FAQ’s on Poultry Eggs
- What are Caged, Cage-free & Free Range Eggs?
Caged Eggs : Caged Eggs are produced from Birds kept in Battery cages and is the predominant form of housing for laying hens worldwide. On average, each caged laying hen is afforded less space than a single sheet of A4 sized paper to live her entire life. Unable even to spread their wings, caged laying hens are among the most intensively confined animals in agri business. Densely populated birds are forced to live in a in-humane and often unhygenic environment to save feed, manpower, and electricity costs.
Caged hens also suffer from the denial of many natural behaviors such as nesting, perching, and dustbathing, all important for hen welfare.
Cage-free Eggs : Cage-free Eggs are produced from Cage-free hens who are cared-for, in an ethical manner and housed humanely on deep litter. No cages are used and management of the bird’s environment takes into account behavioural requirements and provides for sufficient free movement, fresh air and natural daylight according to the needs of the birds. The hens are free to move and socially interact within the enclosure. Perching arrangements are provided for the birds to rest. Earthern nests are provided for birds to lay their eggs in a secure and private domain.
Free Range Eggs : Free-range eggs are eggs produced from birds that may be permitted outdoors. They have lot of free space, lot of fresh air and area for playing. They may travel in and out of the shed at free will. The chances of viral & bacterial disease is more in free range, since they can come in contact with wild birds & other animals.
- Why do some Eggs have strong fishy odour?
Industrially farmed eggs are often fed cheap protein in the form of fishmeal or other animal by products. These eggs tend to have a strong fish like smell and can be very off putting.
- Why do some Eggs have an Orange Yolk?
Egg yolks range in color from pale yellow to deep orange. The color of an egg’s yolk depends solely upon the hen’s diet.Birds fed on a diet rich in corn produce a deeper yellow yolk colour as compared to birds fed on a diet of wheat and barley. More and more producers are choosing to add synthetic carotenoid food dyes to laying hens to get a desired yolk colour.
- Do Eggs have Expiry Dates?
In India the commercial layer farm’s eggs are infertile eggs produced in hygienic conditions, thus are not prone to spoilage. These eggs are laid by hens with no male present and as such will never contain any living germplasm.
We recommend eggs are kept refrigerated and consumed as fresh as possible to enhance customer experience. We recommend a best before date of 20 days from the date of packing.
- What are Blood Spots ?
Occasionally found on an egg yolk, these tiny spots do not indicate a fertilized egg. Instead, they are caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface during formation of the egg or by a similar accident in the wall of the oviduct due to heat stress.
- What are Meat Spots ?
It’s actually a little malfunction on the part of the hen. These are usually little bits of the lining of the oviduct which got shed during the egg formation but some may be rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface when it’s being formed or by a similar accident in the wall of the oviduct. Eggs with blood spots and meat spots are fit to eat.
- Why is there a thick skin layer (membrane) under the shell? Is it natural ?
Lying between the eggshell and egg white, these two transparent protein membranes provide efficient defence against bacterial invasion. If you give these layers a tug, you’ll find they’re surprisingly strong. They’re made partly of keratin, a protein that’s also in human hair.
- What are Desi Eggs?
Desi eggs are eggs produced by Country/Desi Chickens in India. Desi chickens are very small in size and compared to commercially raised and organic chicken, its eggs are usually small in size,fertile & they also lay very few eggs in a year. One of the most obvious differences between commodity eggs and Desi eggs is the shell & yolk color. Desi eggs are off-whitish or a light brown in egg shell colour whereas most commodity eggs are white shelled.
- What are Organic Eggs?
Organic eggs are produced using organic methods of production. In this process, the birds are fed organic feed & the hens are housed humanely in a cage-free natural environment. Organic feed is grown without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. If the crop is contaminated by cross-fertilization with GMOs, it is rendered useless for organic grading. With no antibiotic, hormones, chemical stimulants or any material of animal origin in our feed. We are essentially as close to organic as we can make them.
