Page 8 - National Poultry Newspaper

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Caged-egg layer hens.
Marketing does get in the way of reality.
Give caged-egg farmers credit
n A comparison of free and caged
Free range and cage free layer hens.
• Less mortality • Less disease
• Less parasites,
So, 50,000 chickens on a 35-hectare property may be less than 1500 birds per hectare how- ever, is the consumer re- ally getting what they’re paying for?
MY family has been producing eggs – a valuable and affordable source of protein – for Australian families for over three generations.
Free range and caged free is the way my grandparents farmed, and these systems can be done very well on a small scale.
small openings for ac- cess to an open range which has little to no green grass.
We began farming in the 1960s, when all farms were free range.
However, they were not designed for intensive farming and come with risk.
The outside stocking density has also become a marketing tool.
Then the egg board run by the government of the day approached all egg farmers and said that all chickens needed to be taken off the ground and put into cages – to improve the welfare of the birds and to make the eggs safer and more affordable for the con- sumer.
To produce eggs in volume and make them safe and affordable for the consumer, the cage system was designed and resulted in:
People are now assum- ing that lower stocking density relates to better animal welfare when in fact, the outside stock- ing density is an environ- mental issue.
Fast forward and now we have a continued push by activist groups to have caged-egg farm- ing phased out... and they want governments to believe it is consumer driven.
• Less use of antibiotics and chemicals.
If the question was asked ‘Do you pre- fer eggs from chickens that are free to roam or locked up in cages?’, the answer would naturally be free to roam.
Supermarkets and large organisations then saw an opportunity to in- crease their profit mar- gins and began to market non-caged eggs in vol- ume, and I am certain most consumers are not aware of how exactly their purchased eggs have been produced.
Over the past 70 years, our farming systems may have changed but our commitment to ani- mal welfare, food safety and the environment re- main.
However, if the ques- tion as to the preference for eggs produced with or without the use of an- tibiotics and chemicals were asked, then the an- swer would be in favour of caged eggs.
Supermarkets and big corporations have driven farmers to these intensive non-caged systems and as a result, the industry has seen the emergence of many diseases that had disappeared when chickens were taken off the ground and put into cages, separating them from their faeces.
Our business, like any, continues to grow and we are proud farmers who continue to meet the needs of our custom- ers.
While we caged-egg farmers produce an af- fordable egg in a cage system, at no point in time is the welfare of our birds compromised.
Free range is no longer a few hundred chickens running around in green grass and living the life of luxury.
Therefore, rather than focussing on the actu- al farming system, we must focus on making all farmers responsible – so we can continue producing eggs from all methods and give people a quality product, with the freedom to choose the egg that best meets their needs.
Being a farmer means we look after our birds every single day of the year, as we understand the importance of their health and wellbeing.
The reality is that many of these non-caged sys- tems are large sheds holding tens of thou- sands of chickens, with
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• Cleaner safer eggs
Caged, barn or free range all have their place in meeting the diverse needs of the Australian consumer.
Page 8 – National Poultry Newspaper, January 2022
In reality, many non-caged systems are large sheds holding tens of thousands of chickens, with small openings for access to an open range which has little to no
green grass.
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