Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago

East Otago

East Otago is the name given to that part of Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand that lies directly to the north of Dunedin. To the south, its limit is approximately the rough hill pass of the Kilmog, 25 kilometres north of Dunedin city centre, and in the north the limit is the Shag River.The...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, within the city limits of Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River

Waikouaiti River

240px|thumb|Waikouaiti River estuary at [[Karitane]]; fishing wharf and channel to the [[Pacific Ocean]] at right, [[Matanaka]] headland at left background....

.

Today, Waikouaiti is a retail trade and servicing centre for the surrounding district, which has sheep farming as the principal primary activity. A major egg producer, Zeagold Foods, a branch of Mainland Poultry LTD has a 500,000-hen factory farming

Factory farming

Factory farming is a term referring to the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a factory — a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption...

 operation here and is in the process of expanding over the next year to meet demand for egg products.