Can you imagine a time where you are truly connected with the environment and living your best life full of engagement, fulfilment and of course… happiness for yourself and your family? You would never need to see a shrink again! Well, that’s the mission set out by Happy Chickens Eggs – to create living conditions for their chickens so great they really are the worlds happiest chickens.
They have taken ‘free range’ to the next level and practise sustainable agriculture, which allows the hens to live out their curiosity in the best environment possible, with plenty of play and talk time to sort out their issues – something we take very seriously.
With a lot of confusion surrounding the welfare standards of the egg farming industry, they have set out to be as transparent and ethical as possible. Happy chickens lay happy eggs. It’s that simple! The term ‘free-range’ has been popping up a lot more on our supermarket shelves – but there’s a lot of confusion about what that actually means, with a lot of leeway with farming standards. Have you ever stood in a grocery store looking at the countless companies that produce eggs, reading tonnes of different labels and having no idea what they actually mean? Wondering how strict their ethical standards are? Or how good the eggs actually are, and what environment they come from?
There have been a lot of eyes on the egg production industry lately, with requests from the public to create natural, free-roaming living conditions for chickens. Studies already show us chickens are smart animals and are physically, mentally and socially impacted by their living conditions that, in turn, affect the outcome of the eggs they lay.
That’s why it’s important to create an environment where a chook isn’t just free, but happy, too.
This is the belief held by Happy Chicken Eggs, an Australian family-owned farming company based in Victoria that produces free-range eggs. They are committed to giving their chickens the best environments to live in, complete with toys, sandpits, outdoor perching, shaded areas and play structures – aka, absolutely no unnatural enhancements. Sounds awesome, right? Upholding the highest ethical and welfare standards, they are 100% cage free and the only RSPCA Approved eggs available nationally.
In addition to being RSPCA approved, they also meet standards set by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Choice code of practice and customer expectation, standards not yet met by a variety of caged and free-range egg companies around the country.
Happy Chicken Eggs believe that happy chickens lay happier and healthier eggs. As humans, we want to create an environment for ourselves that makes life positive and fulfilled. We want to a life of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment.
The same rings true for chickens and it’s not crazy to assume they have their own, similar, psychology. Their natural instincts are to roam, roost, perch and peck. If they’re unable to do these things, it’s probably going to make for a lot of unhappy chooks.
And while it’s common to view chickens as unintelligent (and thus, who cares?) it’s a huge misconception. They’re actually a lot smarter than you might think.
According to a number of studies done over the last decade, “chickens can count, show some level of self-awareness, and even manipulate one another.” They are also capable of “basic arithmetic…and have a strong grasp of numerical tasks from a young age” (BBC).
What is even more surprising is that they are quite socially complex, with “some studies suggesting that birds can appreciate how the world must appear to their peers…and use this information for personal advantage”. (BBC)
Chooks are a lot more cognitively aware of their surroundings than people might realise, so their environment has a direct effect on their overall health and wellbeing.
That’s why Happy Chicken Eggs are transparent about their farming conditions (they are legit even starting a live cam to check in on the chooks). With research agreeing that hens are intelligent and their psychological needs are important, it’s integral to pay robust attention to their physical, mental and social health in order to produce healthy eggs of a quality standard. Hens are curious creatures and enjoy spending time together, but space is just as important! At Happy Chicken Eggs’ farms, there are no more than 1500 hens per hectare, rather than the maximum density allowed of over 10,000 hens per hectare, or “the equivalent of one chook per square metre” (ABC News). Yikes!
And with an abundance of toys, play structures, green spaces, free-roaming and social time, it’s only natural that the hens at Happy Chicken Eggs are producing some of the highest quality eggs on the Australian market.
And with research stating it’s okay to eat an egg every day, what are you waiting for?
Happy Chicken = Healthy Eggs.
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Visit Happy Chicken Eggs for more info.
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