To show you what your free range egg providers really look like?

[StridTheKiller]

That's all. Rescued a dozen ladies this weekend, ex-free range chicken farm hens. The photo shows the rest. Vile trade.

I'm glad you've posted this. I hope I avoid this by buying organic eggs only.

Thank you for rescuing and thank you for showing this 🙏

I haven't eaten eggs for almost 20 years now and don't miss it at all. Still bake beautiful cakes etc.

My eggs come from a farm where the chickens run about freely in a woodland … before that I had my own chickens who lived in a field behind my house. It doesn’t have to be like this!

You could just not eat eggs!

What are the best supermarket eggs to buy? I don’t live near any farms!
Are organic definitely better?

Well they are not all like this! Our friend has a farm with free range eggs sold in the local shops (not supermarkets) and her chickens look nothing like that.

I think if it’s a big multinational, that supply supermarkets like Tesco, Aldi and Asda and the eggs are cheap…. Then yes, it’s not great.

How can we avoid this? Organic? Local farm? Genuine question.

Poor things. I grew up with chickens and I can't wait to have my own.

Battery hen / "free range" factories really need shutting down, they're totally barbaric.

I have a couple of ex rescues myself. They very much get free run of the garden and are happy and healthy. My kids reckon it’s their morning porridge which makes the difference 😀 Eggs are really nice too.

Its so sad that birds are treated like that but hopefully they make a good recovery

Are free range organic any better? I was under impression they are. It's all I buy.

I don’t think organic is any better? I thought it just meant that they don’t get antibiotics and have organic food?

I honestly don't know what the best eggs are to buy, I'm just shocked and horrified at the state of these hens, we've lost two since Sunday, they are dead on their feet.

Free-range, organic or small farm. Doesn't matter how lovely the laying hens have it. Ask yourself what happens to all the male chicks?

As a rule of thumb, the higher priced brands (such as Clarence Court) tend to have higher welfare standards. But do your research.

The best way to avoid it is to keep your own if you can, or find a local backyard chicken keeper.

In defense of free range flocks, lots look nothing like this - I pass two free range farms and the hens are messing about in the fields looking well. My own (spoilt rotten) hens have been looking rather 'oven ready' in recent weeks as they are moulting.

There are good and bad poultry farmers.

Because they're not meant to lay an egg daily. They've been bred that way and their bodies cannot cope. Laying so many eggs depletes the calcium from their bones which is why so many end up with broken legs. It doesn't matter how lovely the farm is, these poor animals are being exploited.

Poor babies. We have a few rescues too amongst our other hens, they're much happier (and fatter, thanks to my husband spoiling them) these days. I'll never buy eggs from a supermarket again. The state some of these "free range" birds are kept in is atrocious.

Bit hard to keep my own in a London flat, and I don't live near any small farms as far as I know. I don't eat meat so really need eggs for protein.

Most breeds don't lay eggs daily. The intensively overbred battery breeds do.

If you get a proper breed, they lay about 5-6 a week at their peak in the summer but may only lay 1 or 2 (assuming they don't go off at all, many do) in winter, and they don't have bone issues.

We’re not allowed hens (random clause on the deeds 🤷🏻‍♀️) but otherwise I’d keep my own.

I thought the eggs I was buying were from happy chickens but maybe not.

I work full time so am never off when the once a week farmers market sells eggs so what do I do? 🤔

You buy fewer and better. Research your supermarkets suppliers and find the ones with good welfare.

Organic hens get more than twice the space than free range, are introduced to the outside at a younger age (making it more likely they will play outside as hens are fearful creatures as a prey species), are kept in smaller flocks, don't have their beaks 'trimmed' (bullying is an overcrowding and lack of enrichment problem) and are not given routine antibiotics (and therefore need healthier living conditions and help prevent antibiotic resistance)

F

I’d check out some independents. Some butchers etc. will sell good quality eggs.

Apparently Happy Eggs, which I usually buy, does not have happy chickens. But neither do all the other suppliers available to me in London Zone 3, without a car.

Oh that’s good to know. I normally have my own backyard chickens but they all disappeared a few months ago and I’m currently having to buy eggs for the first time in decades.