The Truth Behind "Cage-Free" Eggs

[country flock]

Unbelievable! The local grocery store now carries CAGE-FREE eggs! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Buy a few cartons! But do not get too gleeful too fast... The producer's definition of cage-free may be different from yours!
When we see the words "cage-free" we automatically think "free range" right? So these eggs came from free ranged hens.
Not so.
"Cage-free" in commercial terms actually means the hens were not kept strictly to one place. But they weren't "free range" either. They simply had access to the outdoors, but in a, yes, cage-of-some-sort-or-another.
Sorry to disappoint you there, egg-buyer! The best way to get REAL cage-free eggs is to do it on your property!

 

[bbishop]

...

Unbelievable! The local grocery store now carries CAGE-FREE eggs! Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Buy a few cartons! But do not get too gleeful too fast... The producer's definition of cage-free may be different from yours!
When we see the words "cage-free" we automatically think "free range" right? So these eggs came from free ranged hens.
Not so.
"Cage-free" in commercial terms actually means the hens were not kept strictly to one place. But they weren't "free range" either. They simply had access to the outdoors, but in a, yes, cage-of-some-sort-or-another.
Sorry to disappoint you there, egg-buyer! The best way to get REAL cage-free eggs is to do it on your property![/quote I think that they buy a chickens that lay brown eggs and say there cage free just not white in houses

 

[PrairieChickens]

When it comes to storebought eggs, here's what the various terms mean.

Cage Free: Just means the hens aren't kept in battery cages. They may still be confined to the indoors and crammed by the tens of thousands into the windowless coops with no access to the outdoors and never seeing sunlight, but hey, they're not in cages...

Free Range: The chickens have access to the outdoors. They may still be confined to huge coops in mass quantities, and the access to the outdoors may be insufficient for the needs of the population, but there is at least some access to an outdoor enclosure and they might see sunlight at some point in their lives.

Organic: The eggs are certified organic. This means the hens are not confined to cages and have access to the outdoors. They are only fed organic feed. In addition, the chickens cannot be given antibiotics except in the case of an actual infectious outbreak (as compared to other chickens which have to be fed antibiotics constantly to prevent them from succumbing to infection from their crowded, filthy living conditions.) This means by its very design that the chickens can't be kept in the terrible conditions battery hens, cage free hens, and even some "free range" hens are kept in.

Pastured: This is what most people think of when they think "free range". The chickens are provided with access to "pasture"--green grass, wild bugs, fresh air. Hens that are pastured have more nutritious (and higher quality) eggs. Most home-grown chicken eggs are pastured. Pastured does not necessarily mean organic.