Rob Darby: free-range leader

Rob Darby says that the animals themselves should dictate how much space they need. Photo / Ted Baghurst

Rob Darby got his start in ethical farming in the 1970s when he wanted to buy a flock of chickens, but was horrified that the only birds available were cage raised. Years later, Darby pioneered the free-range egg production industry in New Zealand and remains acres ahead of the competition to this day.

Darby created Frenz Eggs in 1989 with business partner Graeme Carrie to provide quality, ethically farmed eggs to New Zealand. The team first approached Woolworth, now Countdown, and the company agreed to sell their eggs in two stores.

As demand for free-range eggs grew, Frenz Eggs were sold in stores throughout the country. Popularity increased and corporate producers jumped into the industry, despite varying definitions of free-range.

"[Free-range] can mean anything from having 30 to 40 to 50 thousand birds to a room with a door that's opened in the afternoon," said Darby. "That's our competition."

In fact, New Zealand has no strict legal definition of free-range, but it is understood to mean that birds are allowed access to the outdoors. Yet, oftentimes eggs labeled as free-range come from chickens that have never actually been outside.

Darby says that the animals themselves should dictate how much space they need. Frenz Eggs producers allow no more than 350 chickens per acre and about 1,200 per shed allowing all chickens have access to the outdoors. According to Darby, this leads to disease-free chickens and higher quality eggs.

In recent years, Frenz has begun contract growing their own organic feed to ensure that the best quality material is going in to the production of Frenz Eggs.

"We couldn't rely on the big commercial operators to do it well," said Darby. "The only way to do it consistently right is always to do it yourself."

Allowing chickens ample time outdoors gives them a chance to consume insects as they would in natural conditions, which gives them immunity to diseases like the bird flu, which has reemerged in US and UK farms in recent months.

"Birds have a natural immunity; outside birds are a bit like babies, said Darby. "They stick everything in their mouths, and eventually they become self-immune to most of the stuff that's out there."

Darby's concern for animal welfare and egg quality comes from his upbringing around animals.

"As kids, like most kids at that time, we were brought up with chickens," Darby said. "Their normal behaviors were constantly experienced. To find birds that can't walk, or stand up, or scratch, and birds without feathers-it seemed to me like a lost experience for everyone."

Frenz Eggs was the first New Zealand egg producer to export to the US, it and currently exports almost 25 percent of its eggs to Hong Kong and the US.

"The most prominent remarks we used to get back from Americans were, 'Wow these are like the eggs we used to get from grandpa's farm!'" said Darby.

Since Darby's start over 25 years ago, the mechanics of the farms have changed, but the ethics have not. Technologies like automatic nest boxes and advanced feeders reduce the work load for the farmers and make life better for the chickens. Darby says the most important thing is sticking to his motto "keeping it real", which means allowing chickens to live as naturally as possible.

In the future Darby hopes to increase exports to the greater Asia community.

"At the end of the day there's a big back yard out there, and there's only 4 million people in New Zealand," Darby said. "[Eggs] are what New Zealand does best. It's not just eggs we're selling; we're selling the whole New Zealand environment."

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