OUR STORY

Red Feather Eggs was set up in late 2021 by Naomi Hanning (me).

I live on my family’s dairy farm outside Invercargill and have been steadily growing the number of chickens, therefore eggs I can supply, since then.

My chickens are pretty special and lay the best eggs -although I could be a little bit biased.

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Learn about
the hens

My girls live in a hen house on wheels with a mesh floor. This hen house is moved about every second day to ensure that the grass under the coop stays clean as possible.

The hens get let out around lunchtime every day to ensure that they first eat their daily requirement of vitamins and minerals before they have an all-you-can-eat buffet of anything they want.

Once let out, they have no chicken fences, and can go wherever they like. They particularly enjoy hitchhiking on whatever vehicle is closest. They can have dust baths, climb trees, chase the dogs and generally, have a very nice time.

In the evening they put themselves to bed in their hen house.

I check each night to make sure no one fell asleep on the way home and shut the door to prevent any predators getting to them.

Every day, I collect the eggs from their special rollaway nesting boxes. These boxes have astroturf flooring so the hens are comfortable but stay clean. They also have curtains because privacy matters to them.

Once collected, the eggs are washed, graded, weighed and packaged. Grading involves checking each egg for hairline cracks, cracks, blemishes, weak shells or misshapen eggs before they are weighed. The New Zealand Egg Producers guidelines are followed, to accurately grade the eggs into their appropriate sizes. This process guarantees the eggs reach you in as perfect a state as they can be.

MY FIRST YEAR

In the first year of Red Feather Eggs, I increased my flock from 50 to 200 hens, had the Risk Management Programme approved by MPI and earnt a five-star rating on Facebook. Then there was an egg shortage in New Zealand so demand for eggs increased dramatically.

I am very lucky to have an amazing support network and owe it all to my family, customers and of course, my amazing little chickens. To those who have followed, supported, encouraged and helped – as well as chosen to get their eggs from Red Feather Eggs. Thank you!