Page 4 - National Poultry Newspaper

While shoppers will shell out a little more for pastured eggs, their provenance, freshness and large golden yolks make it worthwhile.
Pastured eggs worth shelling out for
Laid in Manjimup on 60-plus glorious hectares in Western Australia’s Great Southern, these eggs taste good, look good and – from all I’ve read and re- searched – have come from happy Hyline hens that, for the most part, spend their days from dawn to dusk foraging on fresh pastures.
and forage naturally.
At 18 weeks of age, the new hens are ready to start laying and are delivered to their new paddock homes
es, cats and dogs by port- able electric net fencing.
Eggs are taken to the packing shed where they are candled to identify and remove cracked or imper- fect eggs, graded, hand packed and stored in the cool room ready for deliv- ery to local suppliers.
Charlie and Coleen Roberts with their children Jack and Harry and their happy hens.
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IN my ongoing quest to source pastured eggs, I was pleased to come across CharCol Springs at a local independent grocer.
of the egg – removing a natural bloom on the egg surface, therefore increas- ing the potential for bac- teria to get into the egg and decreasing the fresh- ness and nutritional value of that egg.
Cant
Comment
by BRENDON CANT
That’s where they reap the rewards of what Moth- er Nature has served them, complemented necessarily by a formulated grain mix of course.
at CharCol Springs.
Apart from sleeping se-
Eggs are collected by hand every morning from the roll away nesting boxes in each trailer.
This whole process is completed in the morning, ensuring the eggs maintain maximum freshness.
Progressive husband and wife team Charlie and Coleen Roberts – hence CharCol – source their hens from a local professional brooder, who raises them from day-old chicks to 18 weeks, ad- ministers all compulsory vaccinations and teaches them to use self-feeders, access water, perch train
curely at night and laying their eggs in the morn- ing in custom-made trail- ers, the hens can spend the whole day from dawn to dusk out on the pastures grazing and foraging for food,orjustbaskinginthe sun and fresh air.
These are designed so that the eggs roll away from the laying area onto a central conveyor belt, keeping the eggs clean.
Recognised as pastured egg pioneers in Western Australia, Charlie and Coleen rotate beef cattle and chickens, with one fol- lowing the other for the benefit of each other.
As Charlie explained, it is then not necessary for the eggs to be washed because washing would undermine the integrity
Regenerative agriculture really.
The trailers host wa- ter systems, perches for roosting at night, large batwing doors on the side to offer protection from the weather for the hens and a state-of-the-art nesting box, where the hens are able to lay their eggs.
Looks like a well-laid plan to me.
Each flock of 500 hens is given a quarter hectare at a time and, depending on the amount of pasture and bugs and grubs avail- able, they are moved into new areas every five to seven days.
Over the course of 12 months, they will cover at least 63ha of pasture.
Pastured eggs with pork sausages from pastured pigs. Big on taste and big on welfare. A perfect start to the day in the author’s kitchen.
COVID impacts chook meat
The hens are protected from predators such as fox-
THE chicken meat indus- try has a critical role to play in putting food on the table of Australians across the country.
outlets has changed, and some products will be in short supply.
workforce and thus are working with companies to ensure that practices and contingency measures continue to be in place to protect employees, their families and the broader community.
As such, the Australian Chicken Meat Federation Inc is providing ongoing assistance and advice to its members to continue to safeguard the supply of chicken meat to Austral- ian families.
We apologise to all our customers who have been unable to buy the products they want, and we ask for patience and understand- ing.
We commend the ex- emplary ongoing efforts made by our members and their supply chain part- ners in adapting to the challenges that this pan- demic presents us with.
Unfortunately, as for most Australian business- es at present, the Austral- ian chicken meat industry is facing significant pres- sure from critical staff shortages due to COVID.
It is a difficult time for everyone – farmers, chicken companies and all businesses in the chicken supply chain as well as our valued customers.
The ACMF is com- mitted to supporting its members throughout the COVID-19 response and recovery to help industry to manage and mitigate the current changing and future impacts of COV- ID-19.
As a result, the broad range and type of chicken meat products available in store and through food
The industry recognises that the health and safety of its workforce is para- mount and must be its first and foremost responsibil- ity.
Page 4 – National Poultry Newspaper, February 2022
We will always priori- tise the health and well- being of the industry’s
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