A welfare standard extending the requirement for range cover to all laying flocks has now been introduced by the RSPCA.
A requirement by Freedom Food that hens must be provided with at least five per cent natural cover on the range has so far been restricted to producers stocking at more than 1,000 birds per hectare and up to 2,000 birds per hectare. However, the standard has now been extended to cover all flocks using the RSPCA scheme, although most free range producers - particularly those who are members of BFREPA - already exceed the standard.
“We have calculated that, on average, BFREPA members already have at least 10 per cent cover on the range,” said Robert Gooch, BFREPA’s director of policy. He said that Blacktail producers and Sainsbury’s Woodland producers would have as much as 20 per cent cover. “We think that very few BFREPA members will be affected by this change,” said the association’s policy director.
The commitment of BFREPA members to the issue of range cover was highlighted recently by the association’s chairman, Roger Gent, who said that free range egg producers had planted more than a million trees over the last few years to improve the habitat of their birds. He pointed to the work on tree planting whilst responding to recent articles claiming that cage birds may be healthier than free range birds. The mainstream press latched onto comments by Barry Thorp of the Royal School of Veterinary Studies in Edinburgh, that free range birds were more likely to catch diseases and break bones. Roger Gent said the real point to understand was that free range hens enjoyed a happier, more natural existence. “Chickens derive from jungle fowl and are happiest when they are given the environment which allows them to shelter or to range around the land.” He said that extensive tree planting had been undertaken by free range egg producers to provide their birds with a more natural environment.
BFREPA has joined forces with the Woodland Trust to highlight the benefits of tree planting. It has been working with the trust to produce a leaflet entitled, ‘The role of trees in free range poultry farming.’ One free range producer that has worked closely with the Woodland Trust is the Lakes Free Range Egg Company in Cumbria, which has planted more than 40,000 trees on its land, creating more than 15 hectares of woodland. The company says that tree planting provides a real financial benefit for egg producers - as much as £20,000 per year.
“The cost benefit of tree planting is one of the best in farming, and there is the opportunity to significantly increase income,” said Lakes managing director David Brass. “A poultry farm with 64,000 hens could make an additional £20,000 per year as a result of improved egg production and quality. Our planting cost £2,000 per hectare, but the farm achieved payback in just six months, and the benefits are outstanding. Trees are now an integral part of our business and I would urge any farmer to consider planting them as it makes economical and environmental sense.”
There are, of course, other benefits alongside the financial ones, and the Woodland Trust is now working with the Lakes Free Range Egg Company to assess the environmental benefits of tree planting on the wider landscape. This research is focusing on the role trees can play in addressing ammonia emissions and reducing run-off of pollutants into water courses.
The Lakes is not the only large egg producer to become involved with the Woodland Trust. Glenrath Farms, one of the biggest free range egg producers in Europe and the biggest agricultural employer in the Scottish Borders, planted trees with the Woodland Trust at a new farm earlier this year to provide shelter and screening for its hens and to reduce ammonia emissions and run-off.
Karen Campbell, Glenrath’s operations director, said, “Encouraging good ranging behaviour is important not just for the welfare of the hens, but also for production. We believe tree planting on our ranges helps us to meet the consumer demand for high quality free range eggs, while also increasing the efficiency of production.”
John Tucker, woodland creation director at the Woodland Trust, said, “As well as improved hen welfare and egg quality, tree planting also offers a number of other benefits to farmers. Trees planted as shelter belts can act as wind breaks and provide wood fuel, and various wildlife species, including birds, mammals and insects, will also be able to flourish within this much needed habitat.”
John Tucker pointed to the change to the RSPCA standard as another reason to consider increased tree planting. “With new requirements coming into effect where ranges for all flocks on the Freedom Food scheme must have five per cent natural cover, now is the perfect opportunity to contact the Woodland Trust and start making the most of this wonderful asset.”
The RSPCA, which has announced that its Freedom Food scheme is to be rebranded as RSPCA As-sured (see the separate article in this issue of the Ranger), says that providing natural canopy cover and encouraging improved ranging can have numerous benefits for hen welfare. These include:
• Reduced levels of injurious pecking
• Greater behavioural opportunity through additional dust bathing and foraging provision
• Reduced poaching around the pop holes and improved litter indoors
• Reduced risk of disease spread due to greater dispersal of manure load
• Diet supplementation both from the vegetation and the invertebrates attracted by it
• Fewer egg seconds as birds which range well may be less stressed
• Reduced mortality.
The RSPCA says that producers stocking at 1,000 hens per hectare or below can apply for a derogation which would allow them to plant natural cover at what it says is an equivalent rate. For example, a request could be made to plant natural cover on 2.5 per cent of the range area if a producer was stocking at 1,000 per hectare. However, BFREPA believes that the change to the standard will not be a problem for the overwhelming majority of its members, who it feels will already have tree cover at well above the level required by the RSPCA.
Robert Gooch said it would still be wise to highlight what was happening with the RSPCA standard in case anyone did need to make changes. And Robert said that BFREPA was pleased to be involved with the Woodland Trust in highlighting the benefits of tree planting for free range egg producers.
