For well over fifteen years now, we have kept a few rare breed chickens hatched from eggs to supply our family with fresh eggs. If you’ve never had the opportunity to eat such eggs then it may be hard to believe it, but there is an astonishing difference in taste and appearance between eggs freshly laid by hens kept on grass, allowed to lay at their own pace and those produced commercially for supermarkets.
Recently however my wife decided that we should have some “rescue” hens — ones that have effectively reached the end of their commercially-productive life, perhaps because they don’t lay as often or because they consume more food or whatever other reason. For us however, they’re absolutely fine.
The quality of life that we are able to offer compared with commercial operations was really brought home hard when our first rescue hens arrived. Seeing this actually made me feel sick. I don’t believe any animal should be kept in conditions that end up with them looking so awful.
Fortunately after a few months with us she started to look so much more healthy and content.
And I am certain that if in the future we do not have our own chickens, there is no way I will ever buy commercially-produced eggs ever again.