Controlling aggression in chickens without beak trimming

Beak trimming of laying hens is still a widespread practice in Australia – even in 'free range' flocks of birds. The majority of so-called free range farms are intensive production systems with flocks of many thousands of hens.

Even the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Domestic Poultry, which provides the only widely accepted national definition of the term 'free range' states that every effort should be made to avoid beak trimming by selecting birds which have more docile tendencies.

But the reality is that intensive free range farms beak trim their birds as a matter of course because they want to run large numbers and they chose to use high producing hens developed for the cage industry. These hens have been selectively cross bred for only two traits – maximum egg production and minimum feed intake. This often means they are aggressive and cannibalistic.

It is important to select a strain of bird that is less aggressive, and to get breeders to breed birds that are more docile. Research has shown that breeding for low aggression can have a marked effect in only 4 or 5 generations. Dr Mike Gentle, a U.S. researcher in this area, has concluded:
" In the long term, beak trimming should be phased out and undesirable behaviour controlled by environmental means and by increased effort being devoted to the genetic selection of commercial stocks which do not engage in damaging pecking, either in cages or when floor-housed in large flocks. "

In our view, hens should be kept in groups small enough to be able to recognise each other. At Freeranger Eggs we run maximum flock sizes of 250 – 300 birds.

Hens need to express their natural behaviour, including the strong urge to peck. They must have material in which to forage and dust bathe.

Good husbandry is a major factor in reducing aggression, especially preventing conditions that cause frustration in hens. They must also have an adequate and well-balanced diet, easy access to food and water, enough space, and minimum disturbance.

Egg farmers need to make a much greater effort to control aggression without beak trimming. From our experience talking with consumers at Farmers' Markets, they do not believe that 'free range' production should involve the beak trimming of birds. Aggression and cannibalism is a behavioural problem which is easily solved by effective poultry management and selection of birds.

Egg labelling is a shambles in Australia

Egg labelling laws and accreditation processes are a shambles in Australia because there is no legally recognised national definition of the term 'free range'. The Queensland Government has relaxed its regulation limiting stocking densities to 1500 hens per hectare on free range farms to 10,000 per hectare.

The NSW Government seems set to reject a Truth in Labelling Bill which has passed the Upper House and the SA Government is introducing a 'voluntary' code for the industry in that State.

Egg substitution has been rife for years but probably first came to general notice in Victoria during 2007 with a high profile case when a company was fined for labelling eggs as organic when they were from conventional farms.

In 2012, a NSW barn egg farm was fined for packaging its eggs as free range and a South Australian egg seller was fined for putting cage eggs in free range cartons.

Also in 2012. An egg farm in WA was caught with a huge overstocking rate which breached its planning conditions. This farm was accredited by a national egg quality scheme but despite annual audits which required compliance with planning conditions the farm remained accredited. The accreditation was only withdrawn once the breaches became public and legal proceedings began.

In Victoria in 2012 inspection and audit processes revealed that a farm was packing and selling non-accredited eggs from dubious sources and that colouring additives were being used in poultry feed – breaching particular standards.

Labels can also be misleading, with pictures of hens frolicking on green pasture, which frequently don't resemble conditions on the farm.

A questionable 'organic' accreditation body also exists in Victoria which is not recognised by mainstream organic bodies and which does not have a credible inspection process – but claims that the products which its members sell are certified organic. AQIS, which registers organic certification bodies in Australia, is apparently only involved with export industries – so it has no jurisdiction over domestic 'organic' claims.

Accreditation means different things to different people. Consumers rightly expect it to convey a message of credibility about a particular product, but to many businesses it's simply a marketing tool designed to allow them to make claims which increase their profits.

Similarly, a logo can be a valuable asset if it is trusted by consumers. But it's value can be destroyed if it is shown to be meaningless. Any accreditation program is only as good as the willingness of the accreditation body to maintain its standards and defend its logo.

That is why it is so disappointing that standards are ignored by accreditation bodies. Even using things like egg yolk colourings should be disclosed to consumers. Everyone expects cage farms to use them to enhance yolk colour but it is neither needed nor necessary on a genuine free range farm with low stocking densities and plenty of green feed.

To maintain ethical standards and credibility, all certification bodies need to defend their standards and take action against suppliers who break the rules.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has asked many egg producers to justify the claims made on their packaging – claims such as 'free range'.

Hopefully this will start a 'clean-up' process.

Bird Flu research - report from UK

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine say that a limited cross infection of bird flu from human to human is not surprising.

They say that in China the majority of the 133 confirmed cases reported so far seem to be epidemiologically unconnected, with many patients reporting a recent history of exposure to live poultry, which are suspected to be a main reservoir for the virus. Although an earlier study did report two family clusters of H7N9 cases, it was unclear whether these clusters resulted from person to person transmission or simply from exposure to a common animal source of infection.

The researchers say that although the study, led by the Jiangsu Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, provides the strongest evidence yet of H7N9 transmission between humans, it probably does not mean that the virus has come one step closer towards adapting fully to humans.

The full report in the British Medical Journal is here:
http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f4730

Queensland decision ridiculed

This was published today in the Canberra Times and the Brisbane Times and perhaps other newspapers across the country.  It is a comment piece written by John Birmingham and it paints an accurate picture of the Queensland Government decision to cave in to big business.

It’s hard to imagine anyone getting excited over the prospect of squeezing 10,000 chickens into something like a suburban block.

But the local minister for chickens, John McVeigh, seems very excited indeed at the prospect. As no doubt are the giant egg producers who’ve been lobbying for years redefine ‘free range’ eggs as ‘free to make enormous sodding profits from a lot of gullible punters and even grumpier chickens’.

If the industry could only sell millions more tasteless pale little yellow eggs from sad old cluckers imprisoned in closely packed sheds for the same price those free range hippies are selling their bloated inconveniently tasty golden eggs of goodness, why, the giant industrial farming companies which make up most of membership of the Australian Egg Corporation Limited would make a lot more money.

You can see why a state government with close ties to an industrial agribusiness like factory-scale egg producers would want to give them a free ticket to cash in on people’s desire for a half decent goog into which to dip their Vegemite toast soldiers. But I can’t see why we’d let them get away with it. This is such a blatant shakedown.

For some people, including most genuine free range farmers, it’s a matter of ethics, of not treating the chooks poorly. But even if you don’t much care about that, you should totally care that these bastards are trying to sell you a vastly inferior product at a grotesque mark up simply because their mates in the government have tipped them the nod to get away with it.

Queensland stocking density decision is pathetic

The Queensland Government's decision to amend the Animal Care and Protection Regulation 2012 to allow and allow greater stocking densities for free range layer hens is a complete cave-in to Coles supermarket and corporate egg preoducers.

The regulation previously limited stocking density to 1,500 birds per hectare a step taken some years ago to enforce a major provision of the Model Code. It argues that  other states allow higher densities and this placed Queensland egg farmers at a disadvantage.

