Free-range hens

Hens are Pazo de Vilane’s raison d’être. Their well-being directly depends on their life conditions. We support open-air rearing because it is how birds live according to their nature and rhythms.

Therefore, birds must eat freely since, like that, they can regulate themselves by providing their body with the nutrients they need for their well-being. Their activity and the temperature change increase their appetite and that derives into a better feeding and, hence, a better egg laying. Their bones are strengthened by exercise and the vitamin D acquired by sun exposure. A well-fed hen naturally develops its whole egg-laying capacity and the proper egg size. Freedom ensures the hen’s whole body works better and in a healthier way.

Happy and healthy hens at Pazo de Vilane

Foraging makes hens grow happier and healthier. What’s more, plant intake provides hens with nutrients, fibres and amino acids, which end up in their free-range eggs. For that reason, it is easy to notice a thicker consistency, a more intense aroma and a characteristic flavour.

Apart from making sure they go out to the fields every day, we also guarantee that the quality of the cereals they eat is the best in the market. We also take care of the nests’ maintenance and of the coops’ environment so the animals can feel comfortable and are in the best possible conditions. The experience gained through the years has provided the knowledge of what the best thing for our hens is.

Pazo de Vilane project was created in the late 90s when the Varela-Portas family went back to the family manor in Antas de Ulla (Lugo) with the purpose of restoring it after 20 years without dwellers. Since then, we have been working on finding the best way to obtain free-range eggs at our poultry farms in Galicia. We started the production with 50 hens and with perseverance, effort and enthusiasm, we have been growing ever since without forgetting our beginnings and principles. Our farms –smaller and more sustainable– are our clear commitment to going back to the roots and bringing back the traditional flavours and the natural products. Our work consists in obtaining the best free-range eggs in the market while improving our hens’ well-being. Care and sensitivity towards animals and a daily supervision and dedication impact health in a beneficial way.

The free-range eggs that leave our farms always come from hens reared in the Galician open fields. Each bird has an area of 4 square metres in the open field, meaning that a small lot of 5,000 birds has 20,000 square metres of land available, i.e., the size of two football pitches.

The climate and natural environment in A Ulloa shire, where we are based in, are perfect for free-range rearing. Its soft summers, with a maximum average temperature of 24 degrees, and its rainy winters provide 365 days of green pasture, the best landscape for the animals’ well-being and for obtaining free-range eggs of a high quality.

If you eat Pazo de Vilane’s free-range eggs, you are opting for eggs that come from a pasture-raised animal within the maximum welfare conditions.