Chairman of the British Free Range Producers’ Association has deemed eating larger eggs unkind to hens, and is urging us to eat medium ones instead.
Tom Vessey, who owns 16,000 hens on his land at Dingestow, Monmouth said, “It can be painful to the hen to lay a larger egg. There is also the stress, which is a big problem as it takes more out of hens to lay large eggs. It would be kinder to eat smaller eggs. Whenever I go to the Continent people eat medium-sized eggs yet here the housewife seems to be wedded to large eggs.”
He added that a breakfast of two medium eggs was more appetising than of one large one, “I prefer medium eggs,” he said. “They taste better, are less watery and don’t run off the plate.”
Mr Vessey cites the reason for farmers producing bigger eggs is because of the higher payout.
Industry bosses are none to please with Mr Vessey for raising the issue, but animal welfare campaigners say his point is an important one. Phil Brooke, of Compassion in World Farming, said, “Selectively breeding
hens for high productivity, whether larger eggs or larger numbers of eggs, can cause a range of problems such as osteoporosis, bone breakage and prolapse. We need to breed and feed hens so that they can
produce eggs without risk to their health or welfare.”
Christine Nicol, Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Bristol, said, “ There is no strong published evidence of pain in egg-laying hens but it’s not unreasonable to think there may be a mismatch in the
size of birds and the eggs they produce. We do often spot bloodstains on large eggs. As a personal decision I would never buy jumbo eggs.”
In the last year the cost of very large eggs has gone down slightly, which hopefully, Mr Vessey notes, will put farmers off from producing them. He also thinks if farmers were to get more money for medium eggs,
they would be more likely to produce more of them.
Mr Vessey thinks that if the protein part of the chicken feed was altered, it would be feasible to slow down the process of egg production in order for hens to lay smaller eggs. In addition, he adds that farmers could
be in for much higher profits, as medium eggs have less chance of breakages.
Head of the British Egg Industry Council, Mark Williams, said the reason the majority of shoppers buy bigger eggs, was because they assumed they offered better value for money. “But it is possible consumers could
be switched off from buying large overnight,” he said.
Alan Pearson, spokesman for the British Poultry Veterinary Association, said, “Frankly I think there are bigger welfare issues that people have in their minds, such as hens in cages. The size of an egg rarely causes problems for the bird.”
Lindsey Bareham, The Times cook, said, “I have no doubt that the diet of the chicken is what affects the flavour of its eggs, not the size. If eggs from organic, free-range chickens aren’t available, I’d rather go without.”
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Chairman of the British Free Range Producers’ Association has deemed eating larger eggs unkind to hens, and is urging us to eat medium ones instead.
Tom Vessey, who owns 16,000 hens on his land at Dingestow, Monmouth said, “It can be painful to the hen to lay a larger egg. There is also the stress, which is a big problem as it takes more out of hens to lay large eggs. It would be kinder to eat smaller eggs. Whenever I go to the Continent people eat medium-sized eggs yet here the housewife seems to be wedded to large eggs.”
He added that a breakfast of two medium eggs was more appetising than of one large one, “I prefer medium eggs,” he said. “They taste better, are less watery and don’t run off the plate.”
Mr Vessey cites the reason for farmers producing bigger eggs is because of the higher payout.
Industry bosses are none to please with Mr Vessey for raising the issue, but animal welfare campaigners say his point is an important one. Phil Brooke, of Compassion in World Farming, said, “Selectively breeding
hens for high productivity, whether larger eggs or larger numbers of eggs, can cause a range of problems such as osteoporosis, bone breakage and prolapse. We need to breed and feed hens so that they can
produce eggs without risk to their health or welfare.”
Christine Nicol, Professor of Animal Welfare at the University of Bristol, said, “ There is no strong published evidence of pain in egg-laying hens but it’s not unreasonable to think there may be a mismatch in the
size of birds and the eggs they produce. We do often spot bloodstains on large eggs. As a personal decision I would never buy jumbo eggs.”
In the last year the cost of very large eggs has gone down slightly, which hopefully, Mr Vessey notes, will put farmers off from producing them. He also thinks if farmers were to get more money for medium eggs,
they would be more likely to produce more of them.
Mr Vessey thinks that if the protein part of the chicken feed was altered, it would be feasible to slow down the process of egg production in order for hens to lay smaller eggs. In addition, he adds that farmers could
be in for much higher profits, as medium eggs have less chance of breakages.
Head of the British Egg Industry Council, Mark Williams, said the reason the majority of shoppers buy bigger eggs, was because they assumed they offered better value for money. “But it is possible consumers could
be switched off from buying large overnight,” he said.
Alan Pearson, spokesman for the British Poultry Veterinary Association, said, “Frankly I think there are bigger welfare issues that people have in their minds, such as hens in cages. The size of an egg rarely causes problems for the bird.”
Lindsey Bareham, The Times cook, said, “I have no doubt that the diet of the chicken is what affects the flavour of its eggs, not the size. If eggs from organic, free-range chickens aren’t available, I’d rather go without.”
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