They've done OK for the past ten years or so and there are plenty of free range egg farms across Australia operating very successfully with maximum stocking rates under 1500 hens per hectare.

The consumer group Choice has a petition running aimed at getting the Queensland Government to revert to its previous regulation.
http://choice.good.do/save-free-range-in-qld/email-queensland-s-premier-and-minister-for-agriculture-fisheries-and-forestry/

Chicken challenge

From the WeeklyTimes:

PETA has written a letter to an egg producer offering to give charity up to $3400 if he confines himself to cage.The animal welfare group’s proposal has been made to egg producer Andrew Postregna who owns Tamarix Egg Farm in Dandenong South and states that PETA will donate $100 per hour to charity if Mr Postregna confines himself to a cage of similar proportions to his body, as the chickens' cages are to theirs for 34 hours, the time it takes a chicken to produce an egg.

PETA's Australia campaigns director Jason Baker said the group made the proposal to Mr Postregna after a statement he made on the Australian Egg Corporation Limited website.

Mr Baker said that Mr Postregna wrote on the website: "When there's a few birds in a cage they tend to know each other. They're happy. Their stress levels seem to be a lot less than what it is in free-range [chickens]".

Mr Baker said maybe after Mr Postregna gets a real feel for being caged, he'll stop claiming that caged hens are "happy".

Mr Postregna had not received any letter from PETA when the Weekly Times Now contacted him.

PETA's campaign co-ordinator Claire Fryer said the letter had been faxed and posted.

She said it was the first time PETA had made such a proposal. 

Environmental Management on egg farms

Environmental Management Systems have become essential tools for maintaining the sustainability of farms and other rural enterprises. Many egg producers have already implemented full EMS procedures on their farms.

An EMS is a flexible business management system that helps farmers develop their own strategies for integrating environmental considerations into the daily operations of a farm. An EMS builds on existing management strategies, such as emergency, pest, or nutrient management plans.

It can be critical in improving environmental performance, reducing livestock health risks, assisting with regulatory compliance and improving the farm's reputation and community relationships.

An initial part of the EMS process is to clarify the farm environmental policy — how the farm identifies and addresses environmental concerns. Once an environmental policy is in place it helps to influence the development of a management system for on-farm activities. The policy guides the business through planning, implementing and reviewing farm management decisions that affect the environment, as well as the bottom line.

It allows for improved farm management and continual improvement of an operation.

Contact us if you want more info or help in developing an EMS for your farm.

Fly larvae could bring down the cost of poultry feed

A South African company, AgriProtein Technologies has developed a manufacturing process to produce fly larvae for use in poultry feed and other animal diets. The company is using slaughterhouse waste, animal manure and discarded food to grow the larvae, which are dried and ground into a powdered ingredient for monogastric animal feeds. AgriProtein says the product has a nutritional composition that is as good as fishmeal and better than soy - an increasingly expensive component of poultry feed.

Production by AgriProtein Technologies is relatively small scale at the moment. The company is currently producing two tonnes of larvae protein a week in its plant near Cape Town in South Africa, but is gearing up manufacturing capacity with the creation of two full scale production plants in Cape Town and Germany.

“We are passionate about expanding our business to recycle more waste nutrients and supply a natural protein to feed farm animals,” said Jason Drew of AgriProtein. The company recently won a $100,000 Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA), an award that was established by the African Innovation Foundation and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to encourage innovative achievements that contribute towards developing new products, increasing efficiency or saving cost.

The company says that larvae are a natural food of chickens in the wild and fish in streams. “Their nutritional composition is as good as that of fishmeal and better than soya. As a natural food it has excellent take on and digestibility properties,” says the company. “The most impressive part of the process is nature. A single female fly will lay 750 eggs in under a week, which will hatch into larvae which grow in weight over 400 times in just a few days. Our plant and machinery are modular in design, enabling plants to be built to suit each location. Each production line can produce up to ten tonnes of larvae protein per day.”

Jason Drew says the company, which is based in Stellenbosch, South Africa, has spent nearly six years working out how to get billions of egg-laying flies and larvae to work together. AgriProtein has had interest from nearly 30 countries wanting to license the process. And as well as setting up full-scale factories, the company has also developed a smaller unit for rural areas where small-scale animal owners can recycle their waste. Jason Drew said it was taken for granted that society should recycle tin, plastic and paper. Within 10 years it would be considered normal to recycle waste nutrients.

Here at Freeranger Eggs, we have seen chooks eager to eat fly larvae whenever they come across them so we have no doubt that they could become a great food source.

The cost of feed has been a big issue for egg farmers, especially with the escalating cost of soya. Professor Louise Fresco of the University of Amsterdam told delegates at the International Egg Commission conference in Madrid in April, “There is a fantastic source of protein that we are not using and that is insects, insects in all kinds of forms.”

New SA voluntary egg code

It's great that the South Australian Government is moving to establish a code for egg production in that State which will set a maximum stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare for the free range sector.
As it is proposed to be voluntary, it will really be just a marketing tool as other eggs from intensive farms will be able to be labelled as 'free range' as long as they don't claim to meet the new standard.
You can access details about the proposal at:
 http://www.agd.sa.gov.au/sites/agd.sa.gov.au/files/documents/Initiatives%20Announcements%20and%20News/130612%20-%20Eggs%20Discussion%20paper.pdf

Comments are invited and close on July 12.

The comments we will be sending are:

The proposed standard for free range egg production in South Australia is an excellent idea given the absence of a Federal initiative to implement a national standard.

In our view the key points of the production standard need to specify:

• A maximum outdoor stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare with an emphasis on maintaining ground cover for sustainable farm operations. This may require lower stocking rates when vegetative cover is depleted (such as during drought).
• Beak trimming of free range hens should be prohibited as it is not necessary with low stocking densities.
• Some limitation should be made on the number of hens in a shed as this can impact on whether or not the hens actually go outside. A maximum of 1000 or perhaps 2000 hens per shed at densities specified in the Model Code could be adopted.
• The hens must have full access to the outdoor area for at least eight hours every day

Environmental Guidelines for the egg industry can be found at: http://www.aecl.org.au/assets/Uploads/Resources/Environmental-Guidelines-for-the-Australian-Egg-Industry.pdf

Discussion about beak trimming can be found at:

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2008/c/controlling_feather_pecking_and_cannibalism_in_laying_hens.pdf

and
http://ciwf.org.uk/includes/documents/cm_docs/2010/l/laying_hen_case_study_austria_ciwf.pdf

To provide consumer confidence in the standards an auditing system will need to be introduced for participating farms.

Egg farms not exempt from climate change

There is little doubt that climate change will cause serious supply chain disruptions over the next few decades. And egg producers won't be exempt from the problems. Despite persistent denials by climate change sceptics, the connection between human behaviour and the warming of our planet has been well established.

Carbon dioxide emissions between 1850 and 1950 amounted to an average of 2 billion tonnes per year. During the 1980s this rose to 7.1 billion and by 2020 it's estimated to reach 9.8 billion.

