Animal Welfare...
At the core of our success is the belief that our eggs should be produced to the highest possible standards of hygiene and bird welfare. We were the first farmers in Scotland to invest in enriched aviary units where birds can display their natural instincts with nesting, perching and scratching areas. This system has major welfare benefits as it allows the birds to display their natural instincts, as championed by the Farm Animal Welfare Council. Every bird has clean air, fresh water, top quality feed and is regularly checked during the day."
Our commitment to bird welfare can be seen in our RSPCA Freedom Food accreditation, which is recognised by the government as a 'higher level' assurance scheme. Becoming a member has brought about real benefits to our production systems.
We are actively pursuing expansion of all our free range programs. Through investment and production partnerships, Farmlay will have additional capacity of 54,000 free range birds by the end of 2008 with plans to continue expanding into 2009. In line with our own heritage our producers have many years of experience in the management of livestock, in some cases going back generations.
The vast majority of our rearing happens within only a 10 mile radius of the main packing centre meaning that transportation stresses on the birds are kept to an absolute minimum.
The general welfare levels of our flocks are maintained through a number of areas. All rearing and laying farms are approved by the British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) and are annually audited to ensure adherence to their strict codes for animal welfare. Vaccination programmes are also individually tailored to suit our rearing and laying needs by specialist poultry veterinary practitioners. In addition to this, we work closely with feed specialists to design feed to suit every stage of a bird's life cycle.
By controlling our production through from day old chick to delivery of your eggs, we can ensure that welfare standards are maintained at all times. In house specialists monitor our own flocks and provide support and training for our producers, all of whom are required to meet the same high standards we set ourselves.