Response to Questions About Caring for Hens in Cages
Our grandparents started our family business in 1944. When our parents assumed the leadership role in the late 1950s, they discovered that by caring for hens in cages, dramatic health improvements were made. The hens were free to access fresh feed and water 24 hours daily. In addition, they were free from the stress of predators and other environmental threats.
Other external climatic factors, including loud noises, traffic, and overhead predators are also sources of great stress to a hen. By moving the hens into barns with cages, all of those concerns are eliminated. Caging hens reduced aggression and allowed for controlled socialization, which hens seek because they are flocking birds. There is no pecking order in cages, which commonly occurs with hens that have large territories to guard.
The pamphlets will explain that our “uncooped” label eggs are from California. The area of California that the hens reside in has a suitable climate for hens. Arizona summers are not suitable for our white leghorns. Our hens are used to an average temperature of 78 degrees. We routinely experience low desert temperatures in the summer in excess of 110 degrees for several weeks. Our hens would quickly reach heat stress in such temperature extremes. Therefore, because we are truly marketing based and realize that a percentage of consumers seek eggs produced in cage free environments, we also offer eggs that are produced in California by uncooped hens.
Maximizing the hens’ comfort level, while eliminating any stress, is the goal of our hen care program. Our employees and family are dedicated to this effort. We are transparent regarding our production practices, and are proud of the fact that the hens achieve nature’s production curve in their caged environment.
We offer a video for consumers to view the hens in their laying barn. There are no eggs that remain in the nesting cages. Once laid, they are immediately conveyed to washing, inspection, and packaging, and returned to the proper temperature to achieve the highest quality Grade AA certification.
We have hosted numerous local and national media guests to showcase our hen care programs, including ones that initially admitted to being skeptics about caring for hens in cages. We demonstrated that Hickman’s could not achieve the highest food safety quality insurance inspection programs without the measures we take on a daily basis to protect our hens. They are, after all, the most important employees at Hickman’s Family Farms.
Our internal quality standards are higher than government standards, and are maintained at no charge to the consumer. It is our assurance to our customers that they are consuming the safest eggs money can buy, and that any hen can produce.
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