Freak weather events caused by these changes are triggering unexpected commodity shortages and price volatility as well at causing havoc with many farming operations. This creates unprecedented supply chain instability and introduces new levels of risk and uncertainty into markets.

Only those farm and other businesses that can adapt will survive. Stable supply chains in the future will depend on action being taken at multiple levels to reduce greenhouse gas emission and mitigate climate change.

Most businesses currently externalise the cost of natural resources, creating a distorted picture of financial performance and business value. It can be demonstrated that many of the ‘services’ provided by the environment and which are essential for long term viability, are not factored into mainstream financial reporting.

The pressure on business to correct this distortion through True Cost Accounting is growing—a system in which the monetary value of natural resources such as water, timber and fossil fuels are included as costs that are reflected in the bottom line.

If True Cost Accounting is accepted as a normal business tool, and businesses pay for their use of natural resources, market dynamics will drive businesses to reduce their dependency in order to survive.

Production at Freeranger Eggs is aimed at sustainability and we believe we are well placed to meet an uncertain future – although there are bound to be problems from time to time with feed shortages and cost increases.

Vic Government releases food safety requirements for egg farmers

Many egg producers thumb their noses at food safety issues because they don't understand (or don't care) about the implications for consumers or for their businesses.

 

At last, here in Victoria the Government has sent out its requirements for meeting the new national standards for egg production which came into effect on November 26 last year. It gives producers until November 26 2014 to comply with egg stamping regulations!
 

Which means that for more than another year, many Victorian consumers will continue to have no idea where the eggs they buy actually originate. There have been many examples of substitution, with eggs brought in from other farms using different production systems - some of them interstate. These eggs are packed and marketed as being produced on a particular farm, to specific standards.
 

At least when stamping each egg with a unique farm identification code, consumers may be able to tell who is cheating. But until November next year the con merchants will have a ball.

 

Once the Department of Primary Industries has issued us with a code to put on our eggs, we intend to buy the necessary equipment and start stamping Freeranger Eggs even though we don't have to for almost 18 months.

 

It makes sense to us that consumers should be able to tell the source of the eggs they buy.

 

At Freeranger Eggs we've had a fully operation HACCP-based Quality Assurance and Food Safety Program in place for several years, so we don't have to do anything more apart from stamping the eggs. 

 

One dumb thing in the new regulations is that eggs can be stamped on the farm where they are laid - or at the grading floor. (This means that smart operators of the grading floor can put on any identifier they like. What a loophole!)

 

24 egg packs at Frankston Farmers Market

We will be at the Frankston Farmers' Market this Saturday with a full range of eggs from 500 gram ten packs to 950 gram Megga Eggs. But we will have a new deal on offer.

New 24 egg cartons are available now, so we will be selling 24 packs of 65 gram eggs at $14.50 -  a 50 cent saving on buying two 12 cartons.

We will see how it goes and we may extend the range in 24 packs!

Accreditation, egg substitution and deception

Egg substitution has been rife for years but probably first came to general notice in Victoria during 2007 with a high profile case when a company was fined for labelling eggs as organic when they were from conventional farms.

In 2012, a NSW barn egg farm was fined for packaging its eggs as free range and a South Australian egg seller was fined for putting cage eggs in free range cartons.

Also in 2012. An egg farm in WA was caught with a huge overstocking rate which breached its planning conditions. This farm was accredited by a national egg quality scheme but despite annual audits which required compliance with planning conditions the farm remained accredited. It's accreditation was only withdrawn once the breaches became public and legal proceedings began.

In Victoria in 2012 inspection and audit processes revealed that a farm which sold eggs to a major supermarket was packing and selling non-accredited eggs from dubious sources and that colouring additives were being used in poultry feed – breaching particular standards.

Labels can also be misleading, with pictures of hens frolicking on green pasture, which frequently doesn't resemble conditions on the farm.

A questionable 'organic' accreditation body also exists in Victoria which is not recognised by mainstream organic bodies and which does not have a credible inspection process – but it claims that the products which members sell are certified organic. AQIS, which registers organic certification bodies in Australia, is apparently only involved with export industries – so it has no jurisdiction over domestic 'organic' claims.

Accreditation means different things to different people. Consumers rightly expect it to convey a message of credibility about a particular product, but to many businesses it's simply a marketing tool designed to allow them to make claims which increase their profits.

Similarly, a logo can be a valuable asset if it is trusted by consumers. But it's value can be destroyed if it is shown to be meaningless. Any accreditation program is only as good as the willingness of the accreditation body to maintain its standards and defend its logo.

That is why it is so disappointing that standards are ignored by accreditation bodies. Even using things like egg yolk colourings should be disclosed to consumers. Everyone expects cage farms to use them to enhance yolk colour but it is not necessary on a genuine free range farm with low stocking densities and plenty of green feed. It needlessly puts consumers at risk.

To maintain ethical standards and credibility, all certification bodies need to defend their standards and take action against members who break the rules.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has sent out notices to many egg producers, requiring them to justify the claims made on their packaging – claims such as 'free range'.

Hopefully this will start a 'clean-up' process.

Freeranger on The Living Room

Here's a link to a preview of part of tonight's The Living Room show on Channel 10. Celebrity chef Miguel Maestre cooks Green Eggs and Ham - after reading the Dr Seuss book to our chooks!

https://www.facebook.com/FreerangerEggs#!/photo.php?v=450039318424907&set=vb.198962956865879&type=2&theater

What's in a name ?

It's not just the hidden use of colouring additives by many egg producers that is causing waves in the industry, nor the arguments about densities and beak trimming hens on 'free range' farms.  Now one of Australia's largest producers is coming under scrutiny in South Australia for its labelling.

Apparently it is using the name 'Barossa' on eggs which may not produced in that state.

Here's an article from today's Adelaide Advertiser:

A VICTORIAN firm selling eggs under the name Barossa Ridge Farms is being investigated by the state consumer watchdog for potentially breaching labelling laws.
The eggs are being sold in the Barossa Valley but consumers are concerned they may not originate in the world-famous wine region.
Clever marketing - including a large picture of vines on the carton lid - indicates that the eggs are produced in the Barossa but the fine print shows that might not be true.
These eggs are sold by Melbourne-based Farm Pride Foods - formerly the Victorian Egg Marketing Board - and labelled in the fine print as product of Australia.
A carton of the eggs was bought by a shopper at a deli in Tanunda last week and given to Opposition agriculture spokesman David Ridgway over concerns the labelling is misleading.
"I have spoken to the company which said it can't guarantee the eggs are from the Barossa or even from SA," Mr Ridgway said.

