09/06/2024
What makes these eggs so much better than what you get at the grocery store?
The difference in quality, flavor, and nutrition in farm fresh eggs compared to eggs from battery hens all comes down to the diet and living conditions of the hen. A vast majority of hens who lay the eggs you find in grocery stores are confined to cages or poultry houses for the entirety of their lives. Their beaks are often clipped so that they don’t injure each other in these stressful conditions. Even cage free hens spend their days indoors inside large poultry houses.The same goes for grocery store eggs labeled as “free range” – in the commercial egg industry free range really only means they live outside of cages in large poultry houses - that have a door with access to the outside. It doesn’t mean the hens are raised in a field foraging for bugs -and there are no requirements for the amount of space these hens each have.
Eggs that come from hens raised in these conditions are higher in cholesterol and saturated fat - are far older than those you can get from a local farmer- and are lower in calcium, vitamin D, Lutein, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and Omega 3 fatty acids too.
Our hens are all raised to have unlimited access to the outdoors during daylight hours, each chicken in my coop has well over the minimum space requirement for both indoor and outdoor living spaces, when I’m home they get to go out and safely forage for bugs and consume many different types of grains and grasses, I can tell you each hens name - her likes and dislikes- as well as which egg she lays.
The eggs laid by my hens and those raised in similar conditions are higher in vitamin D, Lutein, Calcium, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and Omega 3 fatty acids. My hens live far happier lives than those in commercial settings and the eggs they lay are far more nutritious for you and your family!