As many Australians tuck into their favourite egg dish for breakfast on a weekend, what they might not know is that the eggs on their plate are part of a generational legacy. Rohde’s Free Range RSPCA Approved Eggs have been supplying Australians in select states with delicious, free range eggs since the 1950s.
Now, as they enter the seventh decade of their production, the family-owned brand has launched a new look on their egg cartons, celebrating the place and history behind the business.
Key to their story is their continuous commitment to layer hen welfare and farming their eggs without the use of barren and cruel battery cages. Rohde’s have been RSPCA Approved for 14 years, and were one of the earliest egg producers to join the scheme to providing their hens with a holistic approach to animal welfare.
Today, John and Ange Rohde, who now run the business that has been in their family for decades, still maintain an outdoor stocking density of no more than 1,500 hens per hectare. Under the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme, Rohde’s hens have access to a quality outdoor range that encourages them to explore and forage, whilst also protecting them from the elements. As layer hens spend majority of their time indoors, having an enriched indoor environment that encourages them to display behaviours such as perching, dustbathing and laying eggs in a nest, is vital for ensuring the welfare of these ladies.
Layer hens are curious, intelligent and social creatures, and need to have their physical and behavioural needs met to live a happy life. Sadly, over 10 million layer hens in Australia are confined to battery cages, with less room than an A4 sheet of paper each to live in.
Producers like Rohde’s are crucial when it comes to ending the suffering of hens in battery cages, because they’re providing Australians with delicious eggs, while putting hen welfare at the forefront of their business.
When you’re in the supermarket, look for the RSPCA Approved logo, and Rohdes’ vibrant new blue packaging when choosing your eggs.
Congratulations, Rohde’s, on the next phase of your journey!
Want more? Free Range Farmer John Rohde: ‘look beyond the label’ or Creature Comforts