Organic eggs
Organic eggs come from hens that are free to roam in an outdoor area during the day and are housed safely and securely in sheds at night. The main difference between organic and free range is organic eggs are produced without the use of any chemicals.
Organic eggs only make up about two percent of supermarket egg sales in Australia and growth in organic eggs has been relatively small in recent years.
Below are a few answers to commonly asked questions about organic eggs.
10.How Are Organic Eggs Produced?
Most importantly, organic eggs are laid by hens that are fed organically grown grain.
This means organic egg farmers can only buy grain from a certified organic supplier who grows the grain without using herbicides, pesticides or synthetic fertilisers.
The farmer must also keep the outdoor range area where the hens wander around and forage free of any chemicals. This means weeds and pests have to be managed in natural ways such as companion planting, rotational grazing and using cultivation techniques that expose pests to predation.
Because of the emphasis that organic farming places on land and soil regeneration, there are lower stocking density allowances than in free range.
The maximum outdoor stocking density allowed on an organic egg farm is one hen per four square metres where range rotation is practiced, or one hen per six square metres where fixed outdoor ranges are used.
Antibiotics are generally not permitted in organic egg farming and if they are used in exceptional circumstances, the hens treated with antiobiotics must be separated from the rest of the flock.
Similarly, routine vaccination of hens is not allowed unless required by law or if natural management practices are insufficient to control an on-farm disease.
11.How to Identify Organic Eggs
There are a number of government-accredited organisations that certify organic products in Australia, which means people can trust the food they buy has been produced to strict standards.
Australian Certified Organic is the largest certifier and because it is supported by the major supermarkets, it can be seen on about 80 percent of all organic products.
When buying organic eggs it is important to look out for an organic certification body logo or symbol to ensure the farm meets national organic production standards. Other government approved organic certification organisations include:
- AUS-QUAL
- Bio-Dynamic Research Institute
- NASAA Certified Organic
- Organic Food Chain
- Southern Cross Certified Australia
12.What Is the Difference Between Free Range and Organic Eggs?
There is a lot of overlap between organic and free range eggs as the hen housing and outdoor range configuration used by farmers is very similar.
Put simply, all organic eggs are also free range but not all free range eggs are organic.
Australian egg farmers cannot produce organic eggs in cage or barn-laid production systems.
In both free range and organic egg farming, the hens have access to open ranges during the day and are provided with secure climate-controlled sheds where they feed, drink, roost, lay eggs and feel safe away from predators.
Where organic egg farming differs from free range is:
- Organic feed is produced without synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides
- The organic paddocks hens roam around on are free of any chemicals
- The hen stocking rate in organic is lower than free range
- Vaccines and antibiotics are avoided as much as possible in organic farming
Antibiotics Free Eggs
Egg farmers are committed to producing safe, high-quality eggs and keeping their hens healthy and free from disease. Egg farms may use a limited number of FDA-approved antibiotics, provided they comply with FDA guidelines for usage. These FDA regulations also are designed to assure antibiotic residues are not passed to eggs.
Due to the effective use of vaccines and on-farm disease prevention, only a small percentage of egg-laying flocks ever receive antibiotics. If they do, it is usually under supervision of a veterinarian and only for a short time to treat a specific disease or to prevent a recurring disease.
It’s important to know eggs can only be labeled as antibiotic-free if egg farmers choose not to use any antibiotics in feed or water as the pullets (young hens) are growing or when hens are
Fresh free-range eggs.
100% chemical free eggs
100% antibiotic free eggs
100% Hormone free eggs
No ready made feed, we select what they eat, mostly from the farm greens.
Free-range: Hens are allowed to roam freely outdoors, exposed to the sun when they want.
Compiled & Shared by- This paper is a compilation of groupwork provided by the Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)
Image-Courtesy-Google
Reference-On Request
