Wegmans' form letter

So far (as of September 2005), Wegmans Consumer Affairs has been responding to customer inquiries with the following form letter, which we received on July 15, 2005. Please see our commentary.

Wegmans has operated its own egg farm since 1967.  Three generations of
the Wadsworth family have managed the farm.  

Our farm is certified through United Egg Producer's Animal Care
Certified Program, a program based on the recommendations of an
independent panel of experts and researchers in the field of animal
science.  As we have said many times over, we believe it is wrong to
mistreat animals.  It also doesn't make sense for us to harm the very
animals that supply our eggs. 
 
We apologize for the length, but we want to share some specifics with
you:

* The UEP guidelines, some of which are phased in over time, call
  for cages that provide approximately 67 square inches of space per bird
  by 2008.  All of our houses provide 67 square inches or more today,
  with four to seven chickens in each cage.

* Fresh feed is available throughout the day in a trough along the
  length of each cage.  An emergency system supplies power for lighting,
  watering, ventilation, feeding, egg collection and manure removal in case
  of power loss.

* Our chickens are beak trimmed between 7 and 10 days of age, as
  recommended by the UEP program.  Beak trimming is necessary because
  chickens can be aggressive with one another, causing injury.  Trained
  specialists trim the very tips of the chicks' beaks.  The chicks begin
  eating and drinking immediately after their beaks are trimmed which
  indicates they're not in pain.

* Occasionally, to rearrange a flock schedule, we will molt, but
  we do not withhold feed.  Instead we change the composition of the feed. 
  The process takes about two weeks, which is a week longer than it would
  take if feed were withheld.

* A Cooperative Extension veterinarian routinely monitors the condition
  of the birds and is called if there is a problem that needs immediate
  attention. 

* In our older houses, which will all be replaced by 2010, the
  back wall of the lower cages is slanted and covered by a plastic
  deflection sheet, which prevents manure droppings from falling into the
  lower cages.  The manure is removed and stored on another area of the
  farm.  It is used as fertilizer on our fields (we grow the corn that is
  used for feed) or sold as fertilizer to local farmers.

* Beetles are added to the manure pits in the older laying houses
  as a natural way to control flies. 

* Our newer houses do not have manure pits; a conveyor system
  beneath each row of cages removes the manure every day.  A system of air
  tubes and blowers dries the manure on the conveyors.  Again, all of our
  houses will be of this type by 2010.

* Occasionally a bird will escape its cage and get into the pit
  area.  Rarely do they get stuck in the manure as the activists' video
  showed.  It has been many months since this last occurred.  Loose birds
  are discovered during the caretakers' twice-daily walkthrough.  They are
  cleaned and returned to their cages.

* Cages in environmentally controlled laying houses prevent birds
  from exposure to diseases that may be present on farmland.  Eggs laid by
  chickens in cages are also cleaner than eggs laid on the barnyard floor.

* Biosecurity is a major concern, especially the threat of avian
  influenza.  For that reason, we restrict access to our laying houses. 
  Those who must go in wear proper clothing and follow certain procedures. 
  By breaking into our laying house (on three different occasions), the
  activists put the safety of the flock at risk.