Chicken Lady, I found one of them, there were two or three, but this was the first. I have found, since writing this, that my girls eat less grain in the summer when they are free-ranging. But you also have to factor into the cost of the eggs the cost of keeping hens when they are not laying, if you do not cull them during the molt, etc:
We will have a limited number of eggs for sale, hoping to defray the upkeep costs of the girls. Right now it will be $3/dozen or $4/dozen-and-a-half. If you want some, please call or e-mail me to reserve, and I will leave them on my porch for pick-up or bring them to the office with me. We now know why the price of eggs is so high...the price of corn has skyrocketed due to demand from pellet/corn stove users.
Our eggs are not fully organic, but close. Our chickens are pastured and cruelty-free. (Free-range and cage-free means the chickens are not stuffed into cages, but it does not mean they are free to scamper about in a field. They are still confined and often very overcrowded, and any time outdoors is usually on a tiny dirt lot. Organic eggs may be from overcrowded hens, it is just that they are fed organic grain. I never knew this until recently.) Even right now, the hens go out and forage most days and actually find green stuff to eat.
Our eggs are not from "vegetarian" chickens, either. Chickens are NOT vegetarians, so this is not a natural diet for them. Commercially, laying hens are killed after one laying season, so their long-term health is not a concern. Many operations will even starve the hens when production drops off, to trick their bodies into a few more weeks of a daily egg. Those who survive the starvation period, that is. Yikes.
The main reason that egg-layers are not pastured but rather crowded inside is that they burn more energy moving around and need more feed, and lay fewer eggs. However, the eggs are HIGHLY nutritious, a superfood. Very low in cholesterol and high in Vitamin A and omega III's. So no more egg-white omelets!
Oops, didn't mean to do a sales pitch, as we will have a limited number available....oh, and a few are green and blue! Will try to put a couple in every dozen, as available. We also appreciate your saved egg cartons! Come visit the girls some time, just call ahead, please...
Cock-a-doodle-doo!