The Truth About Free Range Eggs

Do you ever go to the grocery store to pick up a dozen eggs and suddenly get overwhelmed by all of the labels you find?

Free range, pasture raised, cage free, all natural, organic…….What do they all mean?!

It can be confusing and frustrating!

I like to be able to buy a dozen eggs and know exactly what goes into them, if they're healthy and safe for my family, instead of walking away wondering if I picked the right label!

White Eggs.  I know, they’re cheap. But you get what you pay for. Roughly 95% of store eggs come from huge chicken houses where hens are crammed into small cages, rows upon rows, fed a steady diet of layer feed which could include anything from actual grains to animal waste and feces.  Soooo gross. And, in case of disease, the hens are also fed additional antibiotics.  Not a very happy life.  

Cage Free Eggs are not much better.  Large chicken houses are filled with chickens that are not inside small cages, but still raised inside a confined, over-populated environment, no access to outdoors, and fed the same or similar diet as the chickens above.  

Free Range Eggs are cage free hens that are given access to a small caged in an outer area connected to their confined, industrial chicken house.  So basically, there are thousands of chickens in a small space that can walk through a small door leading to say, a 10 x 10 foot enclosed outer area.  Yeah, that wasn't your idea of free range, was it?

Vegetarian Fed means nothing at all, except the hens are still in a chicken house and given a purely grain diet with some added vitamins and nutrients.  And, in case you wondered, chickens are NOT vegetarians.

Organic Eggs.  This is probably the most misleading label.  Organic only means the hens have been feed a diet of organic feed.  Their living environment is pretty much the same as the others.

Pasture Raised is typically the best egg you can get in the super market.  However many times, even though these hens are living a life outdoors, they can still be in an overcrowded environment.

SO, HOW ABOUT OUR FARM FRESH, PASTURE RAISED, FREE RANGE, ORGANIC EGGS?

If you’ve ever tried our eggs, you'll notice that the yolks are darker, almost orange.  Our girls have full access to 80 acres, where they feast on bugs, grass, weeds, and seeds.  The thick, dark orange yolk means a healthier egg, high in nutritional value.  In your store bought egg, the yolk breaks easily, even though you’re very careful with it.  And a pale yellow yolk with a runny white means it’s lower in vitamins and minerals. You’re not getting any of the nutritional benefits an egg should supply.

(high-quality store bought eggs on the left and our pasture raised eggs on the right)

Pasture raised eggs from the farm are:

• lower in cholesterol

• have less saturated fat

• higher in vitamins A, E and D

• higher in omega-3 fatty acids

• higher in beta carotene

• richer in flavor

• fresher (store eggs can be up to 100 days old)

Customers have told me that Rare Breed Farms' eggs are the best they've ever had!  We sell out quickly, so our eggs are fresh, no more than a few days old!  

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN OUR OTHER CUSTOMERS WHO LOVE OUR HEALTHY EGGS FROM HENS THAT ARE TRULY FREE RANGE, THEN EMAIL OR VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE!

Your Friendly Farmer,

Tabitha