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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask you to look at this?

40 replies

falaff · 15/11/2018 00:22

Inspired by the fur post... to please understand the differences between different types of hen eggs on supermarket shelves. And to understand that free range doesn't = happy hen.

I know organic eggs are expensive, but if just a few people make the change, if you can, it makes a difference.

I keep chickens and they are lovely little creatures. They deserve to have happy lives like anything else.

These graphics are from Riverford Organic Farmers and came up on my Facebook.

To ask you to look at this?
To ask you to look at this?
To ask you to look at this?
OP posts:
Talith · 15/11/2018 00:29

Thank you. I wasn't aware. I only buy free range anyway but will make sure I seek out organic.

Streambeam · 15/11/2018 00:31

Thank you! Are the Happy Egg company organic?

Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 00:35

I can only see that Happy Egg are free range but I think they are better than most - hard to navigate their website for a proper answer!

Also if you like chickens:

:)

OP posts:
Oddsocksandmeatballs · 15/11/2018 00:35

Sad thing is they almost all come to the same end, caged, free-range, organic all meet the same slaughter at the very young age of around 72 weeks.

Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 00:40

I know. I have my own girls, and if you have room, ex battery chooks are so lovely to keep. The good news is that some of them are rehoused; I often see posts advetising ex batts and they are inundated with requests!

Here are some of my girls!

To ask you to look at this?
OP posts:
busbottom · 15/11/2018 00:43

I didn't know either. Just thought free range were good.

Will definitely change to organic, what a difference.

Thank you

Oddsocksandmeatballs · 15/11/2018 00:43

I have 10 chickens, 5 are ex-battery hens when they first arrived on 9th Sept they looked like oven-ready chickens on legs. As you can see in the second photo eight weeks on they had feather and have learned to chicken like a chicken should my grass will never recover.

Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 00:45

:)

OP posts:
Oddsocksandmeatballs · 15/11/2018 00:46

What gorgeous girls! They are amazing creatures aren't they @falaff , such characters. I have a fear of all things that flap but I love my girls.

Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 00:48

Who needs grass!!

They are so sweet when they first arrive. They don't know how to chicken, bless them. They all have little personalities.

Mine follow me round waiting for me to pick stones to get the worms and woodlice. My mum's hens are completely spoilt and turn their beaks up at anything that isn't mashed potato, sunflower seed hearts or mealworms.

OP posts:
AbsentmindedWoman · 15/11/2018 00:52

All your chooks are lovely, OP!

I didn't know the free range eggs meant such a flimsy attempt at better welfare Sad

I'm trying to find a decent London butcher to buy free range meat from (will have to look into exact welfare standards of that 'free range' definition too) and will be sure to buy organic eggs from now on, if it means the hens are kept better.

AbsentmindedWoman · 15/11/2018 00:54

Oh - I see the second lot of photos are from @Oddsocksandmeatballs and not OP!

ALL the chooks are lovely, from both posters!

Shampoop · 15/11/2018 00:57

We go through lots of eggs. Currently looking into having organic milk and eggs delivered from local farm but I had no idea 'free range' which i usually buy from supermarket can be this bad. I'll take more care in future, thankyou for pointing this out.

MarthaHanson · 15/11/2018 01:11

I had no idea. Thank you OP, will be buying organic from now on.

ArcheryAnnie · 15/11/2018 01:15

I had no idea either - thank you for posting this. I get my eggs from Riverford anyway, but if I top up I will now always get organic then as well.

SuchAToDo · 15/11/2018 01:21

I never knew free range was like this with the beak trimming, that sounds horrendous and cruel,

I didnt realise there was such a difference between free range and organic either

Why in this day and age is caged and beak trimming allowed to continue, surely it's deliberate cruelty to animals and must break some law ...if a person had a pet and kept them in a cage where they were crammed and couldn't move they would get in trouble, why is this still being allowed with chickens?.

Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 01:21

I'm so happy that this has inspired some change! It's worth it :)

OP posts:
Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 01:26

@SuchAToDo it's awful but it's society's fault, supply and demand. The more people that buy ethical eggs the more in demand they will be, and that will drive the change.

Sadly people don't see chickens as being very high up on the ladder in terms of welfare. They're not smart, they don't sit on our laps, so who cares?

I actually have an argument that, up to a certain point, the more 'basic' the animal the more it deserves kinder treatment. Higher animals (like ourselves) may be able to rationalise fear and understand what's happening. 'Basic' animals can't do that. They just feel intense fear. They can't fight it when they're exposed to it.

OP posts:
SuchAToDo · 15/11/2018 01:46

@falaffyou are right about the demand thing

Maybe if enough awareness was made about this whole thing, (if mumsnetter share it across social media and encourage others to keep sharing it too) it might encourage more people to buy organic

SuchAToDo · 15/11/2018 01:47

*if mumsnetters

gingernutrichtea · 15/11/2018 01:53

Wow. Thank you so much for this. I was always so proud of making sure my eggs were deff free range. Only organic now. Thank you for sharing this xx

Bettyspants · 15/11/2018 01:57

Thank you for posting this.....another one here not realising Confused

dontgobaconmyheart · 15/11/2018 02:25

Genuine thanks for this OP, I don't actually eat meat or dairy but do eat/bake with eggs very occasionally and didnt realise this. Very disappointing- If I do buy from the supermarket I will most certainly seek organic only as of now. Flowers

Cineraria · 15/11/2018 02:32

That's great. Thanks. I do always buy organic eggs and just generally knew they were better from a welfare point of view but not the details and DH kept asking me why. Now I can tell him!

I love the chicken photos too. So nice to see an animal having a happy life after a bad start. Do ex battery hens still lay eggs or do the factories get rid of them due to being post menopausal. Sorry, I really know nothing about chickens.

Original poster
falaff · 15/11/2018 10:54

You still get loads of eggs from ex batts maybe not 1 a day, but at least 4 or 5 a week. Which is better for the girls anyway. They will lay more than the fancy breeds. You can pick up an ex batt for the price of 6 eggs and they will give you enjoyment (and eggs) for years.

However they come with a condition and that is that they have to have old lady names like Beatrice, Gloria or Esmarelda :)

OP posts: