21:21 29 March 2016
Bosses at Yorkshire Farmhouse Eggs have discovered that their hens lay more and better quality eggs when listening to Ed Sheeran’s songs.
Adrian Potter, who manages the family-own business, said that the 25-year-old singer’s tunes helped keep their hens “calm and relaxed” as they layed eggs.
He said: “One of the comfort techniques we are keen on is playing music for the hens to listen to at key moments during the day keeping them as mellow and productive as possible.
“The music they respond to most positively is Ed Sheeran and they lay more and better quality eggs.
“He was born just down the road in Hebden Bridge and the hens seem to be huge fans - when Ed is playing the hens start laying!”
“Pampering our hens is important because quite simply, happy hens produce better quality eggs and more of them.
“In addition to feeding them well, keeping the temperature comfortable and giving them space to move around, the hens enjoy a few extra luxuries, which in turn also helps to increase the quality and amount of eggs they produce.”
“Nobody at the farm calls him Ed Sheeran anymore - he’ll forever be Egg Sheeran around here.”
Meanwhile, Rebecca Long, buying manager for Asda, said: “All the farmers that we work with share our ethos and know that they get out what they put in to looking after their hens.
“We champion innovation and best practice in hen welfare, so playing music, especially songs by Ed Sheeran it seems, to help keep hens relaxed is great.”