He has invited the public to contact him with other misleading advertising examples in order to name and shame offending companies on his website.
And if the Opposition is elected to government next year, he pledged to review labelling laws to provide better protection for South Australian consumers.
Minister for Consumer and Business Services John Rau said he was "outraged" by the labelling.
"I've referred this matter to Consumer and Business Services - as a regulator of Australian Consumer Law - to see whether or not this is an example of misleading or deceptive food labelling," he said yesterday.
The Barossa branch of Regional Development Australia said the misleading use of the region's name to market products is an "issue that has been raised before".
"When you have a brand which comes with as much value as the Barossa Valley, there always will be people looking to exploit it," the Barossa branch chief executive Anne Moroney said.
Barossa Food - representing local food producers - said "with Barossa eggs you would expect the chooks to come from the Barossa Valley".
"It is hoodwinking consumers because they may not recognise the eggs are not from the Barossa," Barossa Food committee member Jan Angus said. "I implore the government to ... help us."

Freeranger Eggs on The Living Room

The Freeranger Egg farm will feature on the Channel 10 TV show 'The Living Room' next Friday (May 24 at 7.30). It will probably only be four minutes or so, but celebrity chef Miguel Maestre and the film crew were on the Freeranger farm in February for around eight hours.
They filmed in several of our paddocks and Miguel helped to collect eggs before cooking superb scrambled eggs - Green Eggs and Ham - after reading the Dr Seuss book to the chooks! They certainly enjoyed it as they are always happy in interact with people.
We had to keep some of Maremmas out of the way because they don't like anyone messing around with their hens.
 It was great to meet the production crew, and yes Miguel is just as full-on in person as he is on screen.

Problems with colouring in eggs

As this is Food Allergy Awareness Week in Australia, it is worth looking at the widespread use of colouring additives. All major egg producers and many small ones - even those which claim to be free range and organic - use colouring additives in the feed they give their hens. Some members of the Free Range Farmers Association have been deliberately using those additives for more than a year – even though the use of manufactured colourings is a clear breach of the Association's standards.

The use of those additives is completely unnecessary in a free range flock, as hens running on quality pasture and at low stocking densities will obtain enough carotenoids from the green feed in the paddock to maintain good yolk colour. The colour will vary – depending on the time of year and what each hen has been eating – but many egg producers want to con consumers by using additives to provide consistent, bright yolk colour.

Many of those additives are synthetic - adding to the chemical cocktail mix in food. But even those which are claimed to be 'natural' are manufactured in factories – often in China. What the manufacturers mean by using the word 'natural' is that the additives may be derived from natural products but are processed and concentrated into a powder or liquid.
Three of the most widely used egg yolk pigmenters are:

Canthaxanin or Canthaxanthin which appears to be an unsafe additive. It can cause diarrhoea, nausea, stomach cramps, dry and itchy skin, hives, orange or red body secretions, and other side effects.

Do not use canthaxanthin if you experience breathing problems; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, tongue or throat; a skin rash or hives; you are pregnant or breast-feeding or you are allergic to vitamin A or carotenoids.

Capsicum  Allergic reactions to capsicum may occur. Stop eating eggs with capsicum-based colouring and seek emergency medical attention if you experience symptoms of a serious allergic reaction including difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; swelling of the lips, tongue, or face; or hives.

Other less serious side effects have also been reported. Talk to your doctor, pharmacist, or health care provider if you experience upset stomach; heartburn; diarrhoea; migraine attacks or burning sensation in the mouth or throat.

Use of Capsicum is not recommended if you are pregnant. If you are or will be breast-feeding while eating food containing Capsicum, check with your doctor or pharmacist to discuss the risks to your baby.

Capsicum colourings can bring on anaphylactic shock. See details from the University of Maryland:

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/anaphylaxis-000008.htm

Marigold Some people experience breathing problems, tightness in the chest, swelling of the mouth, tongue or throat. A skin rash or hives may occur.

From the Auckland Allergy Clinic

Article written: September 2001

Salicylate sensitivity is the body’s inability to handle more than a certain amount of salicylates at any one time. A salicylate sensitive person may have difficulty tolerating certain fruits or vegetables.

What are salicylates?

Salicylate is a natural chemical made by many plants. It is chemically related to aspirin, which is a derivative of salicylic acid. It is believed the plant uses it as protection from insects, and they are everywhere around us.

Although natural salicylates are found in wholesome foods, some individuals have difficulty tolerating even small amounts of them. The reaction to a natural salicylate can be as severe as that to a synthetic additive if the person is highly sensitive. Some people are troubled by only a very few, but some are troubled by all of them.

What is salicylate sensitivity?

Some adults and children have a low level of tolerance to salicylates and may get symptoms that are dose-related. The tolerated amount varies from one person to another. This is an example of food intolerance.

What are some of the symptoms of Salicylate Intolerance?

• Chronic Urticaria & Angioedema

• Trigger for Eczema

• Asthma

• Nasal Polyps

• Sinusitis

• Rhino conjunctivitis

• Stomach aches and upsets

Foods containing Salicylates

Salicylates occur naturally in many fruits, and vegetables as a preservative, to prevent rotting and protect against harmful bacteria and fungi. They are stored in the bark, leaves, roots, and seeds of plants. Salicylates are found naturally in many foods and its compounds are used in many products.

All fresh meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, cereals, bread are naturally low in salicylates

Foods with very high Salicylate content include:

Vegetables: Capsicum    Hot Peppers

Capsaicin is the active component of Capsicum. Pure capsaicin is a volatile, hydrophobic, colourless, odourless, crystalline to waxy compound.

Capsaicin Factsheet

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/Capsaicintech.pdf

A UK report on The Adverse Effects of Food Additives on Health, published in the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine described surveys on food intolerance which showed that as many as 2 in 10 people believe that they react badly to certain foods or to their constituents, whereas less than 2 in every 100 has been considered to be the official figure.

However, a recently published report indicates that small children are much more likely to react to certain foods. Although the exact numbers are not known, surveys suggest that one child in 10 may be affected in some way
Of the nearly 4000 different additives currently in use, over 3640 are used purely for cosmetic reasons and as colouring agents.

The continued reason for the use of additives is based on the argument that they are present in foods on such a minute scale that they must be harmless.

This argument may be almost acceptable regarding additives with a reversible toxicological action. However, with additives which have been found to be both mutagenic and carcinogenic, neither the human nor animal body is able to detoxify. Therefore even very minute doses of these additives, when consumed continuously, will eventually result in an irreversible toxic burden, resulting finally in cancer formation and/or in chromosomal and foetal damage. This is unacceptable, particularly as the majority of these dangerous agents belong to the food colouring group.

The full report is available here:

http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1994/articles/1994-v09n04-p225.shtml

An allergy is a hypersensitity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid. Allergy is one of four forms of hypersensitivity and is formally called type 1 hypersensitivity. Allergic reactions are distinctive because of excessive activation of certain white blood cells.

Mild allergies like hay fever are very common in humans but allergies can play a major role in conditions such as asthma. In some people, severe allergies to environmental or dietary allergens may result in life-threatening reactions called anaphylaxis.

Coles awards for big corporate egg producers

Here's an article from the Bendigo Advertiser.

Bears Lagoon (near Bendigo) chicken farm Novo Farm Pride has been announced as one of three overall winners of the Coles Brand Supplier of the Year.

