[Pig Cat]

My hens had a period of a few weeks without laying. During that time we bought a few eggs from the side of the road and some from the supermarket. The ones we bought were Happy Eggs. I had a 'Happy Egg' omelette this evening then decided to look them up on the internet where I discovered a pretty nasty report about them on the Sky News website.

Anyway, I would like to know, if forced to buy commercially produced eggs from a supermarket, which ones come from the best-treated hens. I am moving house soon and will be nearest a Sainsbury and a Waitrose. Is it simply a case of buying organic or is there more to it than that?

[lizt]

ooh good question,
no idea which will be the best to buy like most people i use to go for the free range egg from the super market assuming they where what i considered 'free range'.
now i get my eggs from the allotment manager, i walk pass his hens on the way to my plot and they are free range, healthy, happy hens no mistaking!
maybe when you move house you could search out a local allotment or farm shop that can tell you exactly where the eggs are from then you know for sure.

[JaK]

As far as I know the word organic only describes the chicken feed and/or the land the hens are kept on and has nothing to do with the amount of space or conditions the hens live in. I may be wrong though.

[Fisherman]

As I understand it all organic eggs are free-range, but not all free-range eggs are organic. For a commercial grower to be classified as organic they must be registered with one of the appointed UK organic certification bodies. There are four categories of commercial egg producers: -

Cage - as it describes.
Barn - kept inside. "Barn" strikes me as a bit of false marketing.
Free Range - allowed to free range but not organically certified.
Organic - allowed to free range and organically certified.

[GrannieAnnie]

I may be wrong, but I think you can get organic barn eggs too.

I need a source of good eggs now as well, anyone know anyone who has their own chickens in NW Kent?

[Carolf]

I always used to buy Happy Eggs before we got our chooks.  Mainly because the advert (should have known better) showed their chickens running around free range and happy  .  I guess it pays to do some homework on meat/dairy products before buying.

[ANHBUC]

I may be wrong, but I think you can get organic barn eggs too.

I need a source of good eggs now as well, anyone know anyone who has their own chickens in NW Kent?

That's a long way from Boston to get your eggs GA or are you relocating?

[Fisherman]

I may be wrong, but I think you can get organic barn eggs too.

I too may be wrong, but I think these are called organic fed barn chickens.  I believe true organic chickens are allowed to free range on certified organic land as well as being fed on organic feed.

I could be completely wrong and it just goes to show that there's not much chance for the average consumer if we don't know having some interest in the subject 

[joyfull]

here are the egg council classification:-

http://www.egginfo.co.uk/page/eggproduction

[Fisherman]

Thanks for the link Joyfull. Out of interest I had had a look at the colony cage system via the link below. Better than battery cages but I doubt conditions will be as good in real life when the cages have been well used. Suggest we stick to free range / organic.


http://www.bigdutchmanusa.com/Enriched%20and%20Cage%20Free/aviarycagefree-eggproduction.html

[joyfull]

yes we saw them at the pig and poultry show last year and they are still awful especially when you consider how many birds to each enhanced cage. Also some countries (Poland is one of these) have asked to be allowed to keep their old system for a few years longer
as they can't afford to replace them. I think German doesn't allow any hens to be kept in cages which is a move I think all countries should follow.

[GrannieAnnie]

I may be wrong, but I think you can get organic barn eggs too.

I need a source of good eggs now as well, anyone know anyone who has their own chickens in NW Kent?

That's a long way from Boston to get your eggs GA or are you relocating?

Mmmmmm, not in Boston at the moment!   :blink: :blink:

[ANHBUC]

I may be wrong, but I think you can get organic barn eggs too.

I need a source of good eggs now as well, anyone know anyone who has their own chickens in NW Kent?

That's a long way from Boston to get your eggs GA or are you relocating?

Mmmmmm, not in Boston at the moment!   :blink: :blink:

Ah that makes sense now.