# Free-range eggs unavailable in Britain from Monday



## Northerner (Mar 19, 2022)

Consumers will no longer be able to buy free-range eggs in the UK from Monday, with birds not having been allowed outdoors since November due to fears of avian flu outbreaks.

Eggs sold in shops will have to carry a sticker or label saying they are in fact “barn eggs”, the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors.

The UK was hit by what government officials have said is the “largest ever outbreak of avian flu” this winter, with more than 80 reported outbreaks in England.

As a result, birds reared for meat and eggs have been ordered by the UK government to be kept indoors since November to reduce the risk of outbreaks. The length of time they have been kept indoors means their eggs can now no longer be labelled free-range.









						Free-range eggs unavailable in Britain from Monday
					

Hens have been indoors for months because of avian flu and their eggs must now be differently labelled




					www.theguardian.com


----------



## Inka (Mar 19, 2022)

That never occurred to me, even though I’ve seen all the avian flu info around : o


----------



## Kaylz (Mar 19, 2022)

Rather eat barn eggs than battery hens eggs, at least the barn has room for them to move freely, always been a free range user xx


----------



## Amity Island (Mar 21, 2022)

Northerner said:


> Consumers will no longer be able to buy free-range eggs in the UK from Monday, with birds not having been allowed outdoors since November due to fears of avian flu outbreaks.
> 
> Eggs sold in shops will have to carry a sticker or label saying they are in fact “barn eggs”, the name given to eggs produced by hens permanently housed indoors.
> 
> ...


Wil there be a "peck"ing order? Will those ruling the roost be allowed out to "Barn"ard Castle? Will hen parties be permitted? Will cocks be allowed to peck hens (on video)?


----------



## nonethewiser (Mar 21, 2022)

Ones we buy are barn eggs anyway, pass farm with duck pond outside & ducks have been absent for months now, shame like to see them.


----------



## janw (Mar 21, 2022)

Hmm no-one told Asda, they was still on sale in there this morning.... lol .... methinks they can sell what they have in stock, but then the packaging will have to be amended until the chooks are allowed outside again. I only ever buy free range, but appreciate the need to keep all birds/fowls inside for the duration. Guess we are lucky to have been given 4 months grace, but I will still want to buy "not quite free range" over the general "barn" eggs, but will we be able to tell them apart? I guess there won't be any real difference at the end of the day with them all cooped up in barns, poor things.


----------



## mikeyB (Mar 21, 2022)

I presume I will not be able to buy free range chicken, which is the only chicken I will eat because it tastes of chicken and doesn’t shrink when you cook it.


----------



## Amity Island (Mar 21, 2022)

mikeyB said:


> I presume I will not be able to buy free range chicken, which is the only chicken I will eat because it tastes of chicken and doesn’t shrink when you cook it.


@mikeyB Never considered looking into definition of "free range" before but it lead to some suprising definitions.

In the UK, there must be no more than 13 birds per square metre for them to be considered free range. 
In the UK, a free range chicken must be housed in a defined space.
It should also have continuous daytime access to open-air runs for at least half its lifetime. 

13 per square meter to me seems like a lot of hens in a m2. Not what i'd imagined to be free range.


----------



## Leadinglights (Mar 21, 2022)

However much we like to think chickens have free range to roam unless they are confined in some way they would be fox fodder in jig quick time.
But all we can do to support good husbandry the better.


----------



## Northerner (Mar 22, 2022)

mikeyB said:


> I presume I will not be able to buy free range chicken, which is the only chicken I will eat because it tastes of chicken and doesn’t shrink when you cook it.


A guy I worked with's father was a chicken farmer - 53 days was the lifespan of a free-range chicken


----------



## rebrascora (Mar 22, 2022)

Yes, I wondered how the labelling would work on meat chickens since they are "harvested" at 6-8weeks usually, so unlike the egg layers which have a lifespan of about 2 years and will likely have been free range prior to the lockdown restrictions in November, the meat birds in the shops will never have been free range.

