Farm Fresh Eggs & Chicken Chasing

Thanks to Home Farm Ideas for the use of their image. Check out their site for more farm ideas at www.homefarmideas.com.

The statistics they listed are from a study comparing farm fresh eggs vs. store bought (commercial) eggs. The link for this article:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/free-range-eggs-zmaz07onzgoe
Can you believe the difference?! Farm fresh eggs are so much healthier for you. You'd have to be an egghead not to switch to farm fresh!

Just as important as these statistics are though- is how the animals are treated. Are they given a humane life that resembles their natural habitat- or are they cooped up in tiny cages together with their beaks clipped?

This is a picture of our girls on the right. They know when I come out in the morning, it's time for a small handful of treats. I feed our hens an organic/soy free feed, but they also get plenty of access to healthy plants, bugs, and whatever other goodies they can find (chickens will eat small rodents, amphibians, and more!). 

It's been an adventure having chickens. You get attached to them, and they all have different personalities. Some are friendly and bold, others just like to stand back and watch you. They can be trained (has anyone seen the chicken that can play the light up piano?!). When our chickens die, or we have to take them out- it's sad, but we realize it's part of the cycle. We don't feel as bad because we know they enjoyed their lives, played outside, and were able to actually be chickens. 

Let me encourage you for your health, and the welfare of these animals- buy local. Look into the person who is raising eggs and see how they treat their animals. What do they give them to eat? Do they enjoy raising them? There are so many sources for local and free range eggs now. Be aware though- natural, organic, and even free range eggs commercially available have very poor standards for their birds. They often can still be caged!! This is another article for another time... but look into all of it if you can- your health and their health is worth the small investment.