Meet the producers: The Nest Box Egg Company

What’s the story behind the company?

The Nest Box Egg Company is the formation of the McGuiness and the Eivers families who came together to deliver sustainable, quality-assured eggs from passionate and devoted farmers. From early inception in the 1960s to becoming the pioneers of free-range eggs in the mid-80s, we now farm approximately 40,000 hens on our own land and work with 26 family farms across Ireland to bring the best-quality eggs to our customers.

What breed of hens do you farm?

Lohmann are our most prominent breed as they consistently lay high-quality eggs with excellent shell colour and strength. We also use Copper Marans – a beautiful, rare breed which lay special, dark chocolate-coloured eggs. They lay less frequently than the Lohmann breed, so are generally not used as widely by other farmers but we want to give them a chance.

You farm both free-range and organic hens. Can you describe the birds’ welfare?

We have some of the highest standards for animal welfare in the world. Both our free-range and organic hens have access to acres of green fields and fresh air from dawn to dusk. They sleep in a well-ventilated, spacious barn, which is locked at night to keep them safe from wild predators.

And what about their diets?

Both types of hens feed on a vegetarian diet. However, the food we give to our organic birds is produced in accordance with the standards set out by the Organic Trust. Organic feed has all the nutrients needed for a balanced diet, but we like to add to the hens’ nutritional intake by including wild herbs in their diet. We believe this helps to produce the best quality eggs. As a result, our organic pastures are purposely planted with specific herbs and grasses, which the hens feed on.

What kind of herbs?

Chicory is a highly nutritional forage crop for poultry with a crude protein up to 30 percent. It helps fight digestive problems, bacterial infections and parasites. It is high in vitamins and minerals because of its deep taproot. And it gives the egg’s yolk a really beautiful deep yellow colour. We also grow yarrow for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties; agric burnet to further help with digestion and sheep’s parsley, as it’s mineral-rich and good for the hens’ kidneys and bladders. We believe a quality forage helps in achieving good production results, especially in the mild Irish climate. Organic egg farming demands much higher levels in terms of production and, as a farmer, you really have to be on top of your game in terms of understanding how your hens are feeling and what they need.

You also supply Spinneys with omega-3 enriched eggs – what are these hens fed?

A supplement of omega-3 oils – they benefit from these higher levels of omega-3 and so do their eggs.

How does the egg collection process work?

First thing in the morning we go into the barn and walk through to make sure the birds have had their first feed, check that they have fresh water and that all equipment is working as it should be. Once this is done, we collect all the eggs the hens have laid from earlier that morning and put them straight onto trays to be brought to the newly built packing station. This is done every day. We collect the eggs specifically for Spinneys on Wednesdays and ship them to the UAE on Thursdays. The eggs are refrigerated throughout the process.

What’s the nature of your quality control?

Our overall farming practices adhere to the Sustainable Egg Assurance Scheme, which is overseen and audited by the Irish food board, Bord Bia. The key aspects of egg production covered in the scheme include sustainability, flock sourcing, hygiene, biosecurity, disease control, flock welfare and environmental protection. In terms of day-to-day processing, when our eggs are brought from the farm to our newly built BRC AA packing centre, we measure, track and grade every single one. Over 22 quality checks are performed on every egg including leak detection, weighing, crack detection, colour and shell quality checks and auto cleaning that ensures no dirty eggs pass through the system. Every box is stamped with a code so one can trace the eggs from farm to fork, ensuring the highest standards are maintained across the supply chain.

What sustainable initiatives do you have in place?

We’re part of Origin Green – a sustainability programme run by Bord Bia. It is the only one in the world which operates at a national level and which includes farmers, primary producers, processors and retailers working together and leading the way to create a better future for all involved. Some of the targets we’ve set to achieve a more sustainable future are to increase our organic production by 10 per cent year on year; to reduce our electricity consumption by 20 per cent per tonne of output by 2022; and to reduce overall water usage. In addition to this, we’ve made great strides in our quest to eliminate plastic. All our packaging is made from recycled materials, which can be recycled again by consumers.