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.

[goatlady]

FB, I would be most interested in where you got your information that laying mash can have estrogen in it. A laying chicken's egg producing hormone is triggered by light striking the eyes and it biologically takes approximately 24 hours for a chicken's body to manufacturer an egg, so no matter how much ovulation happens you wil get 1 egg every 24 hours approximately. Hormones in any form added to poultry feed is illegal.

From the North Carolina Poultry Newsletter..."There are a number of reasons why hormones are not used in the poultry industry. In the United States, European Economic Community, and most other developed countries there are extremely strict controls concerning the use of hormones and hormone-like substances against their use in animal feeds. In other words it is illegal." Also..."Currently there are no growth hormones FDA approved for poultry including chicken."

[Forest Beekeeper]

Are you aware of the nations's #1 estrogen source for females seeking dietary HRT?

Can anyone say soy?

Layer feed available in this area is mostly soy.

Estrogen is not 'added' because that is illegal. Besides why add estrogen to estrogen?



Yes you can make the argument that soy also has some protein in it. However compared to using other protein sources, the others pound-for-pound of protein still do not produce as much eggs as using soy does.

Other sources of protein [like bloodmeal] simply do not have the estrogen that soy has.



What are the ingredients of your layer feed?

:)

[goatlady]

Ah, gotcha - but soy contains the estrogen hormone Precursor which in a mammal body IS converted to estrogen, but not in avian or reptile bodies. I personally have NO soy products on my homestead, never have, never will. especially since now days almost ALL soy is GM soy and the extra protein is not worth purchasing organic soy meal. My layers get cracked corn only in their feeder in the coop and they free range from dawn to dusk and produce a egg every 24 hours per hen at their present age of 5 years! They do range in the goat barn and scarff up dropped alfalfa from the goat feeders plus turning the compost pile for me cleaning up any insects and/or seeds in the compost plus they range all over the pasture and woods. They only need 17% protein to maintain good egg production. Plus in a pinch I can grow the corn necessary to keep them producing.