Don’t get eggs-cited about free range: the realities of poultry production

If it's ethical eggs you're after, the backyard may be the best source.

There are three main options for the large scale egg producers. The first is barns with rows and rows of cages containing five birds each, which provides about an A4 piece of paper of space per bird.

There are two main problems with this system: the restricted space stops them performing their natural behaviours such as flapping their wings. And the barrenness of the cage provides no possibility to dust bathe or forage in the dirt. The chickens' food is provided automatically by a conveyor belt and their dung is removed equally automatically by another belt, so the bird is just a machine in the middle of the process.

The second option is to have groups of several thousand birds loose in barns. Consumers pay a premium for these type of eggs. This set-up improves the birds’ behavioural freedom because there is more space and variety in the environment, but there is increased fighting and even cannibalism.

A third alternative is allowing birds to have access to both a house and free range. This gives them the opportunity to go outside, but usually offers little protection from aerial predators or the extremes of weather. As a result the birds often don’t venture outside.

Organic chickens – according to the international NASAA standard – are provided least eight hours continuous darkness every 24 hours, and must have access to natural light and forage areas for at least six hours per day. Farmers have to provide at least one square meter for every five birds.

So maybe the best way to support chicken welfare is to hunt down that backyard producer that sells a few eggs on the side. Even better, if you have a yard buy a few chooks and recycle your vegetable scraps.
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I've five chickens in my backyard keeping my waste to a bare minimum as they eat all scraps, provide manure for my veggie patch and provide me daily with too many eggs. So if you are interested in buying organic eggs (they only get fed grains, veggie scraps and whatever bugs they dig out of the yard) let me know as I've too many eggs for the two of us at the moment.