Blackacre Farm (1UK 11785)
At Blackacre Farm we follow a simple tried-and-tested formula: Take a healthy chicken and raise in a free-range environment on a wholesome diet. Result: An appetizingly nutritious egg. From Blackacre Farm straight to independent local shops within hours of being laid. Now that's what we call fresh!
Hens at Home
Our hens reside in state of the art hen-houses and can pop out anytime during the day through special 'pop' holes on the sides of the house. This tends to be most of the day, especially during fine weather. On wetter occassions, they very sensibly opt for warmth and dryness!
The relatively small size of the flock in each house (compared to factory farms) means no overcrowding and therefore less stress for the hens. Most visitors to the hen-houses are pleasantly surprised. They are light, airy and clean, with plenty of room to move amongst the birds who are very friendly and rather partial to undoing shoe laces.
Wholesome & Natural Diet
The hens are fed on a wholesome, natural, vegetarian diet, free of antibiotics or hormones. There are plenty of fresh water drinkers and ample feeding stations. They also love to go pecking around in the bushes - looking for worms, berries or anything they would naturally eat in the wild. The cover provided by the undergrowth also gives them a sense of security.
Happy, Healthy Hens
Our birds come from approved rearers and have been tested to ensure they are disease free. The hens are vaccinated twice against salmonella, once at 12 weeks and again at 16 weeks. Regular inspection of both hygiene and animal welfare is carried out by independent inspectors.
There is a scratching floor area in each hen house which goes a long way towards keeping the birds happy. The remaining floor is raised off the ground allowing droppings to pass through, thus maintaining hygiene. The white plastic walls and ceiling are easy to clean and there is ample ventilation.
Being mobile the hen-house can be towed from site to site. The advantages of this are two-fold: First, the droppings can be cleared away. Secondly, and most importantly, when the 'goodness' from the ground has been used up and the ground has been well and truly pecked over by the hens, the house can be moved to a fresh paddock. This ensures there is no land contamination. This procedure also prevents the spread of any disease or sickness in the flock being passed on through cross contamination.
Stacked, Packed and Ready to Go!
Nesting boxes are situated in the centre of the houses where the hens lay their eggs. The floor of the nesting boxes is at a slight angle so that the eggs gently roll away on to a covered belt before they can become soiled or damaged.
At the packing station the eggs are passed through the candling booth, where they are illuminated so that hairline cracks, invisible to the naked eye, can be observed and any other imperfections spotted. Any less than perfect eggs are discarded.
Eggs which have passed through quality control enter an automatic weighing machine to be individually graded. There are four sizes: Extra Large (73 grams and over), Large (63-73 grams), Medium (53-63 grams) and Small (43-53 grams). The graded eggs are then automatically packed into boxes.
Express Hen to Customer Delivery
All orders are loaded the same day and delivered within hours of collection. The whole operation is geared to a hygienic, rapid hen to customer service. There are four lorries that deliver daily throughout the whole of the Southwest.
Blackacre Farm Eggs are very customer orientated and therefore ensure that their eggs are readily available in a wide range of convenience stores and independent retail outlets throughout the West Country.
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