Buying pastured eggs is an eggcellent idea.

Making do until the new laying boxes
 are ready.

They don't get much fresher
 than this.

Despite the drizzly rain, muddy ground and grey clouds I went to the Sale Market this morning. Less than half the usual stalls were there and the crowd was sparse. In my wanderings I noted four stalls selling ’free range’ eggs. These stall holders, diverse in their produce, selling goods including bric-a-brac, vegetables, plants and salami, were all the same in that they all also sold eggs, unregistered, in a public place. Re-used cartoons, some eggs with chook poo still on them, -all claiming to be ‘free range’. But how do you know? How old are they? How are the hens looked after? What are they fed? Do they meet housing standards?

And this is the hypocrisy – standards. Producers pay money to be registered, spend money to be meet the standards, but then who supports them? Who ensures the standards remain in place? 

Working with our local council and FREPA (Free range egg and Poultry Association) over the past few months, we have been researching the guidelines and costs associated with registering to sell eggs to the public as a small scale, free range egg producer. The process is costly and guidelines are stringent. Pages and pages of documentation detailing housing requirements, food and water regulations and labelling rules. FREPA also have their own guidelines.  

A range of colours and sizes

Hens found their own place

We have started on this journey, building a bigger hen house, installing more effective laying boxes, creating a secure “safe” paddock, purchasing an egg washer and we have a couple of alpacas waiting for us (they act as herd protectors). We are keen to succeed with our own branding and take our eggs further afield than we currently do. But some days I wonder if it’s all worth it. Because at the moment I could set up a stall at a local market and sell my eggs for a few dollars a dozen and cover the costs of chook food. But that’s not how we roll. We want our own cartons with our own logo and our own name. I want people who buy our eggs to firstly enjoy them but secondly to know where they come from and that the hens are true pasture roaming free range, as it was originally meant to identify. Our hens free range on our property, they see daylight, eat fresh grass and forage for bugs and worms. They are fed high quality grain and seeds along with kitchen peelings and bread. They follow us around the farm, often getting underfoot. They are friendly and produce high quality eggs. Thankfully our hens enjoy a very good life.

 

They follow us everywhere

In the last week Landline reported: “A decision by state and territory governments to allow up to 10,000 hens per hectare in free range egg production has prompted criticism from smaller producers, who say they are being forced to choose another definition for their type of farming.

Producers who run their chickens at low density in mobile houses are labelling their product as "pastured eggs" to differentiate themselves from the more densely farmed larger commercial companies”

Curious little birds

These new type of free range hens are not in cages and this is a good thing, however they are in climate and light controlled sheds, massive ones, crowded in, thousands of them. They do not have access to grass, bugs or worms, they cannot roam because when you put 10,000 hens in one hectare they barely have room to stretch their wings. This is not a natural state for hens.

Free to roam

Personally I don’t agree with the new definition of free range, it is deceptive and once again presumes the consumer is not smart enough to question or care if the eggs they buy truly are free range. I hope, as people pay more attention to ethical and sustainable production of food, that they will take the time and effort to support true free range or as they are being referred to now, pastured eggs, from registered sellers. You may pay an extra dollar or two but quality is worth the extra expense.

 Until next time, N