It won the award with two other egg producers, Queensland’s Sunny Queen and New South Wales’ Pace Farm, because of its moves to sell cage-free eggs.

Novo Farm Pride opened another three state-of-the-art sheds in October last year, doubling the amount of birds at the operation to 180,000.

The company has worked with Coles to define the free-range standard for eggs.

"Free-range eggs have been growing double digits every year for the past five to 10 years, so through discussions with Coles we worked together to expand the farms capacity," national sales and marketing manager Ian Savenake said.

"We have been able to hold sessions and work with Coles to define the free-range standard and meet consumer demand for our welfare-friendly eggs.

"The award is recognition for the whole team from the farmers to people on the grading floor, to admin, to sales." Coles merchandise director John Durkan said the producers had shown leadership in the egg industry by making the move to produce cage-free eggs.
If these eggs were labelled as cage free there would be no issue with consumers or the free range sector of the egg industry. But they are labelled as free range which does not meet consumer expectations or the standards of legimate free range ergg farmers.

Dead hens no health risk

The Shire of Gingin in WA says there are no health risks from an incident where 250 dead chickens spilled on to Gingin roads from a truck last week.

Gingin CEO Jeremy Edwards said the Shire had contacted the contractor who was transporting the chickens to a Moora facility.

He said the chickens were cleared from roads quickly.

"They were cleaned up by our operations crew and rangers and the company that owned the chickens also responded in a timely manner," he said.

Mr Edwards said the Shire had issued the contractor with an infringement notice for an unsecure load.

"About 250 chickens out of 12,000 being transported fell off," Mr Edwards said. The Shire and egg producer AAA Eggs will meet tomorrow for further mediation on a development proposal to build a free-range poultry farm for 300,000 chickens in a rural zoned area in Wanerie. The Shire refused the application but the State Administrative Tribunal is reviewing the plan.
Hmmm!!!!!!!

Egg Farm Biosecurity

Work on an Egg Farm Biosecurity Manual is nearing completion, according to Duncan Rowland, Executive Manager Biosecurity Services at Animal Health Australia.

“Over the past few months AHA has been working with its industry members to update their on-farm biosecurity manuals. Recent industry endorsed publications include a Farm Biosecurity Manual for the Duck Meat Industry; Grazing Industries Biosecurity Reference Manual (covering cattle, sheep, goats and alpaca) and a Pork Biosecurity Reference Manual,” Dr Rowland said.

We wonder who he has been talking to in the egg industry?

Court action in Europe over cages

There are still some major problems in Europe following the ban on unenriched cages for the egg industry.

Greece and Italy in particular have caused headaches for the European Commission and the behaviour of those countries in ignoring the ban has been handed to the European Court of Justice.

Following the compliance deadline, there were many complaints from businesses which complied with the new regulations about those countries that failed to replace their conventional battery cages.

Compassion in World Farming reports that Italy and Greece have 20 million hens confined in barren battery cased, despite the 10 year period given for the January 2012 deadline. This has clearly resulted in unfair competition throughout Europe.

The European Commission is taking the two countries to the Court of Justice over their failure to implement Directive 1999/74/EC banning “un-enriched cages.”

New bird flu hard to detect

An outbreak the H7N9 strain of avian influenza in China has seen the introduction of some strong biosecurity measures there and in some other countries. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation says that unlike other bird flu strains, this new virus is hard to detect in poultry because the novel virus causes few signs of disease in animals.
"Unlike H5N1, where chickens were dying on a large scale, with this virus we don't have a red flag that immediately signals an infection. This means farmers may not be aware that virus is circulating in their flock. Biosecurity and hygiene measures will help people protect themselves from virus circulating in seemingly healthy birds or other animals," said Juan Lubroth, Food and Agriculture Organization chief veterinary officer.

Gold Coast Health has put emergency department doctors and GPs on alert for symptoms of the bird flu in patients who have been to China.

There are 20 flights a week between the Gold Coast and China and the Federal Government has warned that the H7N9 virus, which has so far killed nine of the 28 people it has infected in China, has a higher likelihood of spreading because the virus has already infected humans through direct contact with poultry.

UK producers may be selling up

There are indications that free range egg producers in the UK may be selling up and getting out of the industry.

After a decade of consistent growth, the last two years have been very difficult for the free range egg sector.

Poor prices for eggs and soaring feed costs have exerted fierce financial pressure on free range producers, and it would appear that some producers have had enough.

If the Australian Egg Corporation had succeeded with its push for outdoor stocking densities of 20,000 hens per hectare to be classified as free range, many family farms in Australia would have been destroyed. If Coles gets acceptance for its 10,000 per hectare density the same thing may happen.

More details about the situation in the UK at:
http://www.farminguk.com/news/Confusion-as-producers-ponder-exit-or-expansion-plans_25301.html

ACCC gets tough

 

Many 'free range' egg producers in Australia are running for cover now that the ACCC has begun a campaign to clean up the industry.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued Substantiation Notices under Consumer Law to a cross section of the egg industry in Australia. The operators who have received the notices will have to justify the claims made on their packaging and promotional material - many do not even come close to meeting the standards required by the Model Code of Practice for the Welfare of Animals - Domestic Poultry.

The Australian Egg Corporation Ltd is trying to cover its backside as the dodgy operators are claiming they have only done what AECL told them was OK.

Should be an interesting few months. It might even help to fix up some of the certification and accreditation bodies which have very slack inspection standards (if they bother to inspect at all).

Drones looking at farms

Animal Liberation in NSW is about to deploy surveillance drones to look for evidence of animal cruelty on private property - including flying over free range egg farms, sheep and cattle farms.
It's likely that the low flying cameras will anger many farmers not only because of the intrusion on their privacy, but because of the potential to frighten and injure stock.

It is said that the drones will be flown at a height above 10 metres from the ground – and that is claimed to be legal.

Simple surveillance of farms to verify production claims (such as free range egg farming) is currently undertaken by using Google Earth. Clear images are available of every farm and the drones are probably unnecessary.

The issue has been brought to the attention of the Australian Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, who said that using the drones was "potentially intrusive”.

Worming free range hens

A drop in egg production or increased mortality in a flock is a clear indication of a farm management problem affecting bird health. Often the first thought is a disease such as Infectious Bronchitis, but frequently the problem can be intestinal worms.

A build up of worm eggs on free range paddocks which have been in operation for a number of years can be very significant, and the cycle needs to be broken by good paddock rotation, including resting paddocks for several months before introducing a new flock..

Worm infestations have been thought to be rather seasonal but in temperate parts of Australia, worms present a potential year round problem.

Depending on the type of intestinal worms, the bird's gut can be severely damaged, restricting egg production, causing loss of body weight and death.

There is likely to be poor feed conversion and affected birds may look unhealthy, with runny manure and pale or drooping combs

Affected hens are at risk of egg peritonitis and secondary gut problems involving bacterial infections. In cases involving many birds in the flock, production can be hit very severely as the hens are unable to utilise all of the nutrients in their feed.. Egg quality is likely to decline, particularly yolk colour with a reduction in egg size as well as loss of shell colour and strength.

