Stress free (not exactly that wording, but the concept) is something that we often talk about when selling our eggs, and I do believe, at least in my terms of "stress free," is a factor that affects our eggs. We have over 90 chickens, but still, they are free ranged, everyone has a name and a known personality, and I'm always home, and visit them at LEAST once a day. I really do love my chickens, even if they do have some faults of some kind, and I certainly am not the type to breed or look for superior egg production. I mean, my dark egg layers and crested Polish probably lay the least of all my breeds, and I'm certainly not complaining! Their beauty and their eggs' beauty is worth the wait. . . I'm in it for the chickens, not their eggs.
Another thing, of course, is that our birds don't get bored with a small coop or simple grass pasture. . . We've got plenty of new areas a lot of them have yet to even explore, we've got a big coop, and of course a big variety through our pasture. Hills, cliffs, trees, stumps, piles of twigs/logs, shrubby areas, all sorts of stuff.
And then the other big importance is a natural diet, which does play a role in stress. Beyond their foraging findings, I supplement the girls your average corn, soy, and wheat filled Commercial Layer feed like everyone else for the time being, but come next spring I'll be growing my own heirloom crops and supplying what I cannot grow in organic, non GMO feed form. I will especially be growing crops that are more natural to the original chicken breeds from South America, such plants like Quinoa, Amaranth, and original colored corn.
I believe stress, in the form of a chicken wanting what it naturally should have (area to roam, natural diet, some form of communication with its owner, an environment beyond a flat land of grass, fresh air to breath) is indeed a factor in how good one's eggs are.
Another thing, of course, is that our birds don't get bored with a small coop or simple grass pasture. . . We've got plenty of new areas a lot of them have yet to even explore, we've got a big coop, and of course a big variety through our pasture. Hills, cliffs, trees, stumps, piles of twigs/logs, shrubby areas, all sorts of stuff.
And then the other big importance is a natural diet, which does play a role in stress. Beyond their foraging findings, I supplement the girls your average corn, soy, and wheat filled Commercial Layer feed like everyone else for the time being, but come next spring I'll be growing my own heirloom crops and supplying what I cannot grow in organic, non GMO feed form. I will especially be growing crops that are more natural to the original chicken breeds from South America, such plants like Quinoa, Amaranth, and original colored corn.
I believe stress, in the form of a chicken wanting what it naturally should have (area to roam, natural diet, some form of communication with its owner, an environment beyond a flat land of grass, fresh air to breath) is indeed a factor in how good one's eggs are.
