| Good Eggs | A Day In The Life Of A Bhwt Volunteer Driver |
When we last reported on the impact of Covid-19 the talk was all about the lack of loo rolls and dearth of eggs. Then in December 2020 our lockdown was matched by our hens having to endure their own lockdown potentially lasting through to the end of the migration season.
Whilst our hens are likely feeling nettled under netting, and commercial free range hens are frustrated in farms, as soon as the Avian Flu lockdown started the free range sector looked at how it could maintain its market share – after all why would a consumer bother to buy free range eggs if the hens aren’t actually able to range freely?
Under law egg producers are allowed to house their hens whilst maintaining their free range status for a maximum of 16 weeks (this protected status ends on April 4, 2021) and in order to assure the public that hens are being housed for their own good, posters, such as the one opposite, have started appearing at free range farms across the country.
Let’s face it, it must be particularly galling for the industry that as Covid-19 hit and demand for eggs soared (especially free range), their hens were forced into lockdown with the rest of us.
Whilst there have been outbreaks across 40 countries with multiple incidents within the UK, there is a downturn in the number of positive testings and the migration season is nearly at an end. Moreover, DEFRA and the egg industry is extremely adept at dealing with outbreaks, their careful use of tools such as a housing order, prevention zones etc are all designed to protect the national commercial and backyard flocks. And we have done our bit by complying knowing that eventually our birds will emerge healthy from their lockdown and be able to enjoy all the more returning to their free range retirement.
Here’s to no more lockdowns for a very long time.
For more information on Avian Flu please visit bhwt.org.uk/avian-influenza or bhwt.org.uk/avian-influenza-cases-and-control-zones
We have learned in recent years about developments in science that have enabled ovosexing of eggs, so that any embryos indicating a cockerel can be destroyed before hatching, thus removing the cruel destruction of millions of unwanted cockerel chicks.
Well now science has gone a step further: an Israeli company called Soos Technology has developed a method using a combination of temperature, CO2, humidity and sound vibration to ‘encourage’ embryos to develop as hens as rather than cockerels. The company has already improved the natural 50/50 split to 60/40 females to males, and is hoping to achieve an 80/20 ratio, stating that the ability to reassign sex will change the world. For cockerel chicks this development has to be good news.