There is also an increased risk of vent pecking which may lead to cannibalism.

The diet you use needs to be a well balanced ration, especially with an adequate supply of vitamins A and the B complex. A deficiency in these has been shown to increase susceptibility to parasitism.

Three main types of worms cause problems in free range hens. Roundworms and Hairworms affect the duodenum and small intestine, Hetarakis worms affect the caeca.

Roundworms (Ascaridia galli)

These are the largest and most common of the chicken intestinal worms and can completely block the intestines. Worms are white with adults up to 2 inches long which can be easily seen in droppings.

Hairworms (Capillaria)

Hairworms are small and just visible. These worms are capable of causing severe damage to the intestine even in small numbers. Hairworm infection can be identified by examining faecal material under the microscope or looking at intestinal material from birds submitted for post mortem.

Caecal worms (Hetarakis gallinarum)

Hetarakis worms spend most of their time in the caeca. The worms themselves often cause no obvious problem but their significance is that they can carry another parasite (Histomonas) into the bird. Histomonas is the cause of Blackhead which can cause deaths in free range flocks.

Chickens become infected with worms by picking up worm eggs from their surroundings. This may be from within the shed or from soil, grass or faecal material on the range. Worm eggs are resistant to disinfectants and the normal cleaning and disinfection programme used in poultry sheds between flocks does not remove all worm eggs. A new flock of pullets may be exposed to worm eggs as soon as they arrive, both in the shed and out on the pasture.

Monitoring bird health is important. You need to be aware of signs of listlessness in the hens and regular inspection of droppings is important. If you suspect a problem, talk to your vet.

It is useful to examine the gut of any dead birds (either do it yourself if you have an idea what you are looking for or ask your vet to do a post mortem).

Good paddock rotation, with lengthy rest periods between flocks is the most effective worm control program but worming is also important. If you don't want to use chemicals, cider vinegar in the water, access to plants which are vermifuges (for exmple Wormwood or Garlic) and mixing diatomaceous earth in feed can help to control internal worm infestations.

The area closest to a fixed shed is always a high risk area for build up of worms and other pathogens, which is one reason for the populartity of mobile chicken sheds.

The UV rays in sunlight are the best killer of worm eggs.

Understand the worm risk on your farm and include a worm monitoring and control strategy in your animal health plan.

For anyone who wants to see post mortem training videos, have a look at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTJ-FyPOpLU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQUZ48pGa5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Fob6vNe6M

Beak trimming ban in UK

A ban on beak trimming free range hens in the United Kingdom was due to come into force in 2011 but was put off on the advice of the Farm Animal Welfare Council because of concerns about feather pecking and cannibalism. The British Government has warned that it intends to introduce the ban in 2016.

Considerable work on husbandry methods which can be adopted to control feather pecking and cannib...alism has been carried out by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.

Trials have also been underway for a couple of years by Professor Christine Nicol and her team at the University of Bristol. She has said that it is possible to manage hens with intact beaks in commercial flocks without problems.

Here in Australia, there are many commercial free range farms operating without the need to beak trim their hens. As long as the chickens are not over-crowded and have plenty of pasture, there is seldom a problem with injurious feather pecking.

Approval for massive 'free range' farm in WA

The Shire of Gingin in WA has approved a plan for a 'free range' poultry farm with 360,000 birds at Wanerie, west of Gingin.

In February Gingin council approved a proposal from AAA Eggs to establish the massive egg farm, subject to strict conditions, including annual odour reports .

The 200ha site is 37km northeast of Gingin townsite.

The council considered the proposal a number of times and requested more information, before referring the case to the State Administrative Tribunal.

Most of the local concerns were about amenity, in particular odour control. Annual odour reporting and the establishment of a community stakeholder group are included in the permit conditions.

AAA is WA's biggest egg producer and already has a production facility in Gingin Shire.

Coles' standard unlikely to get through

The new Coles' free range standard of 10,000 hens per hectare may follow the same fate as the AECL's pathetic attempt to launch its 20,000 per hectare standard.  This is from today's The Age:

Supermarket Coles’ new standard for freerange eggs looks set to run foul of the national consumer watchdog with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission declaring that eggs produced at intensive farms do not deserve the label "free range’’.

While not commenting directly on Coles whose new free-range standard is 10,000 hens per hectare, almost a seven-fold reduction in space from the voluntary guidelines ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said the watchdog believed 10,000 hens per hectare was not consistent with consumers’ understanding of free range.

Ms Court said the commission was very concerned "the egg industry was trying to redefine free range to increase their own profitability’’ without regard to consumers’ views. The ACCC is concerned about "the redefinition of what is meant by free range by industry to suit itself, and the fact that the redefinition has the very real potential of misleading consumers,’’ she said.

The egg industry is spending millions of dollars renovating caged-hen facilities and building new state-of-the-art intensive freerange systems to meet Coles’ new standard.

Industry sources expect Woolworths and Aldi will follow Coles’ standard if it is accepted by the community and regulators such as the ACCC leading to a redefinition of free range in Australia.

Coles says its standard which allows free-range farmers to run sheds of 30,000 hens is the only way to deliver affordable eggs to consumers. The supermarket chain says it is drawing a line in the sand after the industry admitted it had been running freerange hens at densities of 50,000.

In response to the ACCC’s comments, Coles spokesman Jim Cooper said: Our stocking density is far better than most of Australia’s free-range egg production, which typically comes from farms running at double or even triple the stocking density that Coles allows.’’

Fairfax Media revealed on Monday that Animals Australia and the RSPCA, previously supportive of Coles’ efforts to improve its egg range had questioned whether eggs from intensive free-range systems could be called free range.

Monash economics professor and former ACCC member Stephen King said without a legally enforceable free-range code, Coles had done nothing wrong. But the ambiguity over free range was a government failure’’.

We certainly agree that the current fiasco is a government failure which demonstrates that 'truth in labelling' legislation must be a high priority. We also hope that the ACCC will launch some prosecutions against egg producers who have been scamming their customers for years.

The end game for Coles is easy. Simply call their high density system 'cage free' as they state in their advertising. Don't try to con consumers that this is 'free range'.

The Coles 'free range' standard under scrutiny

The Age and other Fairfax paper ran a couple of articles today about the new Coles 'free range' standard and here's a video clip on the Fairfax site.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/coles-sets-its-own-squeezier-standard-20130303-2fefw.html

Tell us what you think!

Running on eggshells and used cooking oil

There's an interesting article in the latest issue of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Chemical Engineering explaining the 'development of eggshell derived catalyst for transesterification of used cooking oil for biodiesel production'.

 
One major drawback that prevents commercialization of biodiesel is the high cost of vegetable oil feedstock. In this work, used cooking oil, which is far cheaper than fresh vegetable oil, is used as an alternative raw material. Prior to transesterification reaction, esterification was conducted and catalyzed homogeneously to eliminate free fatty acid. Heterogeneous catalyst derived from cheap and easily obtained egg-shell (industrial waste) was used for transesterification reaction. A 100% ester yield was obtained at the optimized reaction conditions.