I was just hoping to start letting my chickens out now with the weather being so glorious and usually the restrictions ease about now, but just got a letter from DEFRA (sent to every household in the area.... not just known poultry keepers), saying that we need to continue to keep birds under cover as there has been an outbreak locally. My girls are desperate to be out, to the point that they are flying up at me when I go into feed them. Tash2 has already escaped twice and I haven't managed to get her back in this second time.... Once caught, twice shy!. Of course the longer they are kept in, the more stressed they are and that puts them at greater risk of catching something and of course their diet is much more restricted than if they were free ranging, so they are not getting all the natural vitamins and micro nutrients that they would scratching in my muck heap for worms, grubs and insects and eating grass and weeds. I feel absolutely rotten keeping them in. Thankfully they have a large stable and they can fly up into the attic space above so way more than 1 bird per square meter. It makes collecting eggs tricky mind you as they get creative about where they lay and the nest boxes are sometimes their least favourite option..... Usually up in the eaves so I have a ladder and crawl boards to retrieve them....Little monkeys! That said, if they were out free ranging I would have a much bigger area to search and more sneaky nests to find and my nice tidy muck heap would be scattered across the yard everyday.


----------



## nonethewiser (Mar 23, 2022)

Odd all things considered, was in Asda yesterday & they were selling free range eggs off cheap as expiry date was nearly up,  got couple of trays as expiry sell by dates dont bother me, besides eggs get used up quick in out house.


----------



## Felinia (Mar 23, 2022)

This thread certainly explains why my local Farm Shop has not had their lovely eggs for some months now.


----------



## Ditto (Mar 23, 2022)

Why only 53 days?  Fox?


----------



## Northerner (Mar 23, 2022)

Ditto said:


> Why only 53 days?  Fox?


Fat enough to sell


----------



## rebrascora (Mar 23, 2022)

Ditto said:


> Why only 53 days?  Fox?


They grow so big so quickly that if don't harvest them  by 8 weeks at the latest but often 6 weeks then they go off their legs and can't stand up. Ttheir young legs sometimes break under the strain of the abnormal weight they put on or they just physically can't support their weight or they have heart attacks or succumb to other ailments like fatty liver, Marek's Disease etc. They really are "Franken Chickens". Their bodies can't cope with the strain of living past about 8 weeks. It is quite sad really when you compare them to normal chicks which scratch and peck and run around and dust bath. Meat birds just sit and eat and poop and eat some more and poop some more. Even the free range ones tend to sit around the feeder and chow down rather than scratching up bugs or eating grass. It is the way they are bred. Their genetics make them grow extremely fast and they need to eat lots to sustain that growth.


----------



## nonethewiser (Mar 24, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> They grow so big so quickly that if don't harvest them  by 8 weeks at the latest but often 6 weeks then they go off their legs and can't stand up. Ttheir young legs sometimes break under the strain of the abnormal weight they put on or they just physically can't support their weight or they have heart attacks or succumb to other ailments like fatty liver, Marek's Disease etc. They really are "Franken Chickens". Their bodies can't cope with the strain of living past about 8 weeks. It is quite sad really when you compare them to normal chicks which scratch and peck and run around and dust bath. Meat birds just sit and eat and poop and eat some more and poop some more. Even the free range ones tend to sit around the feeder and chow down rather than scratching up bugs or eating grass. It is the way they are bred. Their genetics make them grow extremely fast and they need to eat lots to sustain that growth.



Great argument to go vegan then, can see why some people abandon meat & associated products.


----------



## rebrascora (Mar 24, 2022)

There are ethical problems with plant based agriculture too. 
People being more self sufficient and growing at least some of their own food wherever possible is probably the best option.


----------



## Amity Island (Mar 24, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> There are ethical problems with plant based agriculture too.
> People being more self sufficient and growing at least some of their own food wherever possible is probably the best option.


Alotments are in short supply these days, they have become more and more popular and difficult to find. I reckon partly through more people wanting to grow their own and the high numbers of people now living in apartment blocks with no garden.


----------



## Wheelz (Mar 29, 2022)

nonethewiser said:


> Great argument to go vegan then, can see why some people abandon meat & associated products.


I could never go vegan & I tried vegetarianism and failed. However I won't buy meat or animal products that involve any unnecessary cruelty (battery/barn eggs, veal etc). No eggs/chicken for me for a while then...


