Without much fuss and even less public attention, America is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar shift to cage-free eggs in response to new laws and demands from restaurants. Cage-free housing has soared from 4% in 2010 to 28% in 2020, and is expected to reach 70% by 2025. The change marks one of the animal welfare movement’s biggest successes after years of battles with the food industry. https://apnews.com/article/business-iowa-des-moines-animals-animal-welfare-1a611490e5af70a9b9d7b9f8b903bb6f
@estherschindler in the US, "cage free" does not mean the chickens aren't still overcrowded in massive multi-story buildings. it just means they aren't in a mesh cage.
also, in the US, "free-range" and "pasture raised" are also pretty, but meaningless phrases. if a chicken building has a 4'x6' outdoor enclosed porch per 3000 birds, they can claim those last 2 "titles".
Exactly.
Important to know more about the company, rather than just go by the label.
I trust Vital Farms, though I rarely buy eggs at all anymore.
@tyghebright i have chickens (i've had chickens for 19 years). they free range, although right now the 4 hens are being kept indoors in the barn until i raccoon proof a couple areas in the pasture. raccoons will kill more than they can eat
In 1990, at a local farmer's market, I asked the middle-aged hippy lady selling eggs whether her chickens were free range.
She looked at me like I was insane. To her mind, chickens were stupid and vulnerable, and letting them be free range was asking for them to get killed. Though talking to her, her chickens had more movement and freedom than many currently labelled cage free.
Ever since, it's made me think past the label...
@tyghebright @redenigma
YMMV. As long as they have a safe hutch at night they should be fine. We have a small (30-ish) flock and lose maybe 1 a year to a hawk or (?)
We prefer to have them in mobile covered pens anyway for our convenience. Helps us know where they've been for how long as they aerate, fertilize, and de-bug. They're fine when they're loose though. The rooster(s) help.
The labels don't have much meaning, agree.
@b4cks4w i've never lost one to the hawks, but now that there are eagles across the street, it wouldn't surprise me
i do lose a few to foxes during the spring when the kits are very young. that's ok too. but last fall a raccoon came in, during the afternoon & killed 8 of my 12 hens & 2 of my roosters. THAT is just not acceptable. the reason i have raccoons is because the nearest house runs as an AirBnB, and those people are too stupid to close their dumpster lid & attract all of the raccoons
@redenigma ugh. We did have the one Opossum Event, which resembled that. Had to really tighten up the coop.