What a great use for eggshells.

Study into Newcastle Disease

Research into Newcastle Disease, which is a particularly nasty disease for chickens is being undertaken through a project of the Poultry Co-operative  Research Centre.

The severity of the clinical signs of ND is influenced by the strain of virus and the age, condition and species of the bird. Clinical signs in poultry range from a mild, almost inapparent respiratory disease to a very severe depression, drop in egg production, increased respiration, profuse diarrhoea followed by collapse, or long-term nervous signs (such as twisted necks) if the birds survive. Death rate can be up to 100 per cent in severe (virulent) forms of the disease. The incubation period is usually 5 – 6 days, but can vary from 2 – 15 days.

Strains of ND virus that cause no disease, known as avirulent, low virulence or lentigenic strains, are common in Australian poultry flocks.

Direct sunlight destroys the virus in about 30 minutes.

More details on the CRC website at http://www.poultryhub.org/2013/02/pathogenicity-of-newcastle-disease/

Vic Government ignores food safety

We had our food safety inspection by our local council (Bass Coast Shire) Health Officer yesterday and all was well. Our grading room, cool room, delivery and egg handling procedures were all demonstrably OK.

But I couldn't help myself. I referred to the recent post I put up here and how outraged I felt that in Victoria ALL egg sellers are not legally required to record the temperatures at which their eggs are stored.

We do it as a matter of course – we have a detailed Food Safety Programme which is a key part of our operation. Many farms in Victoria don't bother with records which show their temperature control procedures or their egg cleaning methods (and if eggs are dirty there is a farm management problem).

I received an email from Heather Haines, Manager, Evidence Program of FoodSafety Victoria who said “The new Primary Production and Processing standard does not, in fact, specify that eggs should be transported and stored at cool temperatures Although temperature control is not specified in the standard, cool transport and storage of eggs (along with the control of humidity) are recommended in several industry codes of practice and state government, for the reasons you discuss".

I was gobsmacked! It seems that all those clowns who are transporting eggs for many hours or days in unrefrigerated vans are not breaking any laws. As temperature control “is not specified” they can ignore it – and they do. There are heaps of examples of eggs being transported at uncontrolled temperatures for many hours to markets in Melbourne and other places. It maybe be OK in cool conditions – but I am disgusted that the Victorian Government allows it to happen when temperatures higher than specified levels encourage the growth of bacteria and pathogens. Why wait for the problem to kill people!!

Plenty of eggs on the farm

Production is going well at present, with a laying rate running at just over 80% with our main flocks. The latest batch of pullets haven't started yet but the flock which is 23 weeks old is at about 60% production.

We are not looking forward to the next bout of hot weather although we have plenty of shade in the paddocks and heaps of ice in the freezer ready to put in the chooks' water.

Demand for eggs is still strong although (thankfully) the tourists have gone home now and we just have to cope with the standard bedlam which seems to rule our lives!


Here's some of our chooks with their Maremma, Ducati. As you can see from the sky, there aren't many clouds about so we are expecting unwelcome temperatures.

New shed ready for the next flock

A rollaway nesting system being assembled for the next mobile chook shed.

I'm putting the finishing touches to a caravan being modified to accommodate a small flock of hens - 200 pullets. Most of the floor has been ripped out and steel mesh installed to allow manure to fall through.

Perches have been set up and an SKA rollaway nesting system has been fitted - even though I'm not sure it is an improvement on traditional nest boxes with wood shavings.

We will see how it goes but I won't be surprised if after a couple of months I pull out the flash nesting system and put in normal nest boxes.

An ombudsman for supermarkets?

Major supermarkets in Australia may come under pressure if the Labor Goverrnment loses power at this year's national election. The National Party is believed to be about to introduce a policy for a specialist regulator to oversee the industry.

A party room meeting on February 1 is expected to endorse the establishment of a regulator to try to curb the powers of the grocery duopoly, Coles and Woolworths. It will be similar to the establishment of Britain's first supermarket regulator which has power to fine the 10 biggest supermarkets if they have been found to have unfairly treated their suppliers. They are required to comply with a new code of conduct.

Understandably, both Coles and Woolworths don't like the prospect, preferring self-regulation. The current Labor Government agrees with them and has ruled out any legislative change.

Food safety issues on egg farms

 

Ideally, Storage temperatures
should be logged twice a day

In the US, authorities are beginning to enforce food safety requirements on egg farms. Here in Australia, we have a few regulations, but mostly just voluntary standards. Enforcement generally depends on individual  accreditation programs or on local government environmental heath officers - and that varies greatly from Shire to Shire.
One of the problem areas identified in the US was the recording of cool room temperatures. That is probably the biggest single issue here.

Many farms don't bother to log temperatures (some don't even have cool rooms) and some transport eggs for days in unrefrigerated vehicles.

The risks to health can be significant when eggs are stored and transported incorrectly and it seems weird that temperature control is not a mandatory requirement.

Here's an article about some of the US findings on non-compliance with regulations.
http://www.wattagnet.com/156696.html

1500 chickens per hectare is the maximum for 'free range' production

The rationale for a maximum stocking density of 1500 chickens per hectare is quite clear. One thousand hens produce approximately 20 tonnes of semi dry poultry manure each year. Allowing the hens to free range over a pasture area has to be designed around the need to maintain pasture cover which is vital for farm sustainability, to limit dust and odour nuisances to neighbours and to avoid off-site pollution caused by the nutrients in the manure.

Maintaining well managed pasture over the range area is seen as the best method to handle these issues and is a requirement of most Standards for the production of free range poultry. A well managed pasture provides an opportunity for retaining and utilizing the nutrients from the poultry flock on site and avoiding the problems of leeching excess nutrients into ground water and nutrient run off into waterways or onto neighbouring properties. Excess poultry manure applied to pasture has been shown to increase soil salinity.

The upper limits are determined by the success in managing the rotation of the flock around the pasture to maintain cover and growth of the pasture and the nutrient load that the system can handle.

The maximum limit on nutrient loads is seen as critical and assessable and this was a major factor in formulating the recommended upper limit on stocking rates for the range during the development of free range egg production standards and the Model Code.

Agronomists assisted with the exercise and they looked at their experience with highly productive dairy pastures in the County of Cumberland (NSW) which had been fertilized with poultry manure and irrigated. These perennial pastures were mainly a Kikuyu Ryegrass Clover pasture which could yield in excess of 20 tonnes of dry matter a year.

Such a pasture would normally be recommended to be fertilized with 172 kg of N from Urea, 22kg of P from Single super and 60 kg of K from Muriate of potash. Poultry manure application rates had traditionally been at a higher rate resulting in high phosphate and potassium levels and an increase in soil ph but it was felt that an application rate of 15 tonnes of poultry manure per ha per annum would be sustainable in the longer term. The dairy farms had been using poultry manure at these rates for over twenty years.

