More than 125 million domestic poultry call Aotearoa New Zealand home every year. While most of these birds are chickens raised for commercial meat production, this large and diverse population also includes many other species such as bantams, ducks, turkeys, geese, game birds (quails, pheasants, squab, and guinea fowl), and large birds (ostriches and emus).
Broadly speaking, the domestic poultry population in New Zealand can be divided into two main groups:
The dividing line between these two groups is based on the total number of female birds that people keep on their property. Any individuals with 100 or more female birds are considered commercial poultry farmers and subject to increased regulatory oversight.
... the average adult in New Zealand consumes about 20 chickens and 237 eggs every year.
Virtually all poultry in New Zealand are chickens raised for either meat or eggs in commercial production systems with a smaller number of backyard birds kept for companionship or supplying household needs.
There are approximately 165 broiler farms in New Zealand that produce about 120 million meat chickens each year. The industry is worth about $800 million to the economy with ~$50 million of the total value coming from export sales.
The commercial broiler industry is highly vertically-integrated. Eggs from pedigree genetic stock are imported into New Zealand and undergo quarantine before joining the Great Grandparent Flocks and Grandparent Flocks maintained by Cobb and Aviagen.
Around 99% of all commercial broiler farms in New Zealand belong to one of the four main processing companies: (1) Tegel, (2) Inghams, (3) Brinks, and (4) Turks. These companies have specific guidelines that their suppliers must adhere to and there is generally good knowledge about the health and performance of these farms at the company level.
These two companies sell into Tegel and Inghams that maintain parent flocks that produce day-old chicks in their hatcheries to supply the approximately 165 broiler farms across New Zealand that produce about 120 million broilers each year. These birds are typically slaughtered at 35 to 42 days of age.
Virtually all commercial broiler farms are registered with the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ), which is an industry association that acts to represent the interests of its members.
The main housing types for broilers are barns where birds are raised exclusively indoors or free-range where chickens are still kept in barns but able to access outdoor areas during the day. About 30% of farms are free-range. Free-range chickens are at higher risk of picking up intestinal parasites, bacteria, and viruses from contact with wildlife in the surrounding area.
There are approximately 170 layer farms across New Zealand that keep about 4 million birds that produce over 1 billion eggs every year. The layer industry is worth about $286 million to the New Zealand economy with 85% of eggs sold as table eggs with the remainder used in the baking and catering industries. About $22.6 million of the total revenue is through export sales mostly to the Pacific Islands and Oceania regions.
The commercial layer industry is highly vertically integrated. New Zealand imports eggs from Great Grandparent flocks overseas which go through a quarantine period. Bromley Park Hatcheries (now owned by Inghams) and Golden Coast Commercial Hatcheries (owned by Tegel) maintain Grandparent flocks and Parent flocks which produce day-old chicks.
Most layer chicks either go to specialist pullet rearers that raise them for 16 to 18 weeks and sell them on to layer farms as point-of-lay pullets when they are about ready to start laying or they are raised directly on the layer farm where they will be raised until they are ready to start laying. Hatcheries also sell small numbers of day-old chicks into the backyard world either through distributors or directly to backyard poultry keepers.
There are approximately 170 layer farms across New Zealand that keep about 4 million birds and produce over 1 billion eggs every year. About 80% of eggs in New Zealand are produced about 20 large commercial farms with the remaining farms in the industry managed by independent owner-operators. Most of the information about the health and performance of layer farms is held at the individual farm level.
Most laying hens are kept through one production cycle until they are about 18 months of age. This is when they typically stop egg production to go through an 8 to 12 week long moult and it’s not economical for producers to keep them during this time period, especially since most laying hens are only 80% as productive in their second laying cycle and will continue to decrease in productivity every year after that.
When hens are retired, about 30% are processed for meat to go into the human food chain or pet products, 60% are euthanised, and 10% are sold into the backyard poultry world as end-of-lay hens either through distributors or directly to backyard poultry keepers. The main reason for euthanising birds rather than processing them for meat is because they usually have eggs inside them which create too much mess at processing plants.
Virtually all commercial layer farms are registered with the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand (EPF), which is an industry association that acts to represent the interests of its members.
In 2018, the Animal Welfare (Layer Hens) Code of Welfare 2012 was updated with new requirements to improve the welfare of laying hens. This included completely phasing out conventional cage systems by 2022 as well as introducing more detailed standards around providing laying hens with appropriate nesting spaces, perches, feed, and water in the other farming systems. Click here to view the final report.
As of December 2022, 34% of farms were free-range, 33% used colony housing, and 33% used barn housing. About 2% of layer farms meet the requirements for producing organic eggs. The Animal Welfare (Layer Hens) Code of Welfare 2018 is scheduled for another review within the next year.
Colony housing is when birds are raised indoors in enclosures that can hold a maximum of 60 hens. This allows much more space and environment enrichment than conventional cages that house only 3 to 7 birds.
Chickens raised in barn housing have the freedom to move around the entire indoor space and there are usually dedicated areas for allowing them to perch, scratch, and nest.
