Our chickens do indeed provide us with eggs. Many Eggs. Our chickens provide 4 to 5 dozen
eggs a week!
It's a highlight of the day to watch a chicken emerge from where ever she is nesting, strut
about, and then proclaim over and over how awesome she is for laying such a great egg. It never fails
to raise a smile. They are so proud of those eggs!
Our chickens are free range, never caged, and generally live the life
of Riley. They receive organic chicken food on free offer, but actually get most of their food from
foraging, eating the selected table scraps we give them, going through the compost heap, picking up worms
while we weed, snapping flies out of the air and more. Because the chickens are free range, they
can be caught by the local coyotes. For a story about that, visit the page about
Marti.
However, our dog, Jaska, does a pretty good job of protecting
them!
If you would like to pick up some eggs, email or call ahead to check on availability.
See the side bar for contact methods and our hours. We usually
have eggs, but our flock is small and eggs go fast around holiday times.
Our Eggs
We are pretty minimalist at FoxDog Farm when it comes to egg care. We collect eggs at least
once a day, clean the eggs by brushing them off and put them straight into the refrigerator. Once in a
while a hen will move her laying place. Free range hens don't always lay in the nesting boxes we
provide. When she moves the place, it might take us a few days to find it. However, the eggs are
never more than a few days old once collected. Hens like to lay in dry, dark, comfy spots, so the eggs
are well kept as they wait for us to come fetch them.
Did you know that eggs don't really need refrigeration? In our climate, even in the summer, refrigeration
isn't entirely necessary. However, we like the eggs refrigerated and so we continue to do so.
We don't wash the eggs in water. We just brush them off. This means sometimes the eggs have some
dirt on them. The reason we don't wash the eggs is pretty simple. Eggs are laid with a one way barrier
which stops material going into the egg (through the egg shell) but allows the contents of the egg to
breath. Washing removes this barrier. Commercial eggs have a sealant, usually a food grade oil of some
kind, put onto the egg after it is mechanically washed. We aren't interested in this step. Our eggs
are at least 2 or 3 weeks fresher than the freshest you can get at the grocery store. We expect them to be
eaten within a week or two. If the egg shell is dirty, please wash it under cool to lukewarm tap water
right before you use it. That way you won't get any dirt into your food inadvertently.
You can use the egg shells for calcium supplements for plants. Just bury them at
the roots. You can compost the shells. Dogs also like to eat them. If
you sterilize them in a hot oven for about 10 minutes, you can even feed them to your chickens! We don't
do this currently as the chickens get plenty of nutrients free ranging.
Chicken and Egg Information
Mother Earth
News has sponsored a study on free range versus confinement (or grocery store 'free range') eggs.
Not surprising to us, the real free range eggs are greatly superior. Here's
another link to the article
in pdf format.
Interesting facts about
chickens and eggs from the backyard chicken site.
Eggs For Sale
Our Eggs
You Knew There Had to be Pics of Eggs!
