Why Buy Local Farm Eggs?

Someone asked me the other day about the benefits of eating farm fresh, free range eggs. My first thought was to tell them that it’s like eating green beans from the garden as compared to ones with Libby on the label. But then, maybe not everyone gets that either. 

So, here are the facts, according to 2 studies done by Mother Earth News in 2005 and 2007. Eggs from hens raised on pasture contain:
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

Our laying hens eat what hens are supposed to eat - grass, seeds, bugs, along with their normal feed, which contains no antibiotics or medications. They have access to the outdoors every single day and have access to roam over an acre of land. (We take pains to keep them out of our garden!)

Eggs bought from a grocery store are from hens that live their short lives in a factory farm in a cage, never seeing the sky and never being able to stretch their legs or their wings. Even labels that say "free range" or "cage free" actually don't mean that the chickens have free access to the outdoors. The USDA has no requirements for chicken houses on what these terms are supposed to mean for laying birds. Often these are uncaged birds living inside a giant warehouse in overcrowded conditions. Because they are so crowded, they are often de-beaked to reduce injury to each other.

Even if you truly don't care about the humane aspect of chicken raising, the fact that free range birds are healthier animals is a big deal! Last fall, some giant factory farms produced eggs contaminated with salmonella. Rodents running rampant through chicken houses can do that. The FDA report from that investigation doesn't paint a pretty farm-like picture:

 "Dark liquid, which appeared to be manure, was observed seeping through the concrete foundation to the outside of the laying houses..."

 “Un-caged birds (chickens having escaped) were observed in the egg laying operation in contact with the egg laying birds at Layer 3 –Houses 9 and 16. The uncaged birds were using the manure, which was approximately 8 feet high, to access the egg laying area. “

 “The live flies were on and around egg belts, feed, shell eggs and walkways in different sections of each egg laying area. In addition, live and dead maggots too numerous to count were observed on the manure pit floor”.

Ew. This is where grocery store eggs come from. Is this what you really want to feed your family?

If all of that isn't enough to convince someone of the benefits of eating local, fresh eggs, then just crack one open. They really do look and taste better!

If you're local to Keller, contact us at fleecefurandfeathers@gmail.com for eggs or to tour the farm. The girls will be happy to visit with you!

2 Roos and a Bevy of Barred Rocks

We made it through the winter and only lost a couple of hens.  Three of our 6 chicks that we hatched late September made it.  We lost 1 of them to a predator, 1 to Luke our livestock guardian dog, and 1 just disappeared.  Of the 3 survivors, 2 are pullets and 1 cockerel.  They are about 5 months old now.

Junior

So, we've got 2 roosters now - Rocky, who is just over a year old and Junior, his son.  I watched this morning as Junior had his way with one of the hens.  While he was ..um...in progress, Rocky came over and knocked him off.   Junior's going to have to learn to be more discreet and get the girls when dad's not looking.  They are both handsome boys and Junior is really starting to look like a chip off the old block.



Rocky





Our girls stopped laying this winter.  We had some really bitter cold weather and egg production halted.  Since we sell lots of eggs, Chet went and got some young Barred Rock pullets a couple of weeks ago.  Not sure what his original plan was, but he came home with 30 of them.  They'll start laying in the next couple of months and we'll be up to our eyeballs in eggs.



In the meantime, with the weather getting spring-like here, our older girls have started to lay again.  We should be back in the egg business very soon.  Unfortunately, feed prices rose over the winter, so we're having to raise prices.  We'll be selling them for $3/dozen.  Email us if you're interested.  We generally have a waiting list.

Last fall, I wrote about a litter of kittens that started hanging around here.  We fed them through the winter and neutered the ones we could catch and actually found a home for 2 of them. They look awfully happy to be in a home and off the streets!