----------



## rebrascora (Mar 29, 2022)

Wheelz said:


> I could never go vegan & I tried vegetarianism and failed. However I won't buy meat or animal products that involve any unnecessary cruelty (battery/barn eggs, veal etc). No eggs/chicken for me for a while then...


If you have been eating eggs and chicken since November then your sudden boycott of them now doesn't make sense. Those chickens have all been incarcerated since Nov. It is just a government loophole which allows the producers to continue to market them as Free Range for 3 months after the restrictions are brought in. Is it better to continue to support those free range producers who are doing their best for chicken welfare but restricted by government legislation at the moment or now boycott them. Those hens will continue to lay eggs, so they would be wasted if everyone stopped eating them for this reason and the free range producers would likely go out of business... which is why they get a 3 month dispensation to continue to sell them as free range, when they are not free ranging. 
I feel horrendous keeping my girls locked up, especially when the weather has been so gorgeous. I would hate to think that the people I give my girls' eggs to (I don't sell), felt like you and refused to eat them because I am following the legal requirement to keep them in. 
Just a moral dilemma for you to ponder! These things are not always as clear cut as you might hope. It is peak egg production time, due to it being that time of year. You can't stop them laying eggs, it is their natural cycle.... short of starving them, and that would be cruel. Please reconsider supporting your regular free range producers even though they can no longer sell as free range. Hopefully the restrictions will be lifted soon and the hens will be able to out on the pasture once again..... till next year


----------



## Robin (Mar 29, 2022)

Wheelz said:


> I could never go vegan & I tried vegetarianism and failed. However I won't buy meat or animal products that involve any unnecessary cruelty (battery/barn eggs, veal etc). No eggs/chicken for me for a while then...


If you read the interview with the poultry farmer in the original article quoted at the top of this thread, he makes the point that he is doing his best to keep his birds happy and interested, and give them as natural a life as possible, even though they can’t go outdoors.


----------



## Wheelz (Mar 29, 2022)

Robin said:


> If you read the interview with the poultry farmer in the original article quoted at the top of this thread, he makes the point that he is doing his best to keep his birds happy and interested, and give them as natural a life as possible, even though they can’t go outdoors.


I don't believe him though. I'm a cynical old git & I believe people will say anything to keep selling their product.


----------



## Wheelz (Mar 29, 2022)

rebrascora said:


> If you have been eating eggs and chicken since November then your sudden boycott of them now doesn't make sense. Those chickens have all been incarcerated since Nov. It is just a government loophole which allows the producers to continue to market them as Free Range for 3 months after the restrictions are brought in. Is it better to continue to support those free range producers who are doing their best for chicken welfare but restricted by government legislation at the moment or now boycott them. Those hens will continue to lay eggs, so they would be wasted if everyone stopped eating them for this reason and the free range producers would likely go out of business... which is why they get a 3 month dispensation to continue to sell them as free range, when they are not free ranging.
> I feel horrendous keeping my girls locked up, especially when the weather has been so gorgeous. I would hate to think that the people I give my girls' eggs to (I don't sell), felt like you and refused to eat them because I am following the legal requirement to keep them in.
> Just a moral dilemma for you to ponder! These things are not always as clear cut as you might hope. It is peak egg production time, due to it being that time of year. You can't stop them laying eggs, it is their natural cycle.... short of starving them, and that would be cruel. Please reconsider supporting your regular free range producers even though they can no longer sell as free range. Hopefully the restrictions will be lifted soon and the hens will be able to out on the pasture once again..... till next year


You have to do what you have to do, I understand that. I'm just a cynical old git. I don't think you're being intentionally cruel, no way. But I don't believe the farmer in the link either. Obviously bird owners have to follow the law, I understand that, but do you really think those who sell in bulk are going to go the extra mile to make the chicken's lives better? 
People like yourself who aren't bulk sellers most likely care a lot more for their chickens. And why not? I've befriended many a chicken when out on picnics.


----------



## nonethewiser (Mar 30, 2022)

Wheelz said:


> I could never go vegan & I tried vegetarianism and failed. However I won't buy meat or animal products that involve any unnecessary cruelty (battery/barn eggs, veal etc). No eggs/chicken for me for a while then...



Couldn't go meat free either, do have occasional days where meat is off menu.


----------

