A DEFRA report once concluded that upto 40% of free range eggs in the UK were in fact from caged or barn systems, mostly Spanish and Russian imports. The reality is that is near impossible to tell the difference between an egg produced in a cage and one on a field. One of the ways used is to use UV light to detect cage damage to the cuticle of the shells. Most British Free range farms operate more honestly, however even then, some birds are trained not to wander beyond the hardcore stone of the sheds to the grass required for 70% green cover requirement. Eggs with dirt that requires washing and the loss of egg size due to active chicken behaviour on soils all lead to poor profits. Often birds are kept indoors by being fed on a conveyor belt which distributes feed hourly at the ring of a bell bringing the birds back into a heated barn. DEFRA estimated that on 14% of free range birds go outside.

 

Welshpoultry is about keeping productive pets , encouraging more people to keep a few hens where welfare is at its highest , and sell those eggs , competing with the supermarket shelf in order to enjoy a paying hobby with all the benefits that brings , especially to the kids whose Maths come on massively when they learn about profit !