Weighing in at 181g, this is probably one of the largest chicken eggs ever laid — but wait until you see what's inside of it. And yes, it looks to be genuine — or, at the very least, possible. After you've watched the video, read the explanation below. But watch the video first so you don't spoil the surprise.
According to Alex Williams and verified by New Scientist an egg within an egg is a natural but rare occurence. Occasionally during normal egg formation an egg travels back up the oviduct, meets another egg travelling down, and becomes encased inside the second egg during the shell forming process, thus creating an egg within an egg. It is especially unusual to encounter this phenomenon in a shop-bought egg, because these are routinely candled (a bright light is held up to them to examine the contents), and any irregularities are normally rejected.
We suspect that most people don't really relate to all the facts and figures being put forward by different groups. If we asked you to mark out how big a hectare is, would you know? It is perhaps all to easy to read that figure XX is bad and figure YY is good without knowing what either option really means for the hen. So we put together a quick video from one of our farms. Our hens range at a maximum of 2 hens/m2 outside. The video shows our happy hens coming out in the morning, dust bathing, running around and being very curious about our camera! We even have footage inside the shed. Enjoy!
Free Range is defined simply by the Model Code of Practice as a production system where birds have access to an outside run area. The RSPCA adds that hens be able dust bathe, scratch and forage, and lay their eggs in a nest. Ecoeggs meets these requirements, and thanks to our transparency and market leading ChookCam, makes it very easy for consumers to see for themselves the hens ranging outside, enjoying all these natural behaviours.
It is a common misconception, particularly following emotive articles in the media, for people incorrectly associate a range density of greater than 1500 hens/hectare as automatically being inhumane. Densities stated in the Model Code are at this point still only recommendations, and the document acknowledges that "it is not possible to relate stocking density to welfare in a simple manner". There are many other factors contributing to the welfare and humane treatment of the flocks. All of which must be considered. In fact were we to follow the recommendation literally they would allow us to add 30% more density inside – we are well below their recommendation.
Research and debate is very much ongoing as to what is the best density for ranging. A standard that balances practical concerns and hen welfare. It is only natural that consumers will be bombarded with claims from farmers, activists and media. It is only natural that they all have a different agenda.
Ecoeggs is considerably more transparent than the bulk of the commercial egg industry and is a market leader in hen welfare:
voluntarily engaging directly with consumers, providing detailed and honest answers
providing open forums for discussion on Facebook and on our website
providing detailed information on the audit process and results on our website
providing photographs and video of the actual farms on our website
providing the industry's first ChookCam, a live controllable camera that allows consumers to directly inspect the farms
All our ecoeggs farms provide a average maximum of 10.5 hens or less/m2 for shelter at night and an average maximum of 2 hens/m2 outside range area during the day. Typically around 50% of our hens will be outside at any one time so this is effectively around 1 hen/m2 range area outside. Thanks to our live ChookCam you can clearly see the hens enjoying their outside time, digging, dust bathing and running around.
We have been working on plans to further reduce the range density for some time, and we will be sure to let you all know when that can happen.
As you probably know, we have been stamping our Ecoeggs with a unique message for more than 12 months. From 26 November 2012 all egg producers in Australia will be required to stamp individual eggs with a unique code to help support consumer safety and traceability for eggs. The new national law (Standard 4.2.5 – Primary Production and Processing Standard for Eggs and Egg Product) was introduced on 26 November 2012.
Eggs are to be stamped at the farm where they are produced or at a grading facility, which is what we have been doing for some time. However the new law requires a particular code and unfortunately we can no longer use our phrase "ecoeggs with love" but instead must use our unique code, which is EB24449.
The new unique code will be appearing on Ecoeggs shortly.
Justine shows us her Grandmother's recipe for this classic traditional dish, the French equivalent of the Aussie meatloaf. Rich meaty flavours of the different pork cuts balance beautifully with the sharpness of the mustard and cornichon. If you have not seen cornichon before they are just baby pickles and are a fantastic accompaniment to cheese, paté and terrine. For the full recipe and other delicious treats from Everyday Gourmet featuring ecoeggs free range eggs see our recipes blog.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013