There is no need for our hens to ever be locked up because they are always protected from predators by their personal guard dogs.
The hens are fed a natural diet of grains with no additives - and they are not de-beaked. De-beaking is not necessary on a true free range farm. If a farm beak trims its birds (that is removing art of the beak) it's an indication that the farm is not really free range, but is an intensive production system. Hens normally only become aggressive when they are confined in small spaces. |
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Freeranger Eggs is also part of the Humane Society International's Humane Choice program. It adds to our FRFA accreditation.
Phil and Anne Westwood operate the Freeranger Egg farm with their Maremma dogs to protect the birds. The eggs are collected by hand, graded and packed every day on the farm ready for delivery to restaurants, shops and direct to customers.
We don't send off our hens to make soup when they finish their first laying season. We keep them longer and find homes with local people who want chooks for their backyards. They lay happily for another three or four years and often longer.
Freeranger Eggs is a 200 acre diversified beef, sheep and chicken farm at Grantville, part of the Mornington Peninsula and Western Port Biosphere
Reserve.
We have implemented strategies aimed at sustainable land use in conjunction
with biodiversity conservation on the property and adjoining land.
The farm has Bass River frontage and forms part of the only riparian forest left on the river.
Our property is a vegetated link between the Grantville Flora & Fauna Reserve and the Bass River and is ecologically vital for the local survival of a variety of species.
Amongst animals living here are Powerful Owls, Barking Owls, Lace Monitors, Mountain Brushtail Possums, Swamp Antechinus, Potoroos and Bandicoots. Sixty acres of the property are protected by a Trust for Nature covenant and the farm is also part of the Land for Wildlife Scheme.
The property is demonstrating that primary production can be commercially viable without compromising ecological values and that cost-effective farming, environmental protection and enhancing species biodiversity are not mutually exclusive. The farm took part in a sustainability study of free range farms in the Port Phillip & Westernport Catchment Management Authority area. The study, conducted by an independent agronomist, found that our production techniques were sustainable and showed that our low stocking density provided overall cost benefits.
Production includes chemical-free beef and lamb, wool for hand spinning and free range eggs from hens in mobile roosts and protected from fox attacks by Maremma guard dogs. Regular movement of the roost houses which are sheds with slatted floors on skids, provides natural nutrients to maintain lush grass growth with no additional inputs, also encouraging the spread of native grasses.
Activities on the property have been designed to minimise off-site impacts. All creeks lines are vegetated to maintain water quality run off into Bass River and our management ensures the long term sustainability of our farming activities.
The property is home for the Margo Kroyer-Pedersen Wildlife Shelter which provides voluntary regional care for injured, sick and orphaned wildlife as well as being a base for environmental groups Friends of Bass Valley Bush Inc Landcare Group and the Bushland Research Council. These groups conduct revegetation programs, propagate native trees, shrubs and grasses of local provenance and carry out research into regional flora and fauna. Species lists and other details are available by contacting bassbush.
The wildlife shelter operates a regional rescue service with a small vehicle as
an ambulance and we are part of the voluntary Help for Wildlife network which
uses the emergency contact phone number 0417 380687 throughout Victoria. All sales assist with this work. The shelter has cared for native animals of all
types--wombats, wallabies, echidnas, koalas, lizards and birds--including some
magnificent raptors.
Below are examples of some of the animals which have been cared for in the shelter.
