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.

Organic has better welfare standards as well- I have 180 organic hens. They have more inside space per square metre, more perch space more nest boxes, larger outside areas to roam, and more cover as part of their roaming area for them to feel safe from birds of prey etc.

We have kept chickens for several years. They have a reasonable sized house and (excluding during bird flu restrictions) are let out into the garden and greenhouse regularly.

However they do moult and their feathers fall out which makes them look awful for a period of time, but their feathers always grow back. They generally lay 4-5 eggs per week unless moulting

Awful

This has to stop and people need to know.

I stick with Waitrose or farm shop who sell lovely local eggs.

Meanwhile Tesco profits soar....

Yep, but some people still won't see that as 'better" because of other aspects of the industry - just read some of the other posts!

Have you ever tried? I only ask because we felt exactly the same until we tried Veganuary, and we never looked back. I think it's true of many vegans...

“I only eat eggs from my local farm” … good for you. So what about the eggs that are used to produce the food you buy from your local shop or supermarket ? What about the eggs that are used when you eat in your local restaurant, or get a takeaway? What happens on holiday when you are shopping or eating out?

Either eat eggs, or stop altogether .. buying 6 from your local farm shop doesn’t mean you aren’t partaking in the caged / free range / barn egg trade.

How old are those hens op?

I get eggs from a local farm, the hens are outdoors pecking around etc and look nothing like those.

Extraonions
I don't buy a lot of pre-made food eg sauces, cakes etc.

Where we go on holiday we also get eggs from local farms.

Of course i don't have control over where the eggs in restaurants come from but I don't eat out often and tbh, i am not willing to be a vegan over this stuff. I would struggle to eat an optimal diet and enjoy food if i limited myself only to plant based and I am not willing to do that. Humans are omnivores.

Schooldramas

Yes ive tried a veganuary. It was awful. It took a huge amount of effort, left me tired and feeling like crap and I didn't enjoy the meals. I absolutely detested all cheese substitutes, i don't eat processed foods and i don't like very spicy flavours. I found the food bland and carby.

We have reduced the volume of meat we eat quite a bit and that is good enough for me.

I was raised a vegan. By which I mean I was raised on a traditional Indian diet which was almost vegan- though not intentionally so- except for a splash of milk in coffee. I don't want to be vegan any more, though I could easily do it. Veggie suits me.

I tried being vegan too, despite previously having been a vegetarian for many years in my younger days, and absolutely hated it!
I am a happy omnivore and let the vegan 'preaching' wash right over me. Each to their own.

There's a very obvious third alternative: only eat eggs from trusted sources. Act like you're vegan when supermarket shopping or eating out, but buy eggs from local small scale trusted producers for home use.

I think that it's about time that we applied the same welfare standards to imports as we do to our own farmers.

Get over yourself, I didn't say I only eat eggs from local farm shop.

I never buy takeaways. We very rarely eat out and I'm careful where I buy food. I don't gorge on KFC every other day.

It's not me that needs educating it's the other few million out there!

I presume you haven't read any of my other comments, otherwise you wouldn't ask.
I have been vegetarian.
I have been vegan.
I am happier and healthier as an omnivore.

I'd sooner gnaw off my own foot.

@Mamanyt ahhhh apologies I didn't realise you were in the US and I had no idea that was the case in America! In the UK organic certification is very strict and not just about diet, off to read about American organic legislation!

That won't avoid it!

You don't have to "cart them" unless you're buying loads. You can put them in a carrier bag and pop them on your lap as you travel.

No matter what our paperwork might say, I've seen a couple of facilities, and was...underwhelmed. Either the laws are very lax, or the inspectors are very lax (or on the take).

We bought some ex layers recently, they were all a good weight, well feathered and healthy, they’re confident outside, so its clear they have spent quite a bit of time outside.

Vegan for 10 years here. I sleep better knowing I don't contribute to ' free range, organic' atrocities
And my egg free cakes are sublime

And I deadlift 150 k. Hardly protein deficient

Thank you for for raising awareness about this OP.

I used to work for a charity that rehomes hens from commercial farms and we rescue hens ourselves. Just to address some misinformation posted in the comments:

For everyone saying that the OPs hen just looks like she's going through a moult - this is absolutely not the result of going through a moult! Our girls moult yearly in the autumn and their feathers look a little sparse, sure, but they are not bald. Hens from commercial farms look like this because their feathers have been pecked out by other hens. Chickens are intelligent and form flocks, they can recognise up to 90 other individual hens. The trouble is when there are thousands of them, they can no longer establish a 'pecking order'. Coupled with boredom from not enough enrichment, and everyone becomes fair game for being pecked and attacked.

A couple of posters insinuated that these ex-commercial hens were just old. Commercial farms, including free range ones cull hens at eighteen months old when their eggs laying declines, in order to make way for new stock. Charities like BHWT, chicken rescue UK etc. work with the farms to try and rehome these hens where possible. The charities are usually required to pay the farms for these hens however, so I'm not convinced the farmer does this entirely out of the kindness of their heart. Despite charities best efforts, less than 1% of commercial hens are able to be rehomed - there just aren't enough homes for them.

Someone said that keeping caged or battery hens is no longer legal in the UK. This simply isn't true, they have just changed the name to 'enriched cages'. This 'enrichment' usually consists of a small grubby dust bath in one corner.

The conditions in some of these farms are truly appalling. It was commonplace for us to take receipt of hens and discover that several where dead or close to being dead. One little girl I personally rescued from a rehoming day had such a badly damaged leg that I thought she would have to be pts. Fortunately it was soft tissue injury, but her leg was black and blue and took months to heal. This is because commercial chicken keepers commonly grab hens and pick them up by their legs when handling them - wildly inappropriate and cruel handling practice.

If people want to eat eggs that's absolutely fine and their choice, but please don't try to justify that choice by spreading false information to trivialise or deny the hell that most commercial hens are living in.

@KoolKookaburra you may or may not believe me, but where I am in Central London, I quite often can't get a seat on the Tube or the bus so I can 'pop' my eggs on my lap. And yes I do buy a dozen at a time.
But as I said later on the thread, I can switch my online shopping to Sainsburys and get Clarence Court delivered. I hope that's OK with everyone.