Free-range housing is when layers have access to a barn environment at all times as well as the ability to access outdoor areas during daylight hours through specialised doors called pop holes in the side of the barn. Free-range birds are also at higher risk of getting parasites and infectious diseases from contact with wild birds when they are outside. Free-range farms can qualify as being organic if they avoid the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, antibiotics, and growth promoters.
In July 2019, the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand (EPF) launched Trace My Egg as a traceability programme that allows consumers to find out more information about the farm where their eggs were produced using the 5-digit code stamped on the shell. It is voluntary for farmers to participate in the programme and as of January 2024, about 20% of layer farms producing 60% to total eggs in the country were enrolled in the programme.
The letters at the beginning of the code indicate whether the eggs were from hens raised in free-range (FR), barn (BN), colony (CL), or organic (OR) production systems.
There is a growing demand for turkey which is moving beyond the traditional seasonal Christmas demand and there are approximately 11 commercial farms mostly located in the South Island that produce 250,000 turkeys every year.
Duck meat and eggs are also gaining in popularity although there is currently only 1 major commercial duck company in New Zealand with several farms that collectively produce over 500,000 meat ducks every year.
Backyard poultry owners in New Zealand are a very diverse group ranging from casual keepers that maintain small flocks as a source of eggs and companionship to devoted enthusiasts who breed and show their birds as a way of sharing their love for poultry with others. Little is known about the size of the backyard poultry population, but estimates suggest that there could be as many as 50,000 households across New Zealand that keep a total of over 500,000 birds.
The main regulations around keeping backyard poultry are set locally by individual city councils. These usually include restrictions around the number and type of birds that can be kept as well as general guidelines around how poultry should be housed and maintained.
All backyard poultry keepers are expected to keep their birds in conditions that meet standards set by the Code of Welfare. However, many owners are not aware of what their birds need to stay happy and healthy. This is likely leading to significant medical and behavioural issues in their flock that could have easily been prevented. Very few backyard poultry owners currently seek advice from a veterinarian when setting up their flock or when concerns arise so there is also very little information is available on the health status of these populations.
While there is currently no national organisation similar to PIANZ or EPF that represents the interests of backyard poultry keepers in New Zealand. there is network of poultry clubs across the country dedicated to the breeding and showing of these birds. These groups have done a lot of work raising standards for poultry and communicating with their members.
If you want to find out more about this fascinating world, check out the 2017 documentary Pecking Order. There are also many Facebook groups that have been set-up to allow exchange of information between poultry owners. However, most discussions are not moderated by poultry experts and the advice or recommendations that are given should be taken with caution.
A 2011 study by Anderson and colleagues took samples of manure from 291 backyard poultry flocks in urban and rural regions in Canterbury, New Zealand to look for Campylobacter jejuni, a bacteria that causes many notifiable cases of gastrointestinal disease in people.They found that 86% of flocks tested positive meaning that people in the household were potentially at risk of getting sick from contact with the manure or contamination of any meat or eggs they may have consumed from poultry in their flock.
A 2019 study by Cowie and Gartrell found that more than half of eggs sampled from 30 backyard poultry flocks contained lead levels that were high enough to be concerning for human health if they were consumed. Levels were higher in eggs produced on properties with homes built before 1941 and homes that were constructed from weatherboard, which was most likely related to chickens foraging around yards that were contaminated with lead.
For more information on how to keep you and your family safe from disease issues affecting poultry flocks, check out our Keeping Your Family Safe section.
All commercial poultry farms are under the direct oversight of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and must (1) adhere to appropriate codes of welfare in the Animal Welfare Act and (2) maintain a Risk Management Programme (RMP) to identify and eliminate any potential hazards that could affect human health, animal health, and/or the wholesomeness of the resulting products. These farms are regularly audited by MPI to ensure that they are meeting the basic standards.
There are some backyard poultry keepers with less than 100 birds who sell eggs as a source of supplemental income. While they are still expected to meet basic animal welfare standards, most are exempt from having an RMP and are not subject to audits as long as they only sell their eggs directly to the people who will be consuming them. Backyard poultry keepers cannot legally sell eggs to anyone who intends to sell them to someone else or who will use them to prepare food that is sold to someone else (i.e. shops or cafes). This is mainly to protect consumers since these farms have not been audited to make sure they meet food safety standards.
The commercial poultry industry has two organisations that represent the interests of their farmers: the Poultry Industry Association of New Zealand (PIANZ) for the commercial broiler, turkey, and duck industries and the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand (EPF) for the commercial layer industry. Although registration is voluntary, almost every commercial poultry farm in New Zealand belongs to one of these organisations.
There is currently no national organisation representing the interests of backyard poultry keepers.
New Zealand is a unique country in that it’s currently free of most important infectious poultry diseases including highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), Newcastle Disease, infectious coryza, avian chlamydiosis, and infectious bursal disease (IBD).
The commercial industry has a good surveillance system in place that involves:
Surveillance in backyard poultry mostly depends on keepers identifying sick birds and then either directly notifying the MPI disease reporting hotline or taking their birds to a veterinarian for examination.
Over the past 10 years, there have only been three significant disease incidents:
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