For many years, animal welfare experts have been opposed to the battery hen concept. These chickens spend their lives in small cages of about four birds to a cage with a floor area equal to the size of a briefcase (45cm x 45cm or 18″ square).
It is the cheapest way to produce eggs and, in general, the public only buy cheap eggs. So you must decide whether or not you are prepared to pay more for eggs from happy chooks. To help you decide, some of the advantages and disadvantages of the systems for egg production are:
Battery chickens
Advantages
- Plenty of food and water
- High survival rate, protected from predators and disease
- Eggs are clean and healthy for consumers
- Eggs are cheap
Disadvantages
- Unable to fly or move around
- No privacy
- No dirt to pick over
- Stand on wire mesh all of their lives causing foot problems
- Very crowded
Barn chickens
Advantages
- Protected from predators
- Plenty of food and water
- Can roam around to a certain extent
- Can select friends and form social groups
- Can fly
- Can pick in the litter
- Privacy available for egg laying
Disadvantages
- Still quite crowded
- Social systems may break down due to overcrowding
- Cannibalism may appear
- Can’t pick worms or green leaves
- More diseases than caged birds
- More dirty eggs
- Eggs are more expensive
Free Range Chickens
Advantages
- Plenty of food and water
- Can roam around reasonably freely
- Can select friends and form social groups
- Can fly
- Can pick at soil, worms and green plants
- Privacy available for egg laying
Disadvantages
- Crowding is still a factor
- Predation from hawks, foxes and dogs
- Urban pollution from excess chook poo run-off
- Eggs less clean
- ore disease problems due to contact with the ground
- Cannibalism does occur
- Eggs are more expensive
What do the egg farmers think?
We interviewed Frank Pace from Pace Farms – Australia’s largest egg producer. He currently produces eggs from all three systems and is more than happy to produce 100% of whatever the public want. His barn-produced eggs are marketed as “Liberty eggs”, while free-range eggs are clearly marked as such so that consumers have a choice.
Cost comparison
The Australian Egg Industry Association says that if battery eggs cost $3 a dozen then barn eggs should cost about $3.77 and free range around $4.37. This is not the case and prices vary across states and across supermarkets depending on their pricing policies.
What to do
The free-range system is probably the best for the chook but it is very expensive. Burke’s Backyard and the RSPCA support the barn system provided the eggs are priced reasonably in the stores. Where both barn and free range eggs sell for the same price, we recommend that you purchase free range eggs. If you don’t care about the method of production, then buy the cheaper battery eggs. Ultimately the decision is up to you the consumer.
