New shade shelters offer improved protection on the range

H&L Premium Free Range Egg Farms have been experimenting with various types of shade shelters to further encourage the laying hens out onto the range area. Some of our new pasture improved ranges have been used to graze cattle and do not have any natural cover such as trees or shrubs where the hens can feel safe and comfortable. They need protection from the elements and somewhere to scurry if a hawk flies overhead. Trees will be planted on these ranges but until they are established substantial shade-cloth structures are being erected at about 25 metre centres and the hens can hop from one to the other. Our latest shelters also have a wall on the western side so that as the sun sets in the afternoon the hens will be better protected. If you are a fan of Ecoegg’s ChookCam, you would have noticed that on hot days the hens flap their wings and run quickly between the shade patches or go back inside the sheds to keep out of the heat. We can't wait for the hens to explore their new surrounding in a few weeks time. Keep watching ChookCam!

We aren't big and we aren't small. We're just about right.

My family once owned and operated one of Australia's oldest integrated commercial poultry enterprises.

In the late 1985 we reluctantly accepted an offer for the business from the Inghams, the largest poultry company in the country.

In 2002 after some years out of the business, I noticed that the big egg companies were preoccupied with cage egg operations. I became aware of a small but growing demand from consumers for products that considered the welfare of animals that produced them. An opportunity presented itself and one of my original customers, George Holland joined me in this new joint venture and so Free Range Eggs Farms was born. We are now known as H&L Premium Free Range Eggs Farms. We have evolved the name a little to better reflect our product and philosophy.

We might have a polished and professional website, but the big three in the egg industry are ten times our size. We are large enough to employ a very experienced team and some excellent small growers in the Port Stephens area. We are large enough to do business with big retailers who demand reliability and volume supply at the right price. This, coupled with considerable industry expertise, enables our company to survive and prosper alongside the industry giants.

We intend to continue to promote genuine free range eggs on a commercial scale with welfare standards superior to our larger competitors. We don't claim be able to match the far stricter standards of organic egg producers nor those of organisations such as the RSPCA. Communication is important to us and hence the significant effort in producing a website that reveals our operational transparency. We believe this transparency is one of our strengths and has seen us launch Australia's first commercial ChookCam in April 1011 and openly publish our farm standards for each and every flock. Other ChookCams may have followed, but ours remains unique in allowing users to control the camera in real time, zoom in, pan about. Lot's of fun, and easy to see it's all genuine.

Thank you for your support.

Ray Leach
Owner/Manager

Stocking should be back to normal in Woolworths

Our apologies for the recent lack of ecoeggs in Woolworths. They asked us to switch to a new shipper carton and their system requires that distribution centres be completely empty of old shipper cartons before the replacement ones can be used. It is not our fault nor Woolies – just one of those things when dealing with a major chain who has a rigid supply chain system. Thanks for your patience and understanding, we can see that things have almost returned to normal. Please check at stores again and let them know if they are still missing, to make sure they trigger an order. Please let us know if that does not happen. As always we appreciate everyone's feedback and hope you're enjoying your ecoeggs as usual!

Hens share their nesting boxes and lay about one egg a day

During daylight hours the hens take their turn in occupying a nest to lay their egg for that day. They lay eggs in clutches, for example 15 eggs, resulting in one egg laid approximately every 26 hours. Hens only lay their egg during daylight hours so each hen will miss laying an egg once the clutch is complete and it's night time. The next clutch starts after having a day off. This first egg for the clutch will be layed early the next morning.

The lay is spread out over the day. However, there is a peak nest demand period during the morning around 10:00am with less demand in the late afternoon. The eggs are collected from the nests up to 3 times a day.

Having trouble finding ecoeggs on shelves?

On the odd rare occasion supermarkets may have trouble keeping shelves 100% stocked, it's a complicated business. But we all understand it can be a hassle to find your favourite eggs unavailable. Currently some Woollies stores are experiencing a brief shortage on ecoeggs. Rest assured normal service will be quickly restored, but as always if you find empty shelves please let us and your supermarket know.