Mockingbird Farmstead Pastured Eggs
ALWAYS THOROUGHLY cean YOUR EGGS WITH WARM WATER BEFORE YOU CONSUME THEM.
CONSUMING RAW OR UNDERCOOKED EGGS MAY INCREASE YOUR RISK OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE CERTAIN MEDICAL CONDITIONS.
It’s important information and I need to make sure you see it. Even though I know you already know. Here are some important questions and information about our eggs, our chickens, and how we care for them. We will work to update this as new questions are asked, so check back. If there’s anything not covered here, please reach out!
What “kind” of eggs are you offering?
Pastured Eggs. There are so many different egg certifications! Free range, organic, conventional, cage free, non-GMO, antibiotic/hormone free, etc. Each of those are different things, and are specifically defined by the USDA and other governing bodies. And then sometimes they’re arbitrary and unregulated. Those definitions may be different in reality than what the words would indicate at first. Instead of teasing apart that giant knot, I’ll just tell you what our eggs are like, and how our chickens live.
So how are your chickens raised?
Our chickens spend the night in a predator-proof coop, with a door that opens automatically at sunrise, and closes automatically at sunset. They come and go freely throughout that time. The coop is not cooled in the summer or heated in the winter - heritage breeds (like ours) are very hearty birds! Our egg boxes are protected inside the coop, so they also return to lay. Outside, they have unlimited access to their all-grain chicken feed, and fresh water. They also have access to a large open space, off of which connects four paddocks (fenced areas with pasture for foraging). They spend all day outside in the sun scratching and foraging to their heart’s content. When one of the paddocks has been cleared of vegetation and healthful forage, we rotate them to a new paddock of fresh greens for them to continue their scratching and foraging (a natural and instinctual behavior for chickens). After we harvest some crops for our farmshares, before turning over the beds for new crops, we create a temporary paddock and allow the chickens in to clean up and grab their fill of those tasty veggie scraps. This method of chicken farming is referred to as “pastured” or “pasture raised.” Currently, in stores if you can find them, pasture-raised eggs can range anywhere from $7-$9+ per dozen. It is widely considered to be the best way to raise chickens, by any measure.
What kinds of chickens do you have?
We have two main types of chickens - American Heritage Breeds, and our “Easter Eggers.” Easter Eggers are so named because of the bright pastel colors of the eggs they lay. There is no breed standard for Easter Eggers, but they are bred from Heritage Breed stock. They are naturally occurring mutts in a way, not engineered hybrids. That is to say, we are raising real, classic, hearty American birds suited to life outside in the elements, not hybridized industrial-scale warehouse chickens. We have Rhode Island Reds, Ameracaunas, Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks, a White Silkie, a few Easter Eggers, and a few Olive Eggers - which are like Easter Eggers, but they lay true olive green eggs. We do not have any roosters. Our chickens are hormone and antibiotic free.
So are the eggs “better” than “regular” eggs?
Well I definitely think so. Look, I understand - to some people eggs are just eggs. I get it, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that at all! But, if you like eggs, and especially if you love eggs like I do, you really can tell. And we think you can tell in virtually every way - they look better, they taste better, they have a better texture, the shells are thicker and prettier, they’re fresher, and you can actually come visit our chickens and see how they live any day, at any time - so you know where the eggs came from.
But are they “healthier” for you than regular eggs?
I’m not at all qualified to make that claim - I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist. If you look around (which you should), I think you’ll find what I found: everyone is referencing the same 2010 study on pastured vs. conventional egg nutrition which showed pastured eggs had:
Twice as much vitamin E
38 percent higher vitamin A concentration
Twice as much long-chain Omega-3 fats
2.5x more total Omega-3 fatty acids
Less than half the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3
You can see the study for yourself HERE.
Our birds are fed non GMO food, and receive no hormones or antibiotics. They’re just happy chickens out there living their best lives. Most days they each lay an egg, and we just put them directly into the carton and get them right to you.
What’s this dirt on my egg?
I don’t know, schmutz or something. Look, our hens are out there running free. They get all kinds of stuff on their feet. A natural and healthy behavior for them is to take dust baths, like many birds. When they jump into the nesting box to lay, they can bring it with them, no matter how clean we keep the coop or nesting boxes (come see for yourself). Their nesting boxes are cleaned and filled daily with fresh straw for them to arrange and get comfy. But stuff still gets in there and it gets on the egg. We do not refrigerate, wash, or process our eggs in any way.
What!? Why not?
The answer to this question can be extremely complicated, and it gets into some hairy PETA/activism/industrial food system/political areas. I will keep this as plain and unbiased as I can, and try to avoid all that. Please stick with me.
Many people are surprised to learn that freshly laid eggs have a cuticle - the eggs are coated in “egg bloom” before being laid. This egg bloom would protect a growing chick from disease because it seals the pores of the egg shell, preventing infection and moisture loss. With this bloom intact, really the only way to get sick from eating a raw egg would be if the chicken itself were sick, or if something was carried into your food from OUTSIDE the shell.
There are near 100 billion chickens in industrial systems - for both meat and eggs. The conditions that most chickens at industrial scale live in make avoiding disease difficult without vaccination. It is easier at that scale to vaccinate all chicks, add antibiotics to their food, and then during sizing and quality control, wash and sanitize the eggs. Most people tend to prefer a dozen clean eggs (as do I), and often don’t wash them - putting them right into their food. Furthermore the chickens are often kept in a way that does not allow for cleaning or fresh bedding (or bedding of any kind). In reality, they are kept in such a way that does not allow for care of any kind outside of automated food and water dispensing systems. Though this is slowly changing, the environment and living conditions it creates for chickens in egg batteries, really isn’t great.
When washed and sanitized - often with a quats chlorine based solution - the egg cuticle is removed, opening the pores of the shell to potential infection. After washing, the eggs must thereafter be refrigerated to prevent spoilage. The washing and sanitizing step introduces chemical additions, the need for refrigeration, and a drastic reduction in the shelf life of the egg. An unwashed and undamaged egg from a healthy hen can safely sit on the counter at room temperature for weeks. To this end, in virtually the rest of the civilized world, it is illegal for egg producers to wash eggs.
So you just put the eggs in the carton and then deliver them to us?
Yes. It’s not hyperbole. The chickens are out in the pastures living their best lives, they come in to lay an egg, and we really just put it right in the carton for you. These are farm fresh eggs.
Additional Information
Pastured Egg Nutrition - a study from Penn State from 2010 discussing the nutritional benefits of pastured eggs vs conventional.
Deciphering Egg Carton Labels - an article from the Humane Society of the United States that helps you decipher the somewhat confusing (and often arbitrary) nature of egg carton labels.
Chilling Eggs - an article from NPR on why we sanitize, wash, and refrigerate eggs in the United States, when most of the rest of the world doesn’t (we don’t either!).
Additional Questions
If there’s anything we missed here, please reach out! We’d love to answer any questions you have about our chickens, our eggs, and our farm. Thank you!