From broilers to coloured eggs

Shrinking margins and inability to compete with larger growers has led to Richard Jones switching from broiler production to free range eggs.

But for Richard and his wife Liz the transition was a gradual one. With cheap imports pulling down chicken prices, making a living from 12,000 broilers was becoming increasingly difficult so the Jones switched to rearing Cotswold Legbars for Philip Lee-Woolf, the man who established the Clarence Court coloured egg brand.

After a spell rearing the brightly coloured birds, the decision was taken to have a go at producing the eggs—renowned for their blue shells—and an ex-broiler house was converted to house 3400 layers. A very traditional set up left the Jones with the daily task of hand collecting eggs into baskets but that wasn’t enough to deter their enthusiasm for free range.

With the Clarence Court label by now in the hands of Clifford Kent Ltd—the family company controlled by Stonegate boss Michael Kent—and the eggs finding their way in growing numbers onto the shelves of the major retailers, there was an opportunity for expansion.

But insufficient land on the Jones’s farm in Worcestershire meant the hunt was on for a bigger property and, after an extensive search, 70 acres of rolling Devon countryside was purchased. West Studham Farm near Crediton is now the biggest single supplier of the specialty eggs.

Two Liberty Livestock buildings house a total of 12,000 Cotswold Legbars mixed with Burford Browns, a breed which lays dark brown eggs. With plastic slats and automatic nests, the houses are a far cry from the Jones’s first taste of free range egg production.

Side-opening curtains provide natural ventilation and good lighting levels, and with the birds stocked at nine birds per square metre the accommodation is spacious. The scratch area is at one end of the building and this means that most of the popholes are leading from the slatted floor, which helps maintain good litter quality.

The litter is supplied in the shape of big bale straw and Richard simply places the entire bale at one end of the scratch area, cuts the strings and lets the birds take over. Hours of pecking and scratching follow and not only does it keep the area well littered but occupies the birds too. With the birds not beak trimmed, Richard believes activity like this helps avoid any pecking problem developing.

At 26 weeks old the birds are laying at 83 per cent and while egg numbers fail to match that of a modern hybrid, a fixed price paid by the packer should ensure profitability. The price also includes a premium to cover the extra cost of specially formulated feed, supplied to the farm by Crediton Milling Company. Not only do Clarence Court eggs look different but with a high inclusion of maize in the diet the flavour is enhanced which, when it comes to marketing, adds a further point of difference.

After the uncertain future Richard faced as a broiler grower, he is enjoying the security offered by the Clarence Court contract. He also relishes the fresh challenge of free range egg production. And the best thing about his career change?

“Opening the popholes in the morning,” he told the Ranger, “and watching the birds spill out onto the field.”