Using semi dried poultry manure as the calculation, 15 tonnes of manure per annum would be applying 293 kg of N, 195 kg of P and 97.5 kg of K per ha per annum to the pasture. This rate was equivalent to the output of 750 hens. However since the hens would spend the night in the laying house from which the manure could be removed and used at another site it was translated into supporting a maximum daily stocking rate of 1500 hens per hectare.

Coles 'free range' standard

Well the Coles standard for its version of free range eggs is now up and running - have a look at this Coles facebook page.  It allows an outdoor stocking density of 10,000 hens per hectare but there has been no science produced to demonstrate that such a high density has any animal welfare benefits or is a sustainable method of production.
The hens on those production facilities will almost certainly all be beak trimmed to control aggression generated by over-crowding. The nutrient build up on the land around the production sheds will be huge. Each hen excretes half a cubic metre of manure a year - so 10,000 hens per hectare equals 5000 cubic metres of manure.
Unless those hens are locked in their sheds (and of course they won't be as they are called 'free range'!!!!) the contamination of the land has the potential to generate serious health issues - for the chooks as well as consumers.  And that's before we look at land sustainability.
It's all those reasons which were taken into account when the Model Code was developed which established an absolute maximum outdoor stocking density of 1500 hens per hectare.

Egg Corp spin - both fact and fiction

There are some interesting discussion points arising from comments by James Kellaway, Managing Director of the Australian Egg Corporation. Have a look at the attached link and see what you think. It is a blend of facts interwoven with assertions which the Egg Corp board likes to perpetuate.

It would be great to have a public debate with him.

I have no argument with James' comment about the supermarket duopoly in Australia. Clearly, the 'free range' standard planned by Coles is just as absurd as the Egg Corp's Egg Standards Australia proposal.

I also accept his comments about farm management practices having more impact on animal welfare than the production system. I have said many times that I have seen some very poorly managed 'free range' farms and some well run cage farms.

But the rest of his comments just repeat industry spin which has been rejected by many in the industry as well as by consumers. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E32Oe9nMtTQ

New Coles 'free range' standard about to be launched

Supermarket giant Coles, is about to launch its new 'free range' egg standard which allows its 'free range' egg suppliers to run their hens at a stocking density of 10,000 hens per hectare, when the current maximum under the Model Code is accepted as 1500 per hectare.

Coles has been conducting on-farm inspections to see if its supplier farms meet their new standards (hard to imagine that anyone will fail!)

The new standard is expected to be launched later this month following the withdrawl of the Australian Egg Corporation's ill-fated Egg Standards Australia propposal which sought to introduce a 20,000 stocking density. It will be interesting to see how the new Coles standard is accepted by consumers (and the ACCC) and any response from the other supermarket giant Woolworths.

The Land - Egg Corp stuffed!!

Here's an article in The Land newspaper by journalist Andrew Marshall

EGG industry plans to kick-start the year with a new national quality assurance trademark for free-range eggs have been taken back to the drawing board.
Peak industry body, the Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL), has bowed to increasing consumer scepticism about its quality assurance guidelines which would have approved free-range farms running as many as 20,000 hens a hectare. Critics of the high stocking rate believe AECL was jolted into withdrawing its trademark plan after a big pre-Christmas fine was imposed on a NSW duck producer convicted of falsely advertising its shedded poultry as free-range. The maximum stocking density advocated by well-established free-range egg producers is about 1500 birds/ha - a standard that has also been reinforced by law in Queensland - while some industry purists insist on stocking densities below 700/ha. AECL's application for a certification trademark had intended to provide consumers with a national benchmark that recognised a recently enhanced Quality Assurance (QA) program across the industry. The QA program for cage, barn-laid and free-range eggs was developed during three years of consultation with scientists, egg producers, regulators and the broader community. Its aim has been to set minimum egg production standards for hen welfare, food safety, farm biosecurity, environmental stewardship and egg labelling. "However, in response to concerns from some members of the community regarding three of the 171 minimum standards in the proposed QA program AECL has decided to withdraw the application," the corporation explained in a statement released just prior to Christmas. It said some structural elements of the program and "other observations" had helped mould its decision to halt the trademark program, which had been proposed for a late 2012 launch. In November the egg corporation copped a stern warning from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which questioned whether the trademark was misleading. ACCC received more than 1700 submissions about free-range eggs - most of them challenging the perceived high stocking capacity proposed for farms which qualified for free-range certification. It said the accreditation did not appear to fit consumer expectations of free-range farming and the consumer watchdog was unlikely to approve the trademark. Many free range producers also hope the ACCC will go further and start legal proceedings against some free-range producers who are believed to be running significantly more than 20,000 hens/ha, or are substituting cage or barn-laid eggs to meet the fast rising demand for free-range lines. Vocal Victorian campaigner against AECL's plans to make 20,000/ha a maximum standard for the industry, Phil Westwood, said the ACCC had already indicated its intentions pursuing a NSW duck producer in the Federal Court over misleading "open range" claims. On December 19 Windsor-based Pepe's Ducks was ordered to pay a $375,000 fine for advertising and packaging claims about its ducks being raised on the "open range" and "grown nature's way". Pepe's ducks had been grown in barns and were not allowed outdoors. The ACCC said the fine was a win for enforcing honesty in poultry industry advertising where consumers wanted labels to be "true and accurate". Eggs labelled free-range have been fast gaining market share, now representing 30 per cent of Australia's 13 million daily egg sales. But Mr Westwood believed about a third of those eggs may be sourced from intensive free-range farms carrying up to 40,000 chooks/ha or more, or farms keeping hens in barns most of the time. He said submissions to the ACCC showed most consumers believed free-range farms should running less than 1500 hens in grassy grazing conditions, not bare paddocks or big sheds with limited outdoor access. "I know a lot of big egg producers want to be able to produce massive volumes of eggs just as they do with cage facilities, but I don't think there's any room for the AECL to make compromises here," Mr Westwood said. "In fact, 1500 hens/ha is already a significant compromise." He said many mid-sized cage egg producers also strongly opposed AECL's big free-range capacity plans because it would encourage a flood of cheap free-range eggs on the market, forcing cage egg prices down to compete for market share. Margins were already slim for many egg farmers supplying the major brand names and generic supermarket labels, and getting tighter as electricity and feed grain costs rose. AECL said at this point it still intended to submit a new trade mark application after reviewing issues raised and making any necessary amendments to the minimum standards. It noted there was no opposition to the standards for cage or barn-laid egg production in the new QA program.

'Free Range' farm agrees to cut hen numbers

The saga of the Swan Valley free range egg farm in WA appears to be over, with the owner accepting that he will have to reduce his hen numbers to meet permit conditions.
This farm was accredited to the Egg Corp Assured program - until the breaches of permit conditions became public ! It demonstrates that the Australian Egg Corporation does not enforce the requirements of its own accreditation program.
http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/SWAN-Valley-Egg-Farm/7638460/