Question for the egg experts

[Parakeet]

Recently, I found an ad on Craigslist for local, farm raised, chicken eggs. After speaking to the owner on the phone, it turns out that she has 500 chickens on a 1 acre lot. I'm guessing that with 500 chickens, they get little to no outside/pasture time. She did say they are fed antibiotic/hormone free corn with occasional kitchen scraps. My question is, are these eggs really any better than the "organic, antibiotic free" eggs I buy from Trader Joe's?

[luvmyvet]

I'm not an egg expert, but sure doesn't sound optimum to me to just be feeding 500 chickens only corn if they are "confined" on 1 acre, organic or not.

[goatlady]

First off, corn does not have antibiotics or hormones in it ever. Laying mash/pellets is the feed that "can" be medicated, but chickens are never fed hormones in any shape or form. No point to that at all with chickens or any poultry for that matter. I personally would not purchase eggs from that "farm" but I do not like cage raised birds/eggs. Even if she contains them in huge runs, there has to be a stress factor involved. As to whether these eggs are better than at Trader Joe's - all depends on if the birds producing TJ's eggs are free ranged or caged or confined.

[Parakeet]

Thank you, this is the exact information I was looking for. I think I'll stick with the TJ eggs for now and, hopefully, I'll come across a local producer in the near future that meets my needs a little better.

[luvmyvet]

parakeet, do you have the room to keep a few of your own chickens?
thats the best way to go imho.

I was just watching the mama hens with all their peeps showing them the water fountains, then a goat baby ran by and all the peeps ran under their mama's wings to hide.
17 peeps under one hen alone and she stood there protecting her babies making menacing mama chicken sounds at the baby goat, it was precious.

[Parakeet]

parakeet, do you have the room to keep a few of your own chickens?
thats the best way to go imho.

I was just watching the mama hens with all their peeps showing them the water fountains, then a goat baby ran by and all the peeps ran under their mama's wings to hide.
17 peeps under one hen alone and she stood there protecting her babies making menacing mama chicken sounds at the baby goat, it was precious.

I wish I could have my own chickens. Unfortunately, according to city codes, our lot doesn't meet the minimum size requirements.

You paint a wonderful picture of your set up. Hopefully, someday, we will be able to have something similar to call home.

[Forest Beekeeper]

A corn only diet? Hmm.

Table scrapes? dream on. One potato skin divided among 500 birds? No way does that count for any percentage of their diet.

A corn only diet does not sound healthy at all, nor would it produce eggs.



I buy layer-feed. It is non-medicated, but it is loaded with estrogen [to cause the girls to ovulate more frequently].

Anyone can purchase medicated layer feed. Sometimes it is cheaper than non-medicated.

I supply two Farmer's Markets. Rubbing elbows with other vendors here, non of them go hormone-free. It is the cheapest layer feed.



There is no crop, I am aware of that in 1-acre of land could produce enough feed to maintain 500 chickens.

Even if you had lush lawn and put the chickens on it, they would strip it down to bare dirt in a month [maybe two months tops]. I have ran chicken-tractors, I have seen how they can strip pasture down to bare dirt.



She may own one acre of land, she may have 500 birds in a series of communal coops. But I suspect their feed comes from bags. And I really doubt that any more than 50% of that is corn.

We have 8 poultry coops, with a dozen birds in each.