PASTURE RAISED EGGS
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS, MATE?
- PASTURE RAISED PLEASE -
Here at Wolki Farm, our eggs are pasture raised. What does this mean? It means truly free range. Our hens live in mobile shelters we purposely build on our farm in Albury, NSW. They roam our green pastures, protected by Maremma guard dogs, and are never subjected to cages. The result? Happy chooks and stellar eggs.
SUNNY-SIDE UP EGGS, FROM CHOOKS WHO ACTUALLY SEE THE SUN
- EVERY. SINGLE. DAY -
Ever tried to purchase a carton of ‘ethically produced’ eggs, but been baffled by the endless selection of thoughtfully crafted (read: confusing) array of labels? You’re not alone.
Consumers like yourself are conscientious; they don’t want to play a role in the neglect of animals, and they don’t want to spend hard-earned money on a substandard product. Mass egg producers know this, so they employ tricky marketing tactics by using feel-good names.
Let’s dispel some of the mystery about those labels on your humble egg carton
– Cage Eggs –
Chickens are confined to cages their entire lives. The minimum space allowance per hen is only 550cm2 (less than the size of an A4 piece of paper). On average, seven hens will share a cage their entire laying life. The focus is purely on efficiency to produce the cheapest egg possible.
– BARN-LAID EGGS –
Chickens are free from cages but still confined to sheds in tight spaces. This restriction brings more significant occurrences of manure-borne diseases, with less opportunity to identify and treat sick chickens (sick hens who continue to lay the eggs you consume). These ladies never see sunlight in their laying days.
– FREE-RANGE Eggs –
Once believed to be the gold-standard, but the gold has tarnished over time. To be classified as free-range, chickens are legally entitled to meaningful and regular access to the outdoors; whether they access it or not is another story. The sheds for these birds are densely populated (10,000 birds per 10,000m2), so typically, hens will only access barren desolate dirt yards.
– PASTURED EGGS –
Chickens are encouraged to live as nature intended; outdoors. These ladies live in smaller flocks, with unrestricted daytime access to pasture, where they’re free to roam and behave like chickens. They have 24/7 access to shelter, roosts, and nesting boxes, keeping them comfortable, safe, and warm.
Egg sellers know you want to feed your family quality produce without compromising animal welfare; they also know that sometimes the living conditions for their animals wouldn’t meet your standards. So, they use tricky marketing tactics and fancy labels, greenwashing the industry. If you truly want to know how the animals who produce your food live, ask to tour the farm and see it with your own two eyes.
BUGS NOT DRUGS
Here at Wolki Farm, we work hard to keep our chickens happy, healthy, and on pasture 100% of the time.
Fun fact: chickens are omnivores, naturally existing in the forest.
Our job is to replicate that habitat. So we’ve built ‘eggmobiles’ for each of our flocks, and our chickens are constantly on the move. We tow these structures to fresh pasture a couple of times a week so that our chickens can instinctively hunt and forage for bugs, insects, grubs, and whatever else pleases them.
Everyone wins here; the chicken, the consumer, and the landscape (which receives a solid dose of fertiliser).
DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT YOLKS
- PASTURE RAISED EGGS FOR THE WIN -
How many eggs does your household consume a week? Probably more than you think. With that in mind, you should probably be aware that not all eggs are created equal when it comes to nutritional value.
Here’s why:
When comparing the eggs from pasture raised eggs to caged eggs, A Cambridge University study* discovered that pasture raised eggs contain twice as much Vitamin E and Omega-3 fats. That, folks, is natural, immune-bolstering, brain-building, healthy-heart goodness that you don’t want to miss out on.
” Vitamins A, E and fatty acid composition of the eggs of caged hens and pastured hens” H.D. Karsten, P.H. Patterson, R. Stout and G. Crews (Cambridge University Press, 2010). Retrieved September 2022 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/renewable-agriculture-and-food-systems/article/abs/vitamins-a-e-and-fatty-acid-composition-of-the-eggs-of-caged-hens-and-pastured-hens/552BA04E5A9E3CD7E49E405B339ECA32
NO CAGES, NO FENCES, NO BOUNDARIES
- BEYOND FREE-RANGE -
Producing an egg that’s ‘beyond free-range’ uses significantly more resources than its alternatives.
Feeding chickens in cages and collecting their eggs off conveyor belts will always be quicker than towing portable structures around, setting temporary fences, collecting eggs in the elements, helping birds manage the heat/cold, feeding guard dogs. etc.
But at Wolki Farm, we’re actively pushing the limits on the definition of animal welfare. To us, ‘high welfare’ should mean more than just ‘not being cruel’. We believe animal welfare should be in context to the animal’s nature and environment. Chickens should be foraging in open pastures, not crammed into battery cages.
Does this mean your carton of eggs will cost more than their caged counterparts? Yes. But is it a valid comparison? No.
WHERE YOU'LL FIND WOLKI PRODUCTS
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Alternatively, please call Jake Wolki on 0459 225 666 or view more contact options at the bottom of this page.