I once worked on a chicken farm and had seen how they were being cramped in cages, suffering and dying with sickness, being shot up with medicine, mistreated and abused by workers, and thought to myself "I buy this from stores? This is not right!" So for a while I didn't eat store bought chickens or eggs. The thought of eating that made me sick to my stomach. So about a year after moving to the country egg prices were rising (3 growing kids and a husband would eat about 4 dozen per week) and I thought why not cut out the middle man (store). I can do this. So after about 2 years so far things are great. We started with 18 chicks, hatched some eggs from them, bought a few more, hatched some more, and now we have about 75 hens and roos, and 5 ducks. I now eat humanely treated chickens and wonderful tasting eggs. My chickens are allowed to run free, eat and drink anytime they choose, and they will never be mistreated. My children have learned responsibility and compassion. Life is great for ALL of us. I love it.