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#Free range poultry farm free#
Why does flock size matter? It’s a big factor in determining whether hens actually get out of the shed and are free to range. Ten hens per m 2 is listed as the example indicator for outdoor stocking rates.
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#Free range poultry farm code#
Rather than limit flock size, the code leaves it up to farmers “to manage stocking density according to the welfare needs of the chickens”. The code of welfare for meat chickens is less demanding. The outdoor stocking density is capped at 2500 birds per hectare – that’s one hen per 4m 2 – but the code doesn’t set a maximum flock size. The code of welfare for layer hens states free-range chooks must have access to an outdoor range area. Free-range eggs Free-range chicken Minimum standards Basic requirements for free-range chooks are set in codes developed under the Animal Welfare Act. Lack of a clear definition of free range, as well as high-profile cases of fake free-range eggs being sold, are likely to be affecting consumer trust (see “Fake free range”). Just one in five shoppers felt sure goods labelled as “free range” met their expectations of what free range should mean, unchanged since our 2017 survey. However, while companies are keen to plump up their free-range credentials, consumer trust in claims remains low. Growing consumer demand is seeing the industry up its investment in free-range operations with more brands on shop shelves. When it comes to chicken meat, our survey found nearly four in 10 bought free range regularly 12% always opted for free-range chooks. Free-range chicken meat sales are also growing.įifty-three percent of egg purchasers are willing to pay the free-range premium, buying free-range eggs most or all of the time for 28%, free range is the only option they pick. Free-range credentials Supermarket sales of free-range eggs have jumped 18% in the past two years, rising to $98 million in 2018. Countdown and Foodstuffs also declined to provide this information for their store-brand chooks. Inghams Enterprises, which sells Waitoa Free Range Chicken, declined to tell us its numbers, stating “there is little relevance in flock size”. Tegel, the biggest producer of poultry meat, has flocks of between 10,000 and 35,000.īostock Brothers was the only free-range chicken meat producer that farmed smaller flocks of between 25 birds. Other producers have sheds with similar numbers of birds (see our “Free-range chicken” table). A free-range operation to be opened by Van Den Brink Poultry, which sells the Brinks, and George and Jo’s chicken brands, will have 360,000 chooks housed in 10 sheds of 36,000 each. Mainland Poultry, the name behind the Farmer Brown and Woodland brands, said its free-range flocks number between 40 hens (see our “Free-range eggs” table).įree-range chooks raised for meat can come from much larger flocks of close to 40,000. But the majority of big egg brands on the market come from flocks of at least 4000. Your free-range eggs may have been laid by a small flock of frolicking hens. However, the loose definition of “free range” means the reality can be vastly different.
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The majority reckon a free-range flock should number between 5 hens. Outreach was conducted to make these results available to farming and scientific communities.Our latest survey found most consumers think free range should mean the birds spend most of their days roaming outside in small flocks. This research showed benefits of using the pasture resource and farm-raised feeds for free-range poultry production and integration with grazing animals. When using mixed production herds, there is a concern about food safety. Artificial agroforestry structures in outdoor poultry areas increased the distance that poultry ranged from the poultry house in order to more evenly use the forage. The quality of forage is important for poultry however, in this study, sericea lespedeza had no advantage in terms of parasite control for chickens. Free-range poultry can also be integrated with grazing animals to provide access to extensive pasture and there may be benefits to both poultry and livestock in terms of pasture management, fertility, and possibly parasite management. Research showed that alternative feeding systems for poultry, including free-choice and choice, have advantages for poultry on pasture. In ecological poultry production, using a pasture resource effectively can be key to sustainability.