How do I know if the eggs I buy are.....

[BirdBrain]

not from poor hens in cages or living in very tight uncomfortable quarters. Lastnight I was telling my husband about the battery hens that Livstock 101 rescued. I told him the whole thought of the situation she discovered just made me sick.

My DH asked me what I wanted to do about it. I said "not buy eggs that come from such a place". But that has left me wondering where exactly I can get eggs from chickens who are humanely treated. My mom has decided that she thinks 2 of the 5 roos I got as extras from Ideal are really hens. I am still trying to persuade her to keep them for eggs and possibly one of the roos. She is slowly warming up to the idea. I can't legally have chickens here in our subdivision--I have a next door neighbor on one side who seems to be of a litigious nature and the other could care less if I had chickens.

Since I can't have chickens right now, what can I do?

When I was at Wal-mart today I was confused with all the different seals on the egg cartons. I finally bought the one that said "cage-free", but I know that is no guarantee that they are treated humanely.

Is there anyone on the north side of Houston who has fresh eggs to sell who would be interested in another client?

Cheri, do you sell eggs?

If ya'll have any good ideas, I would sure appreciate some help. I just hate the idea of perpetuating such awful treatment of chickens, or any animal for that matter.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Try a local farmer's market or a farm market (local farm that sells their produce directly to the public). Expect to pay between $2.50-7.00 per dozen. Yes the local organic grower here in Austin charges a whopping $3.50 per half dozen of organic eggs. Maybe you can check at a local feed store to find out if they know of anyone who sells eggs or who has extra poultry. There might even be some co-op or community garden type situations out there. Good luck. I love my humanely raised backyard eggs.

 

[hinkjc]

Well, all I can say is buy from a local farmer where you can see the birds roaming "free". That is the only sure bet. I don't trust any eggs in the stores, regardless of how they are marked.

I've been to an organic store and they even posted pictures of how their birds are "pastured" in stuffed little tractors on field grass. While to some, that is better than battery cages, but still not good enough for me. I want to know my hens could pick and choose whatever yummies they ate that day from foraging freely on my farm and with free access to proper food to suplement what they need.

I was also told that cage free simply means they are not in a battery cage (individual small confinement cages). They could still be stuck inside a coop with no access to outdoors, free to run about on the floor of the coop. That is cage free to many...not me. JMHO

Jody

 

[BirdBrain]

I have to agree that cage free does not necessarily mean they were treated well. I guess I need to call a couple of the local feed stores and see what they can do for me. I looked up the company name when I got home from shopping and they are an outfit in Gonzales, TX. I have been through that town and seen the poultry barns. I don't think the birds that layed the eggs I bought were treated any better than the others. Sigh!

 

[mom'sfolly]

I've bought eggs from the farmers market before mine were laying. The lady I bought my eggs from definitly had true free ranging chickens. We talked about them peering in the windows and such like. I've started reading the Omnivore's Dilemna, and have stopped for fear of never eating again. The local organic farm market has a great set up for their birds and hosts a seminar each year for people interested in backyard poultry. A farmer's market would be the best bet, I think.

Karen

 

[BirdBrain]

Thanks!! I'll do some looking tomorrow. I keep hoping that someone from BYC lives near me and would like to sell me some.

Anyone out there in North Houston?

 

[poppycat]

I also think that a farmers market of someone from BYC would be your best bet. I think if I had no access to eggs that were raised by a small farmer I would opt for the "cage free" or "free range" eggs. While I think that those methods aren't ideal, they're not quite the same as battery cages.
Every dollar you spend on food is a "vote" for where it comes from. Unfortunately it's a double edged sword. Meat and eggs that are truly raised humanely are often prohibatively expensive and will remain that way until there is a larger market for it.

Hugs to you for thinking about this and caring enough to make a wise decision.

Oh, one more thought, some small health food stores or feed stores carry eggs from small local farmers, another place to look.

 

[livestock101]

I will agree with all the others. If your unable to find eggs near you from a local farmer or such, I would opt to purchase eggs that are marked "cage free" or "free range". Yes, it's very likely that eggs marked this way mean that the chickens never see daylight BUT they also aren't in little cages like I saw recently. Most "cage free" chickens are allowed to run around on the floor and lay in nest boxes. In my opinion that's better than the caged ones. It's not the greatest life for a chicken but they're luckier than other confined chickens.

I admire you for doing something about the eggs you eat.

 

[asher]

Google about those cage free eggs.

They're truly not what we consider cage free at all.

Mind you, my birds are not cage free, but they are way happier than the ones advertised as cage free on egg cartons, I wager.

(I'd rather mine be caged than dead from predators, though!

)

 

[WoodlandWoman]

These links may help:

Eat Wild
http://www.eatwild.com/index.html

Local Harvest
http://www.localharvest.org/