Liang Kee Farming

Liang Kee Farming

Liang Kee Farming, Perak, Malaysia

Liang Kee Farming, like most traditional laying hen farms, had always used conventional caged systems to produce eggs. However, around three years ago, Tan Leng Yee, the businesses’ manager and a third generation family farmer, started to change the laying hen management system. A part of the farm, located in the city of Kampar, state of Perak, Malaysia, produces close to 300 thousand eggs per day. Here Tan began to adopt a free-range system with a small portion of the birds, raised without cages, in two houses on the farm. Laying hens have free access to an outside range for at least 6 hours per day depending on the weather conditions.This pilot production at Liang Kee Farming meets all the requirements for cage free free-range systems. Laying hens here are Free-range and receive a minimum outdoor space requirement of 0.19 sqm per bird (5.2 birds per sqm) to meet the Humane Farm Animal Care Standards.

Healthier and Happier Birds

“I started to explore the cage free system first as a personal experiment and for my own family´s consumption of eggs. School students came to visit our farm and I realized that their feedback was very positive in support of the Free-range system,” explains Tan. He also says that people tell him eggs are tastier and that the chickens seem to be healthier and happier in this kind of environment.

Like many other producers, Tan heard about the Certified Humane® label while researching egg production. He always wanted to differentiate his production from the traditional ones. That was when he realized that he needed to invest in quality regardless of the quantity. “We farmers see a lot of chemicals, antibiotics, and growth hormones being used to increase production at the lowest costs. I always told my children and relatives avoid this type of product. On my farm, we use the best feed ingredients for animals,” says Tan.

Liang Kee Farming Values Animal Welfare

Tan Leng Yee believes in the importance of animal welfare for his operation. “Like any other thing, if you treat the animals well, they will treat you well in return, “he says. For Tan, there are many benefits to investing in animal welfare such as higher quality food, preservation of the environment, and less use of unnecessary medications – such is the food supply chain. Additionally, the product has more added-value and the producer may establish a higher price for his product when animal welfare practices are in place. Everybody wins.

On the laying hen farm, employees receive proper training and Tan makes sure to guarantee that they are happy with their work. “This is the best ingredient to create animal welfare. Happy employees have happier attitudes… and the result is happier chickens.”

The pilot production at Liang Kee Farming is still small but it has a large growth potential. “I am happy to receive the Certified Humane label. HFAC is aligned with the philosophy of my company, since we both believe that animal welfare achieves larger production and profits. I am pretty sure that the eggs on my farm stand out among the rest,” concludes Tan.