Caged-Eggs Vs Free-Range Eggs By Kayla Ngatai & Lydia McCallum

Caged Eggs

Battery Cages Small gaps in front to feed and a slopping mesh to allow eggs to roll out. One hen will lay 300 eggs per year. Increase from wild ancestors of 12-20 eggs per year. 3 million hens kept in battery cages for their whole life. Hens have their own space smaller than an A4 piece of paper. Abnormal high production can reduce a hens calcium levels causing osteoporosis and broken bones. Scientific research shows that hens are becoming more aggressive not being able to peck at anything that they peck at themselves or others which may lead to cannibalism. Producers may de-beak hens to reduce pecking. Poor health e.g. stresses, disease, loss of feathers, weakened bones from shortage of movement and poor diet. 80-90% of one billion eggs in NZ are caged eggs. One cage can have 5-8 hens.

Battery Cages

Auckland Battery Cage Report In Auckland the AAA (Auckland Animal Action) investigated a south Auckland Battery farm in 2004 and found that in the filled cages were dead hen bodies within that had starved to death with the lack of food and water. Dead bodies throughout the building brought in rats that were feeding off the dead composing bodies. In the shed the floor was cover in faeces at some places was 7 inches thick

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Colony Cages Colony cages are replacements for battery cages, but they still break the Animals Welfare Act law as it doesn’t allow them to behave naturally.

Barn Farmed Cages In overcrowded sheds with access to litter and nest boxes, still have welfare issues as they are confined to small spaces, dimmed lights to prevent aggression and cannibalism, and beak usually trimmed. Produce 1.4% of eggs throughout NZ. 7 birds to 1 square metre.

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Free Range Eggs Introduction: Talk about the different standards for free range eggs say you are going to base it on two different companies that do free range eggs.

FRENZ eggs Have no more than 350 birds per acre of pasture No beak, wing, toe trimming No antibiotics in their feed No pesticides used on the land Free to roam 24/7 The have a high standard when it comes to giving their hens the best possible living conditions.

Glen Park Woodland Eggs Up to 70% of the hens may never get to go outside Operate by minimum standards Dye chicken feed with beta carotene to give the yolk a bright orangey colour Owned by Mainland Poultry one of New Zealand’s largest battery farms Mainland poultry tried not to be assocated with this company as they wanted to

Free range chicken barns Still not the best living conditions but at least they get to go outside. They still can become aggressive and peck at each other and some hens will guard the doors and not let other hens outside. Have little holes on the side of the barns to be able to get out. There is no restriction on number of chicken you can have in the barn so it can become very overcrowded.

Difference in Products Free range eggs are more a brighter orange as they feed on grass and greens the brighter the colour will be. This yellow is created naturally by yellow-orange plant pigments called xanthophylls. So since free range hens get to feed on grass their yolks will come out a brighter orange. And since caged hens only get feed grains they will be a much more pale orange.

Animal Welfare (layer hens) Code of Welfare 2012 This code of welfare sets the minimum standards required by owners to be meet by the Animal Welfare Act 1999. Minimum Standard No. 1 – Stockmanship Minimum Standard No. 2 – Food and Water Minimum Standard No. 3 – Shelter and Shade Minimum Standard No. 4 – Housing and Equipment Design, Construction and Maintenance Minimum Standard No. 5 – Contingency Planning Minimum Standard No. 6 – Stocking Densities Minimum Standard No. 7 – Lighting Minimum Standard No. 8 – Ventilation Minimum Standard No. 9 – Temperature Minimum Standard No. 10 – Litter Management in Barns Minimum Standard No. 11 – Range Management Minimum Standard No. 12 – Behaviour Minimum Standard No. 13 – Handling and Catching Minimum Standard No. 14 – Loading and Transport Minimum Standard No. 15 – Management of Health and Injury Minimum Standard No. 16 – Beak Tipping Minimum Standard No. 17 – Humane Destruction

Other Info When hens egg production drops, they are carried off by their legs into a crate to be transported to a slaughter house, usually after 1-2 years. Dead hens are taken off to landfill or processed into soup or pet food. In the industry they only need female birds, so male birds are killed either by gassing of carbon dioxide or minced up alive (process called masceration). 3 million male birds are killed each year at 1 day old. Female chicks are placed into wired cages until 16 weeks they are moved to battery cages. Most hens are killed at18 months. 60-70% goes on feed and the rest on housing and care, egg processing, packaging, storage etc. Cruelty and mistreated. Since 1995 NZ has increased their eggs by 3 dozen per year. New Zealanders prefer brown eggs to white which in 2009 made up 95% of colored eggs. Cages were first used to stop predators getting at the birds, reducing pecking with other birds and transmitting diseases from wild animals. Eggs are examined in a process called candling, bright light shines over the eggs to show up any deficiencies. About 15% are removed and processed into a dried or liquid formation to be used in commercial cooking and baking. Beak tipping is done with newly hatched chicks with an infrared beam on where the is no nervous tissue and drops off at 1-4 weeks.

Bibliography Safe, (n.d.). The ‘perfect’ cage?. Retrieved from http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Battery-hens/ Safe, (n.d.). The cruelty. Retrieved from http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Battery-hens/Welfare-issues/ Vanessa Wintle and Stacey Lepper. (13/06/2013). 'Poultry industry - Growth of the egg industry', Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,. Retrieved from http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/poultry-industry/page-3\ (Certified free range n.d) http://www.certifiedfreerange.co.nz/ (Poultry Industry n.d) http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/poultry-industry/page-4 (Not very free range n.d) http://nontoxicnest.wordpress.com/tag/woodland-eggs/ (The perfect cage n.d) http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Battery-hens