i dont use eggs much anyway though cus they make me ill
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i buy free raneg eggs ... its not ideal but its better than the alternative
i dont use eggs much anyway though cus they make me ill
i dont use eggs much anyway though cus they make me ill
Dave, I found this on Wikipedia:
'The European Union regulates marketing standards for egg farming which specifies the following (cumulative) minimum conditions for the free-range method:
hens have continuous daytime access to open-air runs, except in the case of temporary restrictions imposed by veterinary authorities,
the open-air runs to which hens have access is mainly covered with vegetation and not used for other purposes except for orchards, woodland and livestock grazing if the latter is authorised by the competent authorities,
the open-air runs must at least satisfy the conditions specified in Article 4(1)(3)(b)(ii) of Directive 1999/74/EC whereby the maximum stocking density is not greater than 2500 hens per hectare of ground available to the hens or one hen per 4m2 at all times and the runs are not extending beyond a radius of 150 m from the nearest pophole of the building; an extension of up to 350 m from the nearest pophole of the building is permissible provided that a sufficient number of shelters and drinking troughs within the meaning of that provision are evenly distributed throughout the whole open-air run with at least four shelters per hectare.'
Another description I've seen on packages, is 'free to roam' - I think that fits with my image of 'free range'.
'The European Union regulates marketing standards for egg farming which specifies the following (cumulative) minimum conditions for the free-range method:
hens have continuous daytime access to open-air runs, except in the case of temporary restrictions imposed by veterinary authorities,
the open-air runs to which hens have access is mainly covered with vegetation and not used for other purposes except for orchards, woodland and livestock grazing if the latter is authorised by the competent authorities,
the open-air runs must at least satisfy the conditions specified in Article 4(1)(3)(b)(ii) of Directive 1999/74/EC whereby the maximum stocking density is not greater than 2500 hens per hectare of ground available to the hens or one hen per 4m2 at all times and the runs are not extending beyond a radius of 150 m from the nearest pophole of the building; an extension of up to 350 m from the nearest pophole of the building is permissible provided that a sufficient number of shelters and drinking troughs within the meaning of that provision are evenly distributed throughout the whole open-air run with at least four shelters per hectare.'
Another description I've seen on packages, is 'free to roam' - I think that fits with my image of 'free range'.
[quote="Freckledbird"]
Sorry for chopping into your post FB nut this is exactly what I meant.
They have put a 6 foot by 4 foot flap on the side of the warehouse. This gives them continuous access during daylight hours but the food and water is inside the warehouse. The chickens do not leave it.
I have seen this but the chickens are in the warehouse. They have the open ground, grass, the right area but once again they are not outside to enjoy it......except a small minority of the birds.
To me the legislation seems straight forward but the animals do not behave in the manner we would like them to e.g run freely through the grass enjoying their lives and popping out an egg or two so I can have it with my bread soldiers.
Instead they do the basic animal instinct thing......they sit in a foul smelling warehouse, on wire/steel mesh, all crowded in where the dead just drop through the mesh.
I went to a chicken open farm and I thought I would see the ideal that I had set in my mind.......instead I was faced with this warehouse. The kids were gagging with the stench of ammonia in there. When we reached the farm shop they have a picture on the egg box showing a free running chicken in a meadow. In my mind they have to have a legal basis to be able to call it free range but those that do it may reach the minimum requirement but in my mind it is not free range.
Dave_Notts
Sorry for chopping into your post FB nut this is exactly what I meant.
Quote:
hens have continuous daytime access to open-air runs, except in the case of temporary restrictions imposed by veterinary authorities,
hens have continuous daytime access to open-air runs, except in the case of temporary restrictions imposed by veterinary authorities,
They have put a 6 foot by 4 foot flap on the side of the warehouse. This gives them continuous access during daylight hours but the food and water is inside the warehouse. The chickens do not leave it.
Quote:
the open-air runs to which hens have access is mainly covered with vegetation and not used for other purposes except for orchards, woodland and livestock grazing if the latter is authorised by the competent authorities,
the open-air runs to which hens have access is mainly covered with vegetation and not used for other purposes except for orchards, woodland and livestock grazing if the latter is authorised by the competent authorities,
I have seen this but the chickens are in the warehouse. They have the open ground, grass, the right area but once again they are not outside to enjoy it......except a small minority of the birds.
To me the legislation seems straight forward but the animals do not behave in the manner we would like them to e.g run freely through the grass enjoying their lives and popping out an egg or two so I can have it with my bread soldiers.
Instead they do the basic animal instinct thing......they sit in a foul smelling warehouse, on wire/steel mesh, all crowded in where the dead just drop through the mesh.
I went to a chicken open farm and I thought I would see the ideal that I had set in my mind.......instead I was faced with this warehouse. The kids were gagging with the stench of ammonia in there. When we reached the farm shop they have a picture on the egg box showing a free running chicken in a meadow. In my mind they have to have a legal basis to be able to call it free range but those that do it may reach the minimum requirement but in my mind it is not free range.
