free-range poultry farming

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e family enjoys the challenge of owning the whole supply chain, from rearing one-day old chicks right through to grading and packing of around 42,000 eggs a day on site, and delivering to supermarkets, restaurants, cafes and wholesalers all directly from farm.

Free-range hens

Jim readily explains why free-range eggs cost more. “ e hens are out foraging all day in the bush and expend more energy than a caged hen, so they eat more food. Contrary to belief they don’t get lled up by foraging for bugs and grass and they need a quality, balanced diet to stay healthy and produce top quality eggs.

“ ey use more of the available land and infrastructure, and production is lower on a free-range farm.”

Add in the fact that the hens are more at risk from disease when their diet is less controlled, and their mortality rate is higher from predators such as hawks, Jim estimates that free-range poultry farming costs around 20 per cent more, and that is re ected in higher prices.

A hen’s laying life is 80 weeks and Jim says they also take responsibility for the culling.

“ e hens have provided us with a business, and we don’t want to pack them o live to a stressful unknown end. We swiftly cull them ourselves, during darkness when they are asleep.

“For us it is tting that we complete the process ourselves.” e family are passionate about local food and “want to be right in the middle of it”. eir weekly presence at the Hamilton and

Cambridge Farmer’s Markets allows them to connect and talk with their consumers, openly discussing the processes that lead up to the eggs being in a box.

Covid and new legislation

Jim is grateful that their business structure allowed them to come through Covid in good shape.

While their wholesale and restaurant sectors declined, their supermarket sales substantially increased as people in lockdown baked and cooked.

Ten years ago, the government announced changes in legislation to phase out the caged hens by the end of 2022.

“New and existing poultry farmers invested in new sheds and set ups that met the proposed colony shed standards, but the old sheds were still running. is caused an oversupply of cheap eggs, which for a few years meant poultry farming wasn’t particularly pro table.”

Many farmers couldn’t get nance to change their sheds over as the banks were reluctant to lend to a low performing business.

When the end of 2022 came, there were not enough colony, barn and free-range poultry up and running to cover the 25 per cent drop in production caused by closing the caged hen farms.

“ is has resulted in a temporary egg shortage and has taken a source of cheap protein out of the market, which hits some families hard.”

Despite everything, Jim describes their demanding job as “bloody rewarding and we love running around with chickens all day providing families in the Bay of Plenty, and Waikato a healthy food”.