Quality Chickens
As Australia's largest Chicken meat producer we pride ourselves in having advanced farming and breeding programs, high standards of animal welfare and processing technology which is on par with world standards. Most people would be surprised at the level of science and care that is involved in raising chickens. Here are some key facts about our chicken production that may also dispel a few myths about how chickens are raised in Australia:
Chicken Feed
Our Chickens are fed diets which have been specially formulated by our nutritionists to ensure that our chickens receive the right amounts of vitamins and nutrients. This promotes good physical health for the chickens and ensures we produce nutritious and tasty meat for your plate.
Our chicken feed is made up of roughly 90% grains, including wheat, sorghum, barley, soybean meal, canola and other oilseeds, and legumes.
Whilst we are dedicated to sourcing non-genetically modified feed when commercially available, there are some chicken feed components such as soy, which are genetically modified.
Genetically modified feed does not represent a safety concern for consumers as the digestion process ensures there are no traces of genetically modified components in the chicken meat. In addition, chickens fed genetically modified soy are no different to chickens which consume GM free diet.
Whilst it is still a very widely believed myth in Australia, hormones are NOT added to chicken feed or in anyway administered to chickens. It is actually illegal to use hormones in chicken production in Australia, and has been for over 40 years.
Antibiotics are rarely used in chicken feed. However, when antibiotics are administered, we adhere to the very strict usage practices prescribed by the Australian Chicken Meat Federation. This ensures there are no antibiotics present in the chicken meat by the time chicken meat is processed. In addition, the antibiotics used on chicken are not harmful to humans. If you would like more information, please send us an email.
Breeding
At Steggles, we undertake a process of selective breeding. This encompasses the selection of the strongest, healthiest and best meat-producing chickens to breed. This enables us to create future generations of high quality broiler chickens. A broiler is a chicken raised to produce meat, rather than eggs.
Once those chickens selected for breeding lay the eggs, it takes 21 days for a chick to develop. Whilst the chick is growing inside the shell, the mother hen would normally use her body to keep the egg warm until the chick is ready to hatch. But when producing large numbers of chickens, these eggs are sent to our special state-of-the-art incubation facility where that same warmth is provided to the growing chicks. This ensures developing chickens get the level of warmth they need, and in a way that hundreds of eggs can hatch at the same time to meet the constant high demand for chicken meat. Once hatched, the chickens are sent to a broiler farm.
Animal Welfare
We take a humane approach to our animals, seeking to maintain the highest standards of animal welfare in every stage of production. Contrary to popular belief, our chickens are not raised in cages - they are raised in custom built large chicken barns where they have easy access to food and water.
At Steggles, animal welfare is important to us. We have an Animal Welfare Policy which we use to educate our staff and audits are conducted regularly to ensure that day-to-day working procedures are carried in accordance with the policy. This ensures and that the animals are treated with care and reared with respect.
