some pastured egg producers have mobile coops on wheels to help rotate the pasture.

In this picture, you can see a livestock guardian dog being used in lieu of fencing to protect against predators. Roosters can be used for flock protection where there is at least reasonably good fencing. However, this will produce Fertile Pastured Eggs. The market for Pastured eggs is larger than the market for Fertile eggs, so many producers only keep hens and use an LGD to protect them from predators.

Probably the most well-known producer of pastured eggs in the US is Vital Farms - http://www.vitalfarms.com

The following is not intended as a plug, but rather a description of the concepts used at Vital Farms.

You can find Vital Farms eggs at places like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and some mainstream supermarkets. https://vitalfarms.com/find-pasture-raised-eggs-and-butter/#h-store-locator

The marketing on Vital Farms' egg packages is brilliant. They use a wrapper made of paper or thin cardboard around the egg carton. The writing on the wrapper is made to look like a chalkboard at a farm store. "Pasture Raised" is the most prominent statement on the package. The 108 square feet per hen standard is prominent, and the Certified Humane seal is on the other side of the package. The package says "Made with Fresh Air and Sunshine" and Freedom to Forage Outdoors Year Round." They have great transparency policies as well. You can see video from each farm on their web site. The name of the farm is included with the eggs.

Vital Farms is a network of around 200 farms that each adheres to a 10 square meters (108 square feet)/hen standard for pastured eggs. The farms that work with Vital Farms are all located in the general region of the Upper South, where there is much less inclement winter weather than in the North. They also don't have farms in the dry Southwest or in California where there might not be enough grass for the hens. Having their member farms located in the Upper South helps Vital Farms allow hens outside on pasture every day. This distinguishes them from Free Range producers that are located in places with more inclement weather.

https://vitalfarms.com/farm/

This article has some more pictures and insight about the controversies involving the number of hens allowed per hectare - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09...say-regulations-destroying-free-range/7824028

One hectare is 10,000 square meters. If you were to follow the Pastured standard used by Vital Farms of one hen/10 sq m, you could only have 1,000 hens per hectare.