Dave_Notts
Dave__Notts wrote:
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
Yup, i think Vamp made that point.It is important to look into the minimum standards.
Kaznkev wrote:
Yup, i think Vamp made that point.It is important to look into the minimum standards.
Dave__Notts wrote:
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
Yup, i think Vamp made that point.It is important to look into the minimum standards.
They can meet the minimum standard and still be how I describe them. Still classed as free range.......but they don't free range
Dave_Notts
So, could it mean that they are free to range, as in not caged?
Freckledbird wrote:
So, could it mean that they are free to range, as in not caged?
So, could it mean that they are free to range, as in not caged?
They are definately not caged. Just thousands in a warehouse. I really thought it meant what you see off the advert on TV with them roaming wild-ish.......but not having a motorbike ride
I was quite stunned to see and smell it. It is the lesser of two evils to me as it is better than caged hens but not as good as my ideal. I see a local farm that has my ideal but it is very small scale with about 500 birds.......where these farms have thousands.
Dave_Notts
Dave__Notts wrote:
They are definately not caged. Just thousands in a warehouse. I really thought it meant what you see off the advert on TV with them roaming wild-ish.......but not having a motorbike ride
I was quite stunned to see and smell it. It is the lesser of two evils to me as it is better than caged hens but not as good as my ideal. I see a local farm that has my ideal but it is very small scale with about 500 birds.......where these farms have thousands.
Dave_Notts
Freckledbird wrote:
So, could it mean that they are free to range, as in not caged?
So, could it mean that they are free to range, as in not caged?
They are definately not caged. Just thousands in a warehouse. I really thought it meant what you see off the advert on TV with them roaming wild-ish.......but not having a motorbike ride
I was quite stunned to see and smell it. It is the lesser of two evils to me as it is better than caged hens but not as good as my ideal. I see a local farm that has my ideal but it is very small scale with about 500 birds.......where these farms have thousands.
Dave_Notts
Fair enough,it is true that the eggs are marketed as somethinh they are not.If you dont have a farm with decent welfare standards you can buy direct from,perhaps a farmers market ?
As an aside did peeps no that fresh eggs in the supermarket can be up to 3 weeks old?
i know we are lucky,just wish we had the room to keep a few hen ourselves.
Dave__Notts wrote:
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
I thought the warehouse thing was a "barn egg" and though I agree about the henhouse and grass it's a vast improvement over the battery hens lot which is given the size of an A4 sheet of paper each as space in their cages.
Best thing is to keep your own it's dead easy
motorcyclerob wrote:
I thought the warehouse thing was a "barn egg" and though I agree about the henhouse and grass it's a vast improvement over the battery hens lot which is given the size of an A4 sheet of paper each as space in their cages.
Best thing is to keep your own it's dead easy
Dave__Notts wrote:
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
I thought the warehouse thing was a "barn egg" and though I agree about the henhouse and grass it's a vast improvement over the battery hens lot which is given the size of an A4 sheet of paper each as space in their cages.
Best thing is to keep your own it's dead easy
If the barn has acess to the outside it can technically be classed as free range,reguardless of whether the hens go outside
Kaznkev wrote:
If the barn has acess to the outside it can technically be classed as free range,reguardless of whether the hens go outside
motorcyclerob wrote:
I thought the warehouse thing was a "barn egg" and though I agree about the henhouse and grass it's a vast improvement over the battery hens lot which is given the size of an A4 sheet of paper each as space in their cages.
Best thing is to keep your own it's dead easy
Dave__Notts wrote:
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
What does Free_range actually mean?
I thought it was cute little henhouses in a field and the hens walking about on lush green grass with the farmers wife walking between the hen houses with a wicker basket picking up the eggs.
I turns out to be one feck off great warehouse with wire/metal mesh floor that the chickens crap through. The ammonia rots their feet and they rarely go outside because being an animal they have shelter food and drink in the warehouse. To cut a 6 foot by 4 foot door into the side of the warehouse and say "Look, they are free to go out" is not free range to me.
Until the hen houses and lush green fields are introduced as a minimum, then the consumer is being fooled by the retailers into buying something that they believe is free range.
Dave_Notts
I thought the warehouse thing was a "barn egg" and though I agree about the henhouse and grass it's a vast improvement over the battery hens lot which is given the size of an A4 sheet of paper each as space in their cages.
Best thing is to keep your own it's dead easy
If the barn has acess to the outside it can technically be classed as free range,reguardless of whether the hens go outside
When the suppliers have to rely on "technically" then to me it is just a marketing ploy. Technically I could call myself a lollypop if I shoved a stick up my arse and sprinkled suger over myself.
To have real free range chickens then they should be outside in small henhouses as far as I am concerned. The small scale farmer who can achieve this should have the rights to have free range on their product and these large companies that "technically" get there should not. I think that this will allow the consumers to buy with knowledge instead of being fed lies by the suppliers.
Dave_Notts
