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Inside a free-run aviary system

Jul 21, 2023

Video: Inside a free-run aviary system

In Barn #2, another day has started for Kurt and Harley Siemens’ hens. The lights slowly start to come on at 3 a.m., signaling to the hens that it’s time to start waking up. The hens lay their eggs 1-5 hours after they wake up, and each hen lays approximately one egg per day. After the hens lay their eggs, they jump down on the floor and dust bathe in floor litter. When the feeders run, they’ll jump up into the system to eat and drink. The hens eat a blend of corn, soy meal, canola meal and added vitamins – a diet that is monitored and adjusted by a poultry nutritionist regularly. After they eat, they’ll preen and relax.

During the day, the hens are building the yolk and albumen of the egg and at night they’re forming the shell. The egg is ready to lay when the hen wakes up. The hens go into the private nesting area to lay their egg, where it rolls onto a covered conveyor belt and is safely transported to the gathering area. The eggs are gathered starting at 9 a.m. every day. This way, at warmer times of the day the eggs are already gathered and in the cooler.

Harley examines the eggs as they move through the gathering area. He is looking for manure spots on eggs, feathers and cracked eggs. He removes the cracked eggs as they’re not suitable for consumption.

The eggs that you see here and the eggs in your fridge – there is no difference! From the time they’re laid to the time these eggs arrive at the grocery store it’s been just 3-5 days. The eggs go from Kurt and Harley’s farm on a truck to the grading station, where they’re lightly washed with food-grade detergent and sorted for grade and weight. From there, they arrive on your grocery store shelves and you bring them home to feed your family with a nutritious, locally produced and wholesome food from a family farm.