There are many advantages in free range farming compared to either intensive caged layer management or barn egg production. In free range farming, the hens have easy access to shelter from weather and predators and facilities for feeding, drinking and nesting day or night. And by day they can range naturally across open pastures. This allows them to supplement the optimised hen house diet with their natural foods – grass, soft leaves, seeds and insects. Free range hens are able to eat small stone fragments that aid digestion and release necessary trace minerals.

Our farmers have adapted the latest technologies to build some of the most modern free range farms in Australia. When inside, the hens’ comfort is ensured by an environmentally friendly layer facility. The barns have modern features such as automatic egg collection, feeding and watering. Cooling fans and foggers keep the hens comfortable on hot days.

The hens have at least 8 hours per day access to pastures. Some runs have predominantly natural pasture but some have a mixture of natural and improved pastures. All yards are fenced with high vermin-proof fences. Feed is provided in automatic feeders operated on demand by the hens or by time clocks; so it is available to them whenever they choose to enter the barn. In fact, the hens can be observed moving back and forth regularly between the range and the barn.

All our ecoeggs farms provide an average maximum of 10.4 hens or less per square metre hen 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. See certification for full details.

What does a free range egg farm look like?

To see typical images of the farms browse the farm photo galleries below, video